October 15, 1989 on a visit to Malaysia, Queen Elizabeth wore this marvellous pink picture hat with navy brim binding and hatband.
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Royal Hats
The Bold, Beautiful and Bizarre World of Royal Millinery
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I never noticed until now how much the color of her hair has an influence on the overal appearance with the hat.
Thanks Jimbo for finding the photo from Red Deer. I grew up there and gave flowers to The Queen that day, while she was wearing that outfit, and that hat!
I have an extreme soft spot for this outfit as I remember her looking so splendid and so lovely.
The lady in white polka dots in the photo next to The Queen, owned Spruce Meadows, a big show jumping arena outside of Calgary. She was acting as The Queen’s lady in waiting that day. She saw me on the opposite side of the barricade holding a bouquet of pink peonies I had picked from my garden. I asked if she could give them to The Queen and she told me to jump over and present them to her myself!! I was in high school, trembling with excitement and foubd myself standing before THE Queen! She turned to me with the most beautiful smile, sparkling eyes, and translucent skin and said so sweetly “oh thank you.” I curtsied, ran away and burst into tears, so overcome with emotion. LOL. The best part, is The Queen held onto those flowers and kept them with her as she left, instead of passing them along.
I will always remember that day and our Queen in her perfect pink hat and pink outfit, carrying my pink peonies. 💗
Shanon, that’s the most beautiful story you are telling! I had to write you as soon as I read it, and as you can see, it’s after 2am here! A long night of celebrating after a great production of “The Fantasticks.” Much happiness to you!
Jimbo, thank you for always finding the fabulous photos we never knew we needed to see, but can’t seem to live without. You are a true gem! ❤️
Shanon, what a wonderful story that is and thank you so much for sharing it with us! I can just imagine how exciting it must have been to actually hand the flowers to The Queen and see her carrying them. (And also pink to match her outfit by coincidence!) I still remember with extraordinary clarity the occasion in 1989 when I was in the same room as Princess Diana, and have posted here (probably too often) about the peripheral events of that day — meeting David & Elizabeth Emmanuel, lovely chat with Tim Graham the royal photographer, getting my left elbow on local TV after getting stuck behind a very tall woman with giant puffed sleeves — but the fact is that if I had actually had the opportunity to meet or speak to the Princess, I probably would have been reduced to a blob of incoherent blubber!
I remember your story, Matthew, of being in the same room as Princess Diana. It’s really quite extraordinary to see someone so iconic in the flesh, isn’t it?
I hope more people in our hat world pocket share more lovely stories of their experiences.
My grandfather took a photo of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on the back of a train while on their Canadian tour of Western Canada in the 1936/1937 (?). I’ll have to locate that photo and share it….see what hat the Queen Mum was wearing. 😊
My mother-in-law was in London during the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, though of course not an invited guest to the actual ceremony. But somewhere in this house there are old black & white photos taken out on the street of carriages riding by — I’ll have to see if I can find them. I love the way our interest in the Royal Family has spanned the generations.
Regarding Diana, after her death either Time or Newsweek magazine (I forget which) had a special edition, and one of the articles remembering her was by a journalist about meeting her at the same event where I was just in the room. Despite the sadness at her death, it was at the same time kind of thrilling to relive the event through reading that article. And by the way, I don’t know if I ever mentioned that the reason I was able to see so much of the preliminaries of that event was that I had basically entered the building hours before, posing as a member of staff, and not one person questioned my presence. In our security-minded society today, it’s almost impossible to believe that I got away with that.
Wonderful story. I think we need to thus christen the shade of this hat, “Peony Pink”!
June, 1991: Royal Ascot (with matching navy blue blanket!)
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-queen-elizabeth-at-royal-ascot-1991-accompanied-by-prince-philip-20171238.html
Here’s the entire ensemble together, where the coat pulls everything together. Pink and navy are a great combination.
June, 1990: Red Deer
https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/news/pediatrics-unit-received-royal-treatment-when-it-opened-25-years-ago/
Interesting- I like the ensemble best without the jacket. Something about the dark background dress and lighter hat really works.
Thanks, as always, Jimbo, for the additional views!
Another winner, and one of her widest brims. It’s a shame she doesn’t go wider with them, quite a few in the past decade have had their brims trimmed by an inch or two; they really suit her and she can be seen still.
From memory this has a matching pink coat I think… sure someone will be able to dig it out!
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Pink and blue. I love this hat. The brim is quite wide for Queen Elizabeth but it’s perfect for a day at the races in a warm climate. Is there a bow at the back? In close up the dress, or is it a suit, is really pretty.
I think it’s a pleated skirt and belted tunic blouse?!?!