With so much uncertainty in the world right now, it feels like a good time to spread some joy. So this week’s question, dearest readers, is a light hearted one- when you think about royal hats that make you smile, what is the first one that comes to mind?!
Mine is this magenta felt hugger with huge knotted bow, by Philip Treacy, worn several times by Zara Tindall. She’s shown below at the Cheltenham Festival on March 15, 2012.
I can’t wait to see what you all share!
Photo from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
Princess Eugenie’s ‘love’ hat raised a grin: she was engaged and excited about her wedding. And she pulls it off.
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The only other royal I can remember who went there with lettering on a titfer is her mother, whose tribute to Los Angeles was perhaps slightly less successful. Still raises a smile though!
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The Queen Mum. Bless.
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/queen-elizabeth-the-queen-mother-wears-a-designer-hat-on-a-news-photo/613463950
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I particularly am charmed by the matching hat and bouquet!
https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/queen-elizabeth-the-queen-mother-during-a-visit-to-the-news-photo/613461150
This video clip always makes me laugh!
Another clip from this video. The Queen (one of the richest women in the world) is so excited to win £16. Brilliant.
These two. I really miss them working together.
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This reminded me of this hat,
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Queen Elizabeth had a spiral type hat that looked like a marble rolling down it. I think it was blue. I can’t find a picture of it but it always gave me a chuckle.
How about this green one in Rome?
October 17, 2000
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Thanks, Jimbo!
Don’t recall ever seeing this, a cinnamon roll in the most beautiful color of green!
Made me smile, because I too am weary of looking at a map in blue and red.
It’s the green marble run!
Bea’s gold fireworks hat!
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Yes please! When I think of this one, it also makes me smile. I don’t think she’s looked better.
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For Easter one year she wore this teal suit with the most adorable yellow hat. After a long winter it was the happiest bit of spring.
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Camilla’s magic levitating feather!
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Funny- she wore that one today! We’ll look at it in a post tomorrow.
HM having a patriotic moment 2 days before Will and Kate’s wedding definitely made me smile. And her too! Embed from Getty Images
The Union Jack hat! I thought this one might come up!
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I was just about to post this, JamesB!
I loved how happy Fergie was at Eugenie’s wedding. It made me happy! And her hat was FAB.
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Oh Yes!! I was so happy to see her included at Lady Gabriella and Prince Harry’s weddings too. She looked great at both! But she really shone at Eugenie’s wedding.
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another hat from ascot.
not sure why this makes me smile – maybe its just a happy hat!
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This is SO over the top. Royals aren’t usually so campy!
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Zara kissing other people hello at Ascot. The brims get in the way! It’s also very sweet, seeing the royals be a real family.
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These moments always make me smile too! It’s so nice seeing the royals liking each other!
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This isn’t the right photo, but this is the aftermath when, at 2017 Ascot, the Countess of Wessex was climbing into the carriage and stumbled and the Duchess of Cambridge caught her. That photo (link here: https://www.vogue.com/article/kate-middleton-catches-countess-wessex-royal-ascot ) always makes me smile. And the hats aren’t too bad either!
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Mike Tindall at Ascot 2019 wearing a small top hat under a regular top hat. He amused the Queen and Countess of Wessex.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-7154571/Mike-Tindall-reveals-miniature-hat-hes-hidden-inside-Queen-Ascot.html
Mike Tindall being Mike Tindall at Ascot:
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Princess Haya at Royal Ascot always makes me smile. The first 2 hats have always been my favorites.
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There’s something about Mike’s rugby-guy looks with a top hat that makes me smile, too!
Oh yes!
All of Princess Haya’s hats make me smile !
It makes HM smile so it makes me smile too!
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The pink swinging bells!
Princess Anne’s hat woven with her name!
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen this one before — that’s a great hat! And fun to think that someone as serious as Princess Anne would enjoy having her name on her hat just like us “regular” people do.
This one. Because it was so so so pretty on her.
