With news yesterday that the British royal family will celebrate Christmas Day privately, in small groups, and not make any public appearances (as to not draw a crowd), we won’t be seeing any December 25 hats this year. So instead, let’s look back at hats worn for Christmas past, beginning today with Princess Beatrice:
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Velvet hats in jewel tones for Christmases 1994 through 2001
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Electric blue Philip Treacy percher with feather flower in 2002; Black trilby in 2003 and 2004
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Purple felt Philip Treacy cloche in 2005; Ecru percher with bow and feathers in 2006: Repeated blue percher in 2007
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Grey beret percher with bow in 2008; Taupe felt Whitely beret with blue sequins in 2009;
Black percher with bow and white rose in 2010
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Black felt button percher with flying bow by Rachel Black in 2011; Black Rosie Olivia beret with folded bow in 2012;
Black Nerida Fraiman button percher with blue flower in 2013
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Repeat of the 2011 Rachel Black percher in 2014; Black velvet beaded pillbox by Juliette Botterill in 2015;
Black and white houndstooth headpiece with red silk rose by Juliette Botterill in 2016
Juliette Botterill ryal blue percher with roses and bow in 2017; Navy felt fedora in 2018;
Emerald knotted bandeau headpiece by Juliette Botterill in 2019
It’s an eclectic mix that, unsurprisingly, closely follows millinery style trends. While have soft spots for the taupe beret in 2009 and the black button with fantastic blue flower in 2013, I think she’s really hit her stride with recent designs by Juliette Botterill- especially the stunning royal blue rose trimmed design in 2017. I can’t think of a shade of blue that suits her better.
What do you notice about this evolution of Christmas hats on Princess Beatrice? Which designs stand out most to you?
Photos by Chris Jackson, Paul Ellis / AFP and UK Press Pool/UK Press via Getty
Royal Hats 
My favorite is the royal blue percher with roses and bow in 2017. I would love to see this again with a better coat.
Agreed- the hat is not shown off to full beauty with that ensemble.
There are a lot of good hats here and many I would love to see again; 2002 (but not 2007’s placement), 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2017, and 2019 were my favorites.
That said, I think a good majority of these hats were let down by poor styling and outfit choices. Even out of the hats I liked, I only think 2016 and 2019 were truly good-looking ensembles.
Looking forward to more of these Christmas retrospectives!
MrFitrzroy is onboard for 2008 — just a wonderful look on the Princess, though not particularly ‘christmasy’…..
Overall a wonderful assortment. The photos of her very appropriate hats from her earlier childhood years were just priceless!
Since 2015 she has really hit her stride….each one of those, though all quite different, look smashing on her!
Excited to see Princess Eugenie’s journey as well!
Will certainly miss seeing this years parade….always a tradition here to wake up on Christmas and ‘check on the hats’ while having coffee..
2008, 2015, and 2018 are the best looks, in my opinion (grey beret percher, black velvet beaded pillbox, navy felt fedora). There are a lot of other great hats here, but I think these are the ones that suit Princess Beatrice the best, and what more can one ask of a hat?
She has a great mix of hats. I love the tams and berets of her youth.
I quite like the 2006 ecru, grey 2008, taupe 2009 (the blue dots are lovely), 2015 black velvet pillbox, 2017 royal blue is a standout, 2018 navy fedora looks great on her and the green 2019 is a winner.
So, I liked a lot! I think my favorite is the 2009 taupe beret with blue dots. It’s unusual color combination, and the style and colors look brilliant on her.
2009. 2012, 2015
Wow all hats beautiful I will certainly put these pics in my album.
Thank you
Loretta
2008 and 2019 are my favourites, especially the green 2019. I would love to have the green knotted bandeau in my closet.
There are some lovely hats here. The Duchess knew what she was doing, putting the girls in berets and tams – the style suits them, and I still like Bea in a beret. I notice even her perchers have been button styles, similar to a beret.
I also loved all the blue hats – though her placement of the Philip Treacey was better in 2002 than the more fly-away look in 2007.
My favourites though are the fedora – I really like fedoras! – and the grey taupe.