Months back, reader Clay wondered about what kind of hat sharing goes on between royals. Our friends over at Luxarazzi have documented numerous hats shared by members of the Luxembourg royal family over the years, and I suspect there are more. Clay recalled Zara Phillips sharing hats with her best friend Dolly Maud- the only one I’ve been able to find is this red felt button percher with pheasant feathers made by Rachel Trevor Morgan.
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Zara Tindall on December 25, 2013; Best friend Dolly Maud in the same hat, March 14, 2014
I know there are other royal hats that have been shared so here we go, dearest readers- this week’s discussion question is: Which royal hats have being shared by multiple different (royal and non royal) people?
Photos from Getty as indicated
What a fascinating post…..MrFitzroy was aware of semi regular hat trading in Luxembourg, and a couple of instances in the more extended parts of the British royal family –but this level of sleuthing across so many royal houses (and decades) is just amazing…..HatQueen, you and the whole intrepid community on this wonderful blog never cease to be amazing!
MrFitzroy’s hat is off to you all! (actually MrFitzroy has to get his hat back from a cousin first….)
Autumn Phillips on March 23, 2008 and Zara Tindall on December 21, 2009
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This is unexpected! Haven’t we understood that Zara has an infinite supply of loans from the designers? Why would she need to borrow from her sister-in-law?
What a fun design, positioned better by Zara. But the airy straw looks a little odd when both ladies are so bundled up.
It is an odd choice for a winter hat, isn’t it?! This was also back in 2009 and, I’m guessing, before Zara worked with a stylist.
An even more interesting pairing with Zara is this black felt Jane Taylor hat: Princess Eugenie wore it Easter Sunday April 8, 2012 and Zara wore it less than a year later on March 15, 2013 at Cheltenham. I don’t believe either has worn it again. The question is- it is the same hat or did they both purchase this style (or both borrow the same style via their stylists)?!
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Just to say that actually, if the weather happens to be very windy (as it may well be in all seasons) a hat with a net or mesh brim is *very* practical. The wind goes straight through, and there is no risk of the hat being tugged off as there is with a more solid brim. I discovered this when I wore a hat with a very large brim to a wedding which was unexpectedly windy, and didn’t have any trouble at all, unlike some of the other guests!
mittenmary, I defer to others here on the style and design issues, but I reply to your question as the parent of a daughter around Zara’s age. Young ladies seem to like to borrow each other’s clothes, and I’m not sure wealth or access to designers negates that. Like, that’s a really nice [hat, scarf, blouse, sweater, whatever], can I borrow it? Or one has an occasion coming up and the owner just offers to loan it. The senior female royals (senior in terms of the hierarchy, not age) are under a certain amount of pressure to dress to please the public and the fashion press, but my impression is that the less-senior royals dress to please themselves, even to the extent of borrowing or lending.
Princess Caroline of Monaco on January 26, 1998 and Charlotte Casiraghi on November 19, 2012
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The Grand Duchess has passed several hats to her daughter and daughter-in-laws. Princess Stephanie:
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Princess Claire (Maria Theresa wore it to Closing the Octav in 2016)
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Tessy de Nassau:
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You can see numerous more hats shared between members of the Luxembourg royal family at this posts, written by our friends over at Luxarazzi:
Fashion sharing volume 3
Fashion sharing volume 4
Fashion sharing volume 8
Fashion sharing volume 9
Fashion sharing volume 11
Fashion sharing volume 13
There’s also some hat sharing in the Dutch Royal Family: then princess Maxima in 2011
and princess Aimée (daughter-in-law of princess Margriet): Not only sharing a hat but also a gown. This was in 2013 at the enthronement of King Willem-Alexander.
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On the same day the King’s aunt, princess Christina wore a hat that her daughter Juliana wore in 2005 at the wedding of prince Pieter-Christiaan to Anita van Eijk in 2005
Queen Maxima also shared the hat her mother wore to Amalia’s baptism in June 2004. Maxima wore it in 2014 to open a university in 2014.
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She also has shared hats with Princess Mabel: The black feathered headpiece she wore April 29, 2010 in Apeldoorn was worn by Princess Mabel at the inauguration April 30, 2013
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This ring headpiece was worn by Queen Maxima on June 1, 2015, May 29, 2013 and April 30, 2010; Princess Mabel wore it to a November 2, 2013 memorial for Prince Friso.
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The problem is, some of these hats shouldn’t have been worn in the first place much less repeated!