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YES! It is one of her best ever hats. This post is making me realize that I’m happy when royals look great! I think one of her other top looks is this gorgeous red dress and navy hat. Sheer perfection!
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One of my all time favorites as well!
MrFitzroy always smiles to see Queen Elizabeth in a scarf……usually because she has such a wonderful smile too. It means she’s either in close proximity with horses, one of her favorite things…..or she is taking a step back from “HM” and just gets to be ‘Betty Windsor’ for a few days at one of her country retreats.
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Diana’s yellow hat with the big flower on the back. She wore it here in Australia in 1983
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And her spots!
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Somehow I cannot embed photo of Queen Margrethe with the raincoat and yellow rain hat!
That’s my favorite and always makes me smile!
Do you mean this one?!
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Yes!
Thank you!
In the 1980s, Princess Diana went to Japan. She was given a beautiful kimono and to everyone’s surprise, she put it to honor the gift. The problem was it clashed really bad with her red hat!
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Maxima showing up in this killer outfit and hat a few weeks ago. After seeing hardly any hats for months, it made me REALLY happy!
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Oh yes 100% agree!!!
This yellow hat that Empress Masako wore soon after she became the Empress. She overcame so much difficulty, to see her looking happy and confident makes me feel happy too!
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Yes, this hat worn by Masako was gonna be another suggestion of mine, but thanks for beating me to it Sara!
Unfortunately I can’t find any embeddable photos, but then-Crown Prince Akihito in his optimo style panama straw hat alongside Crown Princess Michiko in a beautiful navy blue parasisal/parabuntal Breton hat always makes me smile, especially as I have an almost identical hat to Akihito and it’s my favorite one to wear in the summer (scroll down a bit in the article to see the photo): https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/international/japanese-emperor-akihito-declares-historic-abdication
Can’t resist posting one of my favorite Beatrix hats, especially when she looks so joyous too!
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And of course, I always love the Neon at 90!
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Jake’s post last week reminded me about Queen Mathilde’s ringed hats, maybe that’s why they were the first ones to pop into my head.
This really is such a fun post. HQ, you are the BEST.
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This one!!
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I LOVE Zara’s hat! The first one I thought of is also bright pink but on Princess Stephanie. It’s so cute on her it just makes me happy!
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Zara Philips hat, first one ,reminds me of the flying nun. (Sally Fields).
I like all of the other hats. Several favourites there. Queen/Princess Beatrix really enjoy her style as well as the Duchess of Cornwall.
Love the pink hat of the Queen’s and the wonderful outfit in mauve she wore to a wedding..oh she looked so nice.
Thank you for all of the work put into this collection. Looked at it several times.
Two “it’s good to be Queen” looks:
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And that veil-swathed copper pillbox Beatrix wore to the wedding of Prince Maurits (sorry, I don’t know how to embed the non-Getty image.
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Thanks, Jimbo!
The copper cake box! How can one not smile with B’s cake hats?!
What wonderful and memorable hats everyone has shared.
This is the hat I immediately thought of. It is elegant and so beautiful.
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Many thanks for the diverting post, HatQueen! I love everyone’s choices! How about Max at the Lux wedding:
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This is my single favorite Max look ever hands down. I’m so glad you shared it. I love this hat.
The Jane Taylor hat worn by the Countess of Wessex to the Cambridge wedding always gives me a smile!
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YES! And this one for Ascot.
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Oh, yes, I had forgotten about that one!
Love that Ascot hat!
Queen Elizabeth’s pink swirl. Gets me every time.
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Yes! The pink swirl is great!!!
This is my choice as well. It was the only hat I thought about for this post. Thanks for sharing this photo.
Just wonderful.
I love this hat, and it really makes me smile!
Possibly my all time favorite for HM.
When Princess Charlene matched her lipstick to the flowers on her hat. That was a gorgeous hat!
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I just adore this hat. It was perfect with her outfit.
Perfectly seasonal!! Especially with Queen Mathilde’s beautiful smile!
