We wrap up Ascot week with the final of five looks back at royals and their past Ascot hats. Since we opened this week with Zara Tindall, it feels fitting that we end with her as well. Here are all the hats she has worn to the races over the years:
1989 and 2001:
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Cream straw with white ribbon hatband and side posy; Boxy lilac lace brimmed hat with layered lace applique trim
2002:
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Purple silk Stetson-shaped percher with feather and net veil on June 18 and a grey straw tall-crowned hat with bow and white feathers on June 20, both by Tara O’Callaghan
2003:
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Black straw disk-base percher with red quills and large ivory silk lily on June 17;
Black straw stovepipe hat with wide white hatband and bow on June 19
2007 and 2008:
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Both from Philip Treacy, a wide brimmed sidesweep in leopard printed straw with flying bow in 2007;
Ecru textured straw vertical saucer with roses and feather spray in 2008
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Large ivory straw Philip Treacy saucer with jinsin twists
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Straw beret perchers by Rosie Olivia, grey with yellow flowers on June 16 and navy with crin waves on June 19
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Vitrant blue straw teardrop percher with looping bow and yellow curling quills by Rosie Olivia;
White straw percher with blue and aqua ombre sinamay bow by Sarah Cant
Pink straw teardrop percher with ruffle, curled quill and silk flower by Juliette Botterill
A pair of blue straw saucer perchers from Juliette Botterill, vertical pale blue with roses and veil June 18 and deep teal with ruffle and a navy quill on June 20
Navy straw beret percher with royal blue silk flower spray by Juliette Botterill on June 16
Which of Zara’s Ascot hats stand out to you most?
For another retrospective of Royal Ascot hats, jump over to this previously published post featuring the Countess of Wessex.
Photos from Mike Tindall and Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
I love the Leopard print turned up on the side,with the bows sticking up.
Apart from this year’s, which was lovely and totally wasted in her back garden (!) I find my favourites are the saucers, with slightly turned out edges, rather than the beret and button turned under or brimless. My absolute favourite was the teal hat from last year. Stunning design and great colour.
I know that many viewers are bored with Zara’s perchers and wish she would wear a greater variety of styles, but as I look these hats all on one page (including the extra one from mittenmary), I do feel that the percher suits the shape of her face so much better than many of the other styles that I am happy to see her in them for some time to come. She seems to have leaned heavily on blue for Ascot the past few years, and I wish she would experiment with other colors that also go well with her coloring. I like her particularly in the white and yellow hat from 2015, but all of these hats are great.
One interesting thing I notice in this group of hats is that unlike other royals who consistently wear their tilted hat styles always in the same direction, Zara does seem to switch from one side to the other.
Like JamesB, I thought there would be more appearances, but I guess that has been Cheltenham. It’s interesting how (not including her 1989 appearance) there was first a 4 year gap between appearances (2003-2007), and then a 6 year gap (2008-2014).
2003’s lily hat was a pioneering piece for its time that was unfortunately overshadowed by the off-shoulder dress. 2007’s leopard hat was among the first Zara hats I noticed as I entered the world of Royal Hats; despite being of its time, it was a fun piece and a good design for her (a shape I wish she would try again). 12 years later and 2008’s hat looks like it should belong in Kate’s closet (although it looks great on Zara).
2016’s electric blue hat, 2019’s teal hat, and 2020’s true blues hat are all my recent favorites, with 2020 being probably my favorite overall ensemble look (hat and outfit).
Seeing this full retrospective is so strange – firstly I thought there would be more, but I guess Cheltenham is more her thing… secondly – I think it’s no bad thing she settled into a signature style! The early years are a little haphazard, which to be fair we can all say!
Just the contrasts are so high. 2002 – Stetson to classic (I think that’s a great look actually). And 2003 – wow! That lily hat with the racy dress and then the stovepipe. It’s surprising that the same person would go for both I the same week!
She’s definitely found a groove, and looks great these days.
You summed it up perfectly Hat Queen – she started off bold and has settled into a signature style. I would love to see bigger hats on her and switch up some styles, but she knows what looks great on her.
My standout was the first time I really noticed Zara at Ascot and I thought her entire outfit was a great look. That was the 2008 vertical saucer. There were great photos of her hugging Prince Charles at that Ascot and showed how beloved she is.
I like the 2015 yellow and grey, the 2018 pink teardrop, and both 2019 looks.
I really hoped you would show all of Zara’s hats! I love her style. The pink percher from 2018 is gorgeous and I love the pale blue saucer with roses from last year. She looked so beautiful.
Zara’s hats are modern and clean but still have the kind of decoration that makes her stand out. She’s my style inspiration!
YES! Her style has a tiny bit of boho that suits her so well. I always love to see what she wears for the Aussie races, Cheltenham and Ascot. When I win the lottery I am totally hiring her stylist!!
it’s hard to argue with these beautiful perchers — especially the blue 2019 pair — but I would like to see her in more of a variety of styles. She has worn big brims so well in the past. How about more of something like this:
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This was one of her best hats mittenmary. Thanks for sharing,
I LOVE this hat! I wish she had worn it to Ascot. Her earliest hats made statements but the perchers are getting boring.