The Duchess of Cornwall visited Royal Hospital Chelsea this morning where she met with some of the home’s 300 pensioners (all retired members of the British Army) in their distinctive scarlet coats and smart gold piped black tricorn hats. For this event, in place of the annual Founder’s Day parade in May that was closed to external visitors during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, she repeated a lovely hat in natural straw with upswept brim, simply trimmed with a straw hatband knotted at the side.
We’ve seen Camilla in numerous other hats of similar shape (the brim sweep above her face suits her so well) and what makes this one distinctive is the texture of this woven straw. It’s downright delicious, giving movement and interest to the piece while keeping the overall design effortlessly light and so summery.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn: Nov 18, 2019; Jul 9, 2018; Nov 9, 2012
What do you think of Camilla’s straw hat today?
Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
I actually really like this one on the Duchess (and Happy Birthday to her today!). It’s very summery and chic, light and effortless. Well done, ma’am!
Wow, an actual live royal hat sighting! I’ve come to appreciate this simple straw. I don’t generally love white and off-white together, but it is visually soothing and, as trickymum has noted, stands out well against the scarlet and black.
I like the texture of the straw and hat’s simple but beautiful shape. Maybe the off-white of the hat is supposed to match with the cream and beige shoes?
I think this looks wonderful! The dress is great, and the straw hat is so summery. She stands out against the uniforms and looks so happy to be there. I’m so glad to see hats on Royal heads again.
I continue to go back and forth between liking this hat and not caring for it every time Camilla wears it. This time I’m leaning towards not caring for it; something about the brim and her bangs/fringe doesn’t feel harmonious to me. I love her outfit and the floral detailing on the jacket, but its formality also feels a bit at odds with the more casual hat (which I’ve always assumed was a Lock & Co. creation, not Treacy). Despite these quibbles, it was a lovely surprise to see Camilla don a hat (I wondered how long it would take for this post to appear haha), and overall she looked wonderful at this outing.
Very clever to wear white and off white amongst all that scarlet and black – it made for great pictures! I like to see the Duchess in a big hat and this is a very attractive one. Hooray, too, for a royal hat again!