to this vibrant Philip Somerville red parasisal picture hat with fuchsia pleated brim worn by the late Princess of Wales on March 14, 1989 during a tour of the Persian Gulf. Interesting note- in the first gallery, the hat is shown trimmed with the same brass button as on the coordinating Catherine Walker dress. In the second gallery, it the button is red. I wonder what prompted the change?!
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Images from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
I loved these hats on the late Princess of Wales at the time and still do. The pleated detail of the hat bands are just divine.
Jimbo, with his excellent detective skills, may have better luck than me, but I’ve searched and searched and cannot find any photos of Diana actually wearing the hat with the red button, only just that one time in Kuwait with the gold button. In fact, the Getty Images description for that photo says it was exhibited on a hatstand at Kensington Palace — I wonder if it was for one of the exhibits of her clothing put together after her death. There are photos of her wearing the same dress hatless on a different occasion (getting off an airplane, being greeted by an Asian gentleman, with a much shorter hairstyle), but I couldn’t find any of those with a date or location identifier. So it may be that the gold button was lost or damaged and was replaced for an exhibit.
Matthew, sorry, no red button photo tonight. All I could find was a repeat of this beautiful hat, 3 months later, at the Garter Ceremony, June 19, 1989. https://www.alamy.com/hrh-princess-diana-and-hrh-prince-edward-the-duke-of-kent-at-the-order-of-the-garter-ceremony-windsor-castle-england-england-june-1989-image342339291.html
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I am imagining that Harry was playing with the hat and broke the silver button off! :-). Princess Diana almost always looked picture perfect and this outfit was no exception. I love the way the button pulls the hat band into a swanky asymmetrical band. What a nice contrast between the pink and red in just the right shades so it doesn’t look like it’s clashing.
This is peak Diana. A really glamorous outfit, and actually quite a streamlined and glamorous one, those colours are BOLD! This is a very confident look, and the hat is such a flattering shape on her. I remember loving this so much at the time. The hat is the same as a cream one she wore on Hungary, that I felt had a distinctly 20s on safari vibe to it.
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This hat is so flattering on the Princess, in both colours, especially the cream, love this.
Right around this time, she wore, what seemed like a bunch of those safari hats. I think there was also a white one with a blue hat band and stripe around the brim. I remember thinking how utterly glamorous she looked in those large brimmed hats. So sophisticated.
This pink and red look was stunning in its boldness. Her confidence just shone. She really could wear the hell out of a hat.
It was a slightly different shape but similar scale and style statement, also from Philip Somerville.
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I wonder if the change in the button could be related to her earrings – the gold button didn’t go as well with the pearl earrings, the red complimented them better. Just a thought.