King Charles and Queen Camilla landed in Germany today for the start of their first state visit of the king’s reign.
Queen Camilla repeated her deep turquoise felt beret decorated with diamond-trimmed peacock feathers anchored with a quartet of turquoise felt layered squares.
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The standout colour is terrific on Camilla, its vibrancy so fitting for both the season and such a high profile event. The treatment of the peacock feather trim is masterful here, the sweep giving a grander scale to the hat and the sharp, graphic shape highlighting the feather’s beautiful patterns and colour in a more refined and restrained way than a full plume would have. The first time we saw this hat, it was paired with a polarizing harlequin coat and I much prefer the sleeker turquoise coat worn today.
Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn: Dec 25, 2021
Elke Buedenbender, wife of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, wore an ecru felt hat with gently waved brim, trimmed with a pleated red hatband.
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Queen Camilla’s look for tonight’s state banquet is so striking, I couldn’t resist sharing.
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fashion: gown by Bruce Oldfield
Jewels: Greville honeycomb tiara; Queen Elizabeth II’s City of London Fringe Necklace; Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Family Order; the star of the Order of the Garter, the star of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (awarded today)
Thoughts about these hats today in Berlin?
Images from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
Camilla’s hat is a high quality craftsmanship. She wears these berets well. I don’t think the coat is a great cut for her. The colour is too bright and the cut too boxy. Overall it makes Camilla look big and shapeless. The teal coloured hat and turquoise coat offer an interesting juxtaposition, but any elegance was swept away by the boots. I wonder if she has any visible injuries on her legs.
Frau B looks like she learnt last minute she has to welcome the British king and queen and struggled to find something remotely appropriate. A crumpled coat and beach-ready looking hat is all she could produce.
I am in minority I guess about Camilla’s evening outfit. It’s a case of too much sparkle without regard to balance and it doesn’t show the real beauty of either piece. A stunning tiara, amazing necklace and very shiny dress (also making her looks big and square) – too much together. And also – a tiara without a sash? At the very least I would have dropped the necklace at my last look in the mirror.
I have high hopes for the second day of the tour.
Sashes don’t necessarily have to be worn to state banquets, although it is usual. My guess is that Camilla wore the other insignia instead because she knew in advance that Mrs President would not be wearing a sash (or indeed anything), so the other insignia draw less attention to the contrast than a sash would.
Agreed on the sash. Probably why she didn’t wear it. In my humble opinion it would have balanced the overall look if she had dropped the necklace and had broken a bit that shininess of the dress with a red sash to match the king.
Lovely hat, very nice coat, just not sure they go brilliantly together. Really I preferred the original patchwork coat as a pair for this hat, and I can imagine other hats that would go better with this coat. Can’t say I’m very keen on the boots with the ensemble, though.
Elke Buedenbender’s hat goes well with her coat, and the overall effect is good, but it’s pretty boring as a hat.
I really like Camilla’s evening look. It is a wall of diamonds, but she is the Queen on a state visit, and if you can’t wear a wall of diamonds then, when can you? It isn’t really an occasion for a pared down elegant look, what with the decorations etc. I thought it was actually really well managed, because the diamonds picked up the monochrome effect of the dress, leