Next Thursday we’ll turn our attention to Monaco for the principality’s annual Fête Nationale celebration. This year marks a decade since Princess Charlene began officially attending the event, making this a great opportunity to look back at all the hats she has worn:
Chocolate felt sharp slice brimmed hat by Philip Treacy in 2010; black felt bumper with navy veil in 2012;
Navy felt wide brimmed hat with shallow crown in 2013
Black stemmed beret in 2014; Burgundy Akris cloche with veil in 2015; Cream straw pyramid with black binding & bow and red and magenta handmade flowers by Rachel Trevor Morgan in 2016
All by Gallia e Peter for Akris: Navy felt stylized boater in 2017; Black felt Dior brimmed hat in 2018; White fedora in 2019
UPDATE: Since this post was published, Princess Charlene has worn the following hats to this event:
Dior black felt beret with veil in 2020
It’s an eclectic mix that covers a surprising number of different shapes. There are some standouts for me- the 2016 Rachel Trevor Morgan pyramid was our favourite hat of the year for good reason and the jaunty navy hat in 2017 and white fedora last year are both so very chic. While not my favourite, I have to admire the the burgundy cloche in 2015 simply because it’s such a bold shape and few could have carried it off so well. We see so few hats on Charlene it’s easy to forget how good many of her millinery looks have been.
What do you think of Princess Charlene’s National Day looks?
Photos by Pascal Le Segretain, Mark Cuthbert/UK Press, PLS Pool, Pascal Le Segretain, Thierry Orban, Thierry Orban, Pascal Le Segretain, Stephane Cardinale/Corbis, Arnold Jerocki and Valery Hache/AFP via Getty
Royal Hats 
Charlene stays within her comfort zone, her facial expressions are basically the same as are her earrings and her clothes mostly have the same cut and color pallet. Having said that she could wear so much more daring designs, just look at the Rachel Morgan 2016, 3 colors and how amazing she looks. I bet some milliners are itching to design for her.
One thing I must say is that I’m impressed with the wide variety of styles and shapes that Charlene has tried over the years — she certainly is not hesitant to experiment. While we always admire the royals who have a “signature style”, seeing the unexpected is also good.
My favorite among these remains that beautiful 2016 hat (with the matching lipstick), followed by the 2015 cloche. I don’t care for the all-white outfit, not because I have anything against fedoras but because in my opinion Charlene’s coloring is too pale to look good in all white of any style.
And thanks to JamesB for posting the photo of the entire 2010 outfit — I had never seen that hat before, and didn’t care too much for it until I saw the whole look — fantastic!
Wow. She might not be a frequent hat wearer, but she has made some interesting, stylish, and fun choices. I think she wins the fedora sweepstakes with her 2019 selection. So glam. I’ve always had mixed feelings about that style, but her look here is divine. 2016 RTM is New Look perfection. I’m less taken with the 2010 slice. Pretty hat, but it wears her rather than the other way around. Also, horrible animal pelt-style suit. Her 2012 bumper hat is less dowdy that the typical Japanese selection, but it’s such an unflattering style.
More hats, Char!
2014 and 2017 are my favourites here. Very different styles, but both very flattering and worn at a lively angle.
What a wonderful range of styles! I love the RTM, but so many others make strong statements. While some embellishments would be nice, the Princess’ style is minimal, so a restrained use of these would probably work best.
Wow, I’d never seen the 2010 Max-style slice. That whole look is a knockout. This collection is surprising in its variety, especially considering that Charlene does not often wear hats. The 2015 RTM remains my favorite, but the beret, boater and Dior hat are are very solid looks. Big-brimmed hats are best for her since they balance out her swimmer’s shoulders. Like JamesB and Jake, I think her hats could some trim. Maybe she needs to check out HatQueen’s weekly new design roundup!
Beret and the 2015 RTM are my favs.
Very interesting to see all these gathered. I add to the praise for the first brown hat, I think if you’re going to wear a hat for a formal occasion, it might as well be a Hat! I do agree that despite their very varied styles, Charlene looks good in all of them.
I just can’t overcome my feeling that fedoras aren’t formal enough on royal women for this sort of occasion. It does look good on Charlene, but to me it would suit some sort of sporting event better.
respectfully, I think that’s a very out-of-date view of fedoras. Especially this white one. It’s gorgeous!
Yes, I know that lots of people don’t feel the same way. However, I do think that some styles of hat simply look more formal than others, and fedoras are at the less formal end of that range. To me, an event such as the National Day is better suited to hats at the more formal end of the range. And I did say it looked good on Charlene!
Charlene looks so cute and sassy in the 2014 beret – it works well with her short hair style. My favorite is the RTM 2016, followed closely by the 2017 boater.
Charlene always presents a mixed bag of couture. Sometimes it falls short, feeling mismatched, and others she knocks it out of the park.
The 2010 hat and outfit are one of my favorites. Like Jake, I’m not a huge fan of brown, but this looked fantastic on her.
The 2016 RTM pyramid was lovely. Fully deserving of its praise .
I have zero complaints on her 2017 thru 2019 hats. The larger, unfussy pieces suit her, and last year’s fedora was particularly striking.
I can’t say the same for some of the outfits, but all of these hats overall look good on Charlene (not always great, but never truly bad, and time has softened a few of my past critiques).
Like JamesB, I have always loved 2010’s hat and outfit (despite not being a huge fan of brown) and it remains my favorite look for Charlene!
Except for 2016’s RTM hat, these are all quite austere, which seems to be the general millinery trend for this event (except for Caroline) and Charlene’s personal style, but it would be nice to have a couple more decorated hats thrown into the mix just for kicks.
I remember on her first outing in the slanted brown hat with the uber chic suit I thought we were in for quite a style ride with Charlene; it was so dramatic, even tipping into costumey.
Other than the RTM pyramid I can’t say her daywear has quite lived up to my expectations. She has gone with very safe and neutral outfits and hats, with no embellishment save a bit of veiling, which whilst elegant are rarely memorable.
So those two remain my favourites.
Embed from Getty Images
I agree with you entirely, about Charlene’s style and the two best hats. My third placed hat is last year’s fedora. I feel she suits a larger hat.