Crown Princess Mette-Marit has worn her elegant cream Valentino collarless coat with bow-trimmed sleeves on four occasions, paired with three… and a half headpieces:
Look #1: With an unembellished ivory felt pillbox by Mona Strand for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in 2009
Looks #2 & #4: With a gold Prada headband tied with a trailing oyster silk bow on April 10, 2010 for Queen Margrethe’s 70th birthday celebration; a repeat of the gold Prada headband without embellishment for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Look #3: With a black lace bandeau headpiece the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in 2014
Which headpiece do you prefer most with this coat?
Photos from Bauer Griffin; Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
I like the white pillbox as it is simple and elegant and the round shape matches the round neckline of the coat.
The coat is so elegant! I think these small headpieces are perfect for it, especially the white pillbox and the black lace. A hat in any other color would over power the coat. I don’t know much about her fashion but I love these looks.
Number 1, no contest! Really elegant and cohesive.
I love how chic #1 is. Mette-Marit looks wonderful in those back of the head pillboxes. I’m sad that she probably won’t wear a hat again due to her neck issues, but she tries with the headbands, so I respect that. I understand how she feels as I also suffer neck pain and debilitating migraines. I pray that she remains healthy, and wish her a speedy recovery from her recent broken tailbone.
I don’t want to comment on Mette Marit’s particular problems, which I’m sorry for, but I find a lightweight hat more comfortable to wear than a hairband, which of necessity has to grip the head somewhat.
Look #1 in all it’s 1960s mod gloriousness is certainly my favorite. Very chic and it suits Mette-Marit oh so well. I also like #2 because I’m a sucker for big bows like this, and while some find it a bit juvenile, I think she can rock the headband and large bow look.
I agree completely
Look #1. The Hat is lovely, but not the black hose.
Completely agree! Don’t understand black stockings with an all-white look, but hat is very attractive. .
I think from some other discussions I’ve read this is sometimes a Europe Vs North America question. I hadn’t even noticed the black tights except as part of an overall elegant look, because they look so normal to me here!
I think the black tights and shoes make that look – they just provide a really strong visual contrast and lean into that monochrome 60s vibe even more. And while I’m not an authority, I’m pretty sure most women in Europe do wear thicker tights with skirts in winter – it’s freezing!
I definitely vote for Look #1 — I remember seeing photographs of her at the ceremony at that time and loving the elegance of her outfit.
Look #2 and #4, I don’t care for the hair down with just a hairband because it seems too informal for the coat, and also too informal for the occasions for which they were worn.
Look #3 — I apologize for speaking disrespectfully of the headpiece, I’m sure a professional milliner created it and thought it was wonderful, but to me it looks like Mette-Marit grabbed a piece of leftover trim from the sewing table and tied it around her head. But that is actually not the main reason I don’t like it with the coat, which is that it draws the eyes up from the coat, which to me makes MM’s head look too small in comparison to the width of the coat’s shoulders, particularly in the first photo of that gallery. (I suspect that sounds silly, but that’s what I see.)
I disagree with you, Matthew! I think the lace headpiece is beautiful. As JamesB said, it’s leafy and light and that makes it work with the exquisite coat.
I really love MM’s minimal Scandi vibe, particularly when she goes monochrome with it. I think she reached such a style pinnacle with this look at the start of the last decade, and so this chic, gravity defying pillbox is my absolute favourite.
I don’t have her headbands as much as others do, I think the leafy one is really quite lovely. But I’m definitely over the chain one that she threads with a scarf.
No brainer – the HAT! hairbands that are definitely hairbands, not even claiming to be a bandeau, just don’t count. Plus they are beginning to look a bit juvenile on Mette-Marit, to my eye. I get that she prefers simplicity, but the neat pillbox is lovely.
our minimalistic hat wearer MM, though the pillbox is fighting gravity I do prefer the first outing