72 years today to the christening of a future king, held at Buckingham Palace.
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Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats
The Bold, Beautiful and Bizarre World of Royal Millinery
Royal Hats 
I’m curious why the Queen Mother is not in the main group picture? I see that she’s in others, so she was present, but I’m wondering why she wasn’t in the picture that seems to have all the royals present. Any ideas on this?
The people in that picture are all his godparents except for his parents obviously.
Actually, the Royal Collection Trust describes the photo as Prince Charles and his mother with his sponsors/godparents. The Duke of Edinburgh stood in for Prince Paul of Greece. So, not that obvious!
Thank you, Sue! I figured there was a reason, but I couldn’t piece it. (And I read the “obviously” as being that his parents weren’t obviously in the category of being his godparents!)
This red hat worn by Elizabeth has never been a favorite. It bow overwhelms the silhouette of the hat and should have been reduced by half.
A really interesting selection. The bonnet-style hats that the Queen and (although rather more subdued!) Princess Margaret are wearing seem so typical of their time. Queen Mary’s toque just seems typical of her, not of any particular time! The Queen Mother’s hat is the one that I can see might be successfully worn today. The jaunty angle, the size and the trim all seem like things that would fit in with today’s hat aesthetics.
Jimbo: You are, as we say in the southern part of the US, just a treasure!
Thanks for the color photo.
Beth, not a treasure. I am, as we say in the midwestern part of the US, a nerd!
To prove it, I have an interesting photo for you to peruse. On November 11, 1945 (Armistice Day) Queen Mary wore what I ‘ll bet is the same hat as the Christening hat. It is a beautiful deep navy, according to the link I posted earlier today. Note the large hatpin in both photos, placed in exactly the same place. What do you think?
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Here’s a very interesting essay, including a color photo of the occasion. Is it safe to assume that the photo is accurate, since we know that Queen Elizabeth’s ensemble is red? I’ll keep looking for a color photo of QEQM if time allows.
https://europeanroyalhistory.wordpress.com/2016/12/15/baptism-of-hrh-the-prince-of-wales-december-15-1948/
Jimbo, this color photo is a marvelous find! I agree with you completely that the hat worn by Queen Mary at the christening is the same one worn in the 1945 Armistice photo. If the post-war thrift of my own relatives of that generation is any indication, it would likely have seemed wasteful to frivolously spend money on a new hat when a perfectly good one was already in the closet. It’s also fascinating in the text accompanying that European history photo to see HM referred to as “Duchess of Edinburgh” — though that was certainly a correct title, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it used before.
I remember when first seeing this photo decades ago that I thought it odd that then-Princess Elizabeth was wearing what appears to be a winter coat and hat for these indoor photos, but perhaps the palace did not yet have central heating.
Speaking of winter hats and coats, to everyone in the path of yesterday’s and today’s winter storm in the northeast U.S. — stay safe and warm, and inside if you can!