As in years past, members of the British royal family spent Christmas at Sandringham and attended a morning service at St. Mary Magdalene Church.
The annual walk to church was led by King Charles and the Queen Consort with Queen Camilla in a striking new hat. Covered in the same denim blue wool as her coat, the beret shape is wonderfully trimmed with a halo stripe of ostrich feathers.
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Camilla has added several beret hats to her wardrobe this fall and all have been excellent. The colour of this design is magnificent on her and the feather trim a great counterpoint to her streamlined coat. What’s not to love about a halo of ostrich feathers?!
Designer: Philip Treacy. Cashmere coat and dress by Anna Valentine.
Previously Worn: This hat is new
The Princess of Wales was also in a new hat, a wide brimmed fedora in the most luxurious loden green felt. The design is trimmed with a braid embellished hatband, flat folded bow and tall pheasant feather.
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The look is so chic on Kate, the fedora’s extended brim and beautiful trim elevating its presence, formality and elegance. Coordinating the shades of green on the coat and hat’s trim is a masterful styling move that pulls the overall look together. It’s just so good.
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Designer: Philip Treacy. Coat by Alexander McQueen
Previously Worn: This hat is new.
Princess Beatrice wore a bottle green dyed felt teardrop percher with silk rose and curved pheasant feather. The colour and scale are lovely on her, although the colour disparity between coat and hat made them an unsuccessful pairing for me.
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Designer: Somerset Millinery “Jane” design. Coat by Shrimps.
Previously Worn: This hat is new.
Princess Eugenie wore a headpiece described by its milliner as a “cream designer headpiece in stunning hand-smocked silk.” The detail on this design is lovely, although its colour and fabric at closer view feel more suited to summer than winter.
Designer: Emily London “Cressida” design. Coat by Weekend Max Mara.
Previously Worn: this headpiece is new.
The Countess of Wessex topped a wide collar cashmere coat with a wide brimmed hat in similarly hued felt. The design features a pork pie crown and the brim has a subtle turn-up around the back. The hat is trimmed with two overlapping stripes of ribbon on one side over which is the milliner’s logo (a little too large and prominently placed, in my opinion, to not look like an obvious advertisement). As for the overall look… to quote a much loved and repeated comment here on Royal Hats, “it’s a whole lot of biscuit.”
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Designer: Jane Taylor. Coat by Joseph
Previously Worn: This hat is new.
Lady Louise Windsor wore a navy felt trilby trimmed with a wonderful pair of silk bows on one side. The scale and youthful trim is lovely on her.
Designer: Jane Taylor “Midnight Trilby with Bows” design. Roland Mouret coat and Ralph Lauren dress.
Previously Worn: This hat is new.
Zara Tindall topped a black and white herringbone coat with a burgundy felt percher hat trimmed with silk flowers and cut-out felt leaves. It’s a great look for Zara, the burgundy accessories adding a great punch of colour to the ensemble. I adore how Mia and Lena’s jewel-toned headbands coordinated with their mum’s look. So sweet.
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Designer: Juliette Botterill. Coat by LK Bennett.
Previously Worn: This hat is new.
Lady Sarah Chatto repeated a deep navy cloche with extended brim in textured poly straw. It’s a versatile piece that has stood the test of time for Sarah.
Designer: unknown. My guess is Stephen Jones.
Previously Worn: Dec 24, 2017; Dec 25, 2015; Dec 25, 2013; Mar 23, 2008; Dec 25, 2001; Dec 25, 2000 (I believe there is also a black version of this hat worn Jan 5, 2005; Apr 19, 2002; Feb 15, 2002)
There are some lovely jewel toned designs that made their debut this Christmas. Which ones stand out to you?
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Royal Hats 
Very little to add that hasn’t been said already, but I do want to comment on how much I love that splendid hatband on Kate’s fedora. The braided texture with the double edging, and the quill placed through the bow are just perfect! I read elsewhere that the earrings were a Christmas gift from William, and they really do put the finishing touch on the entire ensemble.
