As in years past, The Royal Windsor Horse Show, which is taking part on the grounds of Windsor Castle this week, has seen both royal spectators and participants taking part. Today, Lady Louise placed third in a carriage driving competition, looking very smart in her repeated loden green felt driving hat. The design follows the basic shape of a top hat with quirky, upturned brim on one side balanced by an exuberant spray of swirled striped pheasant and chocolate-burgundy biot feathers on the other side, finished with wide green silk hatband overlaid on the bottom with slim, scrolled green braid.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: May 13, 2018
Lady Louise’s mum and grandparents were on hand to cheer her on. The Duke of Edinburgh, who also drove a carriage in the show, looked dapper in a khaki plaid wool flat cap. The Queen was all smiles in a daffodil printed silk headscarf.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
Everyone looks happy, which makes for the best pictures! I love Lady Louise’s hat.
Is that a royal protection officer sitting in the back of the carriage? Or does carriage driving require that one has a passenger? Hmm… might have to look that up!
She bears a striking resemblence to Queen Mary. A lovely young lady in a fun and stylish hat. Her parents and grandparents must be so proud.
Lady Louise looks marvelous! Not every royal can rock a snood like that! Grandpa DofE must be so proud to have her following in his footsteps (carriage tracks?)!
I agree, Louise is becoming so tall and elegant and her hat is very striking! It’s going to be fun getting glimpses of her in years to come.
HM and Prince Phillip looked to be having a great time. I wonder how many beautiful headscarfs HM owns?
Grandpapa Philip must be so proud of his beautiful granddaughter! I simply love the way her riding hat has been personalized. She looks so elegant. If the photo had been tinted sepia, I might have thought she was her great great Aunt, the late Princess Royal, the Countess of Harewood.
I agree about the resemblance to the Countess of Harewood. I couldn’t find a photo of the Countess in a hat for comparison, but here is a photo of her in a tiara. Can’t figure out how to embed the photo here, but it is on this page:
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-photograph-of-mary-princess-royal-and-countess-of-harewood-1897-1965-122929372.html
It was great to see the Duke of Edinburgh participating, but I thought I had read that he had given up carriage driving because it was painful to his hands — am I mistaken?
Thanks for the photo comparison. You and GlitterGirl are correct in the resemblance! Lady Louise is such a lovely lady, and I adore her hat and snood.
I’m also with you about hearing the Duke quitting due to arthritis perhaps? Thankfully he’s in such good health we are incoreect!
The Queen looks amazing in her scarf and I’m uncertain if I’ve seen so many smiling photos of her at one event! Looks like everyone was delighted in Lady Louise’s performance
Do you know the name of the tiara the Countess is wearing in the photo?
Thanks for asking, Mel Burns. The Countess’ tiara, which was a wedding gift, was known as the Harewood Scroll Tiara, and in addition to the large diamond central element, alternatively had a large sapphire piece. When Mary died in 1965, the tiara was inherited by her son George Lascelles, Earl of Harewood, and subsequently with the diamond inset it was sold at auction in 1970, and the sapphire was sold separately, though it does not appear to be known who acquired it. In addition to other major royal events, the Princess Royal wore it at the Coronation of her brother, King George VI, in 1937 and the Coronation of her niece, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953. You can read more about the tiara in this article (see #6), where you can also see a photo of the tiara as it looked with the sapphire in place:
http://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2015/08/the-top-ten-lost-tiaras.html
and here: http://orderofsplendor.blogspot.com/2017/10/tiara-thursday-harewood-scroll-tiara.html
additional photos and a video.
Your a star! Thank you.
Well, you’re quite welcome, Mel, and thank you also for the complement. It was interesting to wonder why a tiara so frequently photographed and so closely associated with two royal coronations would have been sold out of the family, and I couldn’t find any reason given, but the Court Jeweller article I previously cited also mentioned that Princess Margaret’s wedding tiara was sold after her death by her children to pay estate taxes, so maybe it was a reason like that.