When Princess Anne showed up at one of the Gloucester weddings in the same orange and yellow scrambled egg hat and dress she’d worn to Charles and Diana’s 27 years before. She’s the BOSS!
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many below make me smile for sure.
but I had to include Queen Margrethe as she always makes me smile – and she’s one of life’s smilers. This feathered hat is a favourite…
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Love Love this…and a huge smile.
Queen Maxima’s hat at Ascot last year
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That’s quite an exuberant and large hat for QM! thanks so much for sharing!
This just might be my favourite post ever! I am grinning from ear to ear reading everyone’s choices. Thank you so much Hat Queen!
Two hats jumped into my mind at the same time.
#1. The “potato chip” hat Kate wore to Zara and Mike Tindall’s wedding
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#2. The burgundy hat Kate wore for Christmas in 2011.
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This is the most outstanding hat I think she has ever worn. I find many of the others too stiff well too sophisticated I guess you could say.
Max all the way!!!
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I’m certain I will be back with a few more (thanks HatQueen for this), but here are a couple helping me smile today.
This lemon one worn by Princess Hisako:
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And of course (Jimbo will surely appreciate it haha) this emerald one worn by the Duchess of Sussex:
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Outstanding emerald green hat, Jake! I’m so sick of only seeing blue and red in the news today – get what I mean?
My smiler for right now (I’ll probably return later also) is Queen Beatrix. On the “Past Posts” select a month drop-down menu, go to January, 2018, and you’ll be treated to HQ’s 80th birthday celebration of Beatrix. Simply extraordinary!
June 12, 2004
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This is such an elegant hat.
Adorable. Great colour and flair. Perfect.
Sorry in the wrong place. That comment was meant for Meagan’s green outfit,
The two that just make me warm and happy are the SUPER PINK DOUBLE PINK ribbon candy hat that the DoCam wore to trooping of the color one year
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And the pink feathered hat that DoCornwall wore at Prince Harry’s wedding. A whole hat of beautifully cut feathers! Yay!
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Just in general I really enjoy all of Camilla’s feather hats like this one. the one from her wedding and the one from Peter and Autumn Phillips wedding.
Two more great ones!
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These remind me of another that always makes me smile- the pink and green headpiece (also Philip Treacy) Camilla wore to Zara Tindall’s wedding July 30, 2011
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A fascinator on the queen. (HQ, have you ever posted a fascinator post? It could prove to be “fascinating.”)
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I will always remember the Queen in this wonderful outfit. So well done.
I LOVE this hat on Her Majesty! She looks so happy!
Oh yes!!! I’d forgotten that one and it’s great too!!!
How can you feel sad with a feather headpiece? Always a smile! Princess Margriet is the same.
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Hi. Great question. It takes my mind off the election map for a few minutes. I would say Princess Beatrice’s Philip Treacy butterfly hat is one option for me. It’s colorful, imaginative and looks great with her hair. My second option would be a beautiful orange hat with a spray of colorful feather worn by Queen Maxima in the Hague. It’s an exuberant design with a lot of movement. And I LOVE orange. Lastly, I will say the Stephen Jones navy crin fascinator Duchess Meghan wore that looked like a propeller was delightful because it was an early hat from her and had a lightness and airiness that was really beautiful.
yes!! The buttefly hat is so wonderful!
Here it is!
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Best hat ever! This will always be at the top of my happy list!
Wow yes that would make anyone smile. Love the colour and bow shape. Thank you for sharing.
Loretta😊
This is the second one that comes to my mind- Princess Margaret going to Ascot on June 20, 1969. I mean- it’s a brim covered in daisies!
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Oooooooh…. this is gonna be fun! Thank you Hat Queen for giving us something else to check in on all day.
The first hat that jumped into my head is the blue chicken feathers pillbox that QWueen Beatrix wore to her son’s wedding. She looks so happy wearing it and that makes me happy!
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Princess Margaret’s pot scrubber hats!
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