Lovely hats on Camilla, Sophie, Kate, Zara and Beatrice. A few issues with colour matching, but all of these looks are good, if not massively exciting.
Very best wishes for the New Year.
QC: the peacock-tone of blue is extremely elegant and I also like the way that the ostrich feather trim on the hat provides an interesting design element from whichever view the hat is seen.
PssoW: the hat is gorgeous (the vibe is similar to the one she wore at the Remembrance Day service) in colour, design and fabric but, while the design of the coat is flattering, the colour is really dreary and would work more successfully if it were contrasting e.g. a burgundy.
PssB: the design of the hat suits her and provides a lot of interest but I agree that the mis-matched greens don’t work and there is too much fur on the coat which makes it too stiff and bulky.
PssE: the overall look seems inappropriate, conveying “I don’t want to make an effort today”.
CssoW: the design, colour and fabric of the hat suit her but I agree that it’s overwhelmed by the quantity of beige & brown in the rest of her look.
LLW: the trilby design is youthful but, similarly to the PssoW, the effect would have been improved by her using a contrasting colour for the outfit.
ZT: provides an excellent example of the impact a small, sleek hat design & colour can have when it’s offset by a contrasting coat colour & fabric.
Kate is the definite winner for me here! That wide brimmed fedora is gorgeous and so flattering on her. While the mossy greens are not my favorite shades, she still wears them well and overall this is was a great final hat outing for the Princess of Wales in 2022.
Camilla’s beret was okay, but I’m not a fan of how the ostrich feathers look on this one, and it mimics/matches the fringe detailing of her coat too much for my personal tastes. And while it’s nice to see her in another nice shade of blue, this whole ensemble just feels too close to the royal blue we got at the South Africa state visit not long ago.
While I did really like Beatrice’s choice of hat, color-wise it doesn’t connect with the rest of her outfit unfortunately. Unfortunately a much too sedated look for Eugenie.
A rather perplexing look for Sophie; the trim looks unfinished at that emblem is far too auspicious, while the angle of the hat feels off-balance. And of course, what is with ALL the beige? However, Louise was looking so retro chic in this lovely trilby and her ankle-strap shoes; I do hope we see this hat again, although with different outfits to give it the versatility it deserves!
Zara looked lovely and I do enjoy a good oxblood-burgundy with grey color combo, but it does feels like something we’ve seen her sport at Cheltenham before (even though I know it’s not the exact same).
A solid look for Lady Sarah, but as we usually see her in this hat and outfit (or very similar ones) at every Christmas, there’s really nothing more to say other than I would like a switch up once in a while!
I also found Camilla’s feather halo a bit much – trimmed to one side would have been better, for me. The colour is ineed lovely, however.
Overall thougt these were excellent hats.
What a treat to find all these new posts, HQ! It’s a great way to start the new year, and I hope yours is a good one.
I hardly know why I’m commenting since your analysis is spot-on, but I disagree about the halo of ostrich feathers. I find the shape silly. Good observation about the color of the band of Kate’s sharp fedora tying it to the coat. And that’s definitely to much “biscuit” for Sophie. The prominence of the logo is inexplicable. We don’t usually see that with Jane Taylor, do we?
My favorite is Louise’s trilby. It’s just adorable at her age, but sophisticated and classic enough to be repeated for years to come.
The nicest hats of this set are Zara, Beatrice and Louise.
Camilla’s hat, I’m sorry to say for me, looks ridiculous, a stiff feather would have been better. Kate’s hat, whilst a nice hat, is a completely different shade to her mute green coat so doesn’t go at all for me. Sophie’s hat is quite nice but the positions of the mixed twists of the brim I’m not sure about. Sarah’s hat is her usual understated look.
I’m so done with headbands on adults they really should be banned!
I guess the lack of colour is in deference to the recent loss of the Queen which is fair enough.
Catherine’s Fedora hat is gorgeous, it suits her beautifully.
I absolutely love Kate’s fedora! It is my favorite of the Royal Christmas Day hats. It’s a great shape for her. I agree with your comments about Beatrice and Eugenia’s hat and headband as well as that Sophie’s monochromatic look is too much beige.