I hadn’t realised hiw many times Bea and Euge play this game! (Or they used to at least!) This look on Beatrice (looking stunning, a really elegant look for her), reuses a hat which Eugenie’s wore to Peter Phillips’ wedding 3 years earlier, and I also think had been seen on Sophie Wessex too. http://m.zimbio.com/photos/Princess+Beatrice/Sophie+Countess+of+Wessex/Royal+Family+Attend+Easter+Matins+Service/n4MzonIy0Qg
Here are these three:
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Oh, I knew there was one just recently: Lady Rose Gilman at the 2019 Trooping https://royalhats.net/2019/06/09/trooping-the-colour-gloucester-kent-families-3/ The classic style works for both mother and daughter. Hat-sharing makes a lot of sense for the royals who only need to appear in a topper once a year or so.
Good one! Lady Rose also wore this to the Queen’s 90th birthday service of Thanksgiving on June 10, 2016 while her mum wore it to the Epsom races June 1, 2013
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You make an excellent point, mittenmary, about the practicality of hat sharing between royals who attend few events. This makes very good economic and practical sense.
The Countess of St. Andrews (daughter-in-law of the Duke and Duchess of Kent) has done this with her elder daughter Lady Marina (in pink, second from the left below):
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and with her younger daughter, Lady Amelia
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Flora Ogilvy (Princess Alexandra’s granddaughter in the second photo in the gallery below) wore a cream picture hat to Trooping the Colour last year that her mum, Julia, wore back in 2006 for the Queen’s 80th birthday.
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In addition to being practical, it keeps all these nifty hats in circulation!
Indeed! It’s also nice for us to see them again.
This is more challenging than I expected! The one I thought of turns out to have been a replica rather than an actual repeat https://royalhats.net/2014/06/09/swedish-christening-immediate-family/
The York princesses in the same grey beret with bow- Beatrice on Christmas Day in 2008 and Eugenie on February 24, 2009 and March 30, 2012.
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Another York princess share of this white feather trimmed Philip Treacy hat- Beatrice on June 16, 2007 at Trooping the Colour and Eugenie at Ascot on June 19, 2008
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While the bases appear to be different on these two white hats worn by Princess Beatrice to Trooping the Colour on June 17, 2006 and by Princess Eugenie June 19, 2010 to Ascot, there are some clear similarities (very specific feather trimming) that make me wonder if one hat underwent renovation to become the other.
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Hmmm I’m not sure but did Princess Diana’s mother wear one of Diana’s black hats at Diana’s funeral? Think I read somewhere that she did.
As I say I anot 100% it could be different hats.
She did yes. I think it was the hat Diana wore to her father’s funeral. A very sad but touching tribute.
Diana wore a different hat to Earl Spencer’s funeral on April 1, 1992. However, a month later, there was a second memorial service and she wore the hat that her mother would later wear for Diana’s funeral in 1997.
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While looking up the hats at Earl Spencer’s funeral in April 1992, I think the hat that Lady Sarah McCorquodale wore that day (and to his memorial in May 1992) might have been a previous hat of Diana’s- the photo at below of Diana was taken on Remembrance Sunday in 1984, just after Harry was born.
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A very early example of “hat sharing” took place 75 years ago!
Princess Elizabeth: May 25, 1944 at her 1st solo engagement
Princess Margaret: November 5, 1946 at a wedding
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As a bonus today, enjoy the less-than-a-minute-long video from 1944.
So the first one that jumped to kind for me was the white perched with blue flowers worn by Kate Middleton (as she was then) which was later worn by her Mother. It’s number 4 in this gallery.
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I’ve always loved this outfit that Kate wore because that blue is so lovely. Carol is clearly wearing the same hat, but it looks squashed! I guess it must just be that it’s worn at a flatter angle, but it certainly doesn’t have the same dramatic flair.
Zara and Dolly Maude sharing a very stylish hat very stylishly there. The Yorks …..equally terrible – admirable, however, in budget terms if no other way
Good find, mmiepke2. The styling is less than stellar in each example, but I think I would love this hat with the right presentation.
I’m certain that Duchess Sarah has shared several other hats with her daughters as well — I seem to recall a black straw beret, for starters. Anyone?
I found a black felt beret with flying bow. Beatrice wore it December 25, 2011 and Sarah, April 17, 2013
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I thought this hat was the same but the base is a slightly different shape… I think…
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Tanks mcncln!!!!
awful in both occasions!!!
I mean Sarah and Eugenie s hats
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