The new session of the Folketing (Danish Parliament) commences the first Tuesday of October each year with Queen Margrethe and members of the Danish royal family attending the first sitting of the house. With the 2020 opening session just two weeks away, it’s great time to look back at all the hats Crown Princess Mary has worn to this event:
Chocolate felt pillbox with knotted bow in 2004; Tan felt gentle sidesweep in 2006 repeated in 2007 with lilac flower
Burgundy felt Philip Treacy cloche in 2008; Grey felt upturned brimmed hat by Suzanne Juul in 2009; Black hat with straw brim, felt crown and feather trim by Suzanne Juul in 2010
Natural straw calot with bow and flowers by Suszanne Juul in 2011; repeat of the black Suzanne Juul in 2012 and in 2013
A royal purple felt pillbox with feather trim by Jane Taylor in 2014; Black felt Suzanne Juul calot with feather studded leaves in 2015; Royal blue felt hat with side feather plume by Suzanne Juul in 2016
Repeat of the purple Jane Taylor pillbox in 2017; Black velvet bumper calot with side feathers by Suzanne Juul in 2018; Pink bumper calot by Suzanne Juul in 2019
UPDATE: Since this post was published, Crown Princess Mary has worn these additional hats to this event:
Repeat of the Suzanne Juul black velvet bumper in 2020; A mulbery felt calot with bow by Jane Taylor in 2021
It’s a fairly dark hued group, save for a pair of autumnal tan designs and the pink bumper from last year. The royal blue plumed hat in 2016 is one of my favourites thanks to it’s dramatic shape and stunning hue, and the purple pillbox is lovely as well. Which pieces stand out most to you?
Photos from Justin Goff\UK Press, Justin Goff\UK Press, Julian Parker/UK Press, Niels Henrik Dam, Keld Navntoft/AFP, and Francis Dean/Corbis via Getty; Mads Nissen/Corbis; Corbis; Soren Bidstrup/Scanpix; Splash News/Splash News/Corbis; Ole Jensen/Corbis, via Getty; Keld Navntoft/Scanpix; Søren Bidstrup/Scanpix; Ole Jensen, Ole Jensen and Ole Jensen and Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty
Royal Hats 
Mary can wear any hat and it would be beautiful on her. I like her in the bigger hats.
I love the purple pillbox and the blue velvet – partly because of the luscious colour and texture. Unlike many, I really like Mary in the burgundy cloche, I think the asymmetric design is attractive and the colour is superb on Mary. The first brown felt pillbox is surely nearly identical to one the Duchess of Cambridge has worn, no?
I love the purple pillbox, it’s one of my all time favourites of Mary’s. I think the scale and the colour both work beautifully on her..I’m not a fan of the 2008, 09 or 10 hats, they’re all a bit overwhelming and the high crowns make them all a bit “mad hatter” for my taste.
The chocolate pillbox, Philip Treacy cloche, and grey felt read as dated. The grey felt also overwhelms Mary, much as I like the hat. The black and especially the blue Suzanne Juul hats are lovely, flattering, and very much a style associated with Mary. That said, it’s the other pillboxes that somehow seem more formal and appropriate for this event (as they do on Silvia for the Riksdag openings). Big improvements since the lilac flower hat, which is too big, too informal, and a bit juvenile. Her current style is so much more sophisticated–fun to watch as she’s found her footing style-wise.
Also, I can’t resist a shout-out to Daisy in the bright blue. Never change!
Her hat wearing has evolved beautifully. What struck me is nothing to do with hats – just that the pictures of her in 2004 and 2010 have identical facial expressions! It almost looks as if the same picture was photoshopped into each hat!
Barbara, how funny — it really is the case that both of those photos caught her at exactly the same angle with exactly the same expression! I didn’t notice that before.
I love all of these hats on CP Mary with the exception of the burgundy cloche and the black straw. I don’t know if it’s the height or the severe angles of those two that I don’t like. I do think the purple pill box is too far back on her head in the first outing.
I like so many of these that I think I’ll have to approach it from the other end — the one I like the LEAST is the burgundy cloche from 2008 — I don’t think that shape does anything particular for her. I agree with hats off about Mary’s placement of pillboxes, I have always liked it when she puts the pillbox on the back of her head almost covering her hair, but the photos from 2014 and 2017 show that it looks equally good both ways.
She looks incredible in the calot and pillbox designs as they compliment her instead of overwhelm. I do love the drama of the 2016 royal blue plume hat. She’s so lovely that everything looks great on her.
My personal favorite is the 2009 large grey upturned brim hat; it’s quite simple yet still dramatic (much like Máxima’s slice hats) and everything in that ensemble was styled so well. I definitely would love to see this one repeated again! I also agree 2016’s blue portrait hat is another great one, and I believe much improved with the added feather trim.
One can clearly see the style she prefers, I like the rich blue of 2016
you can write a whole chapter about the effect of the placement of the pillbox
The royal blue felt hat with plume was the one that stood out immediately for me, too. Runner up for me is the brown pill box – I really like the vertical tie trim. I also really like the large black hat with feathers. I always love purple and burgundy coloured hats, just for the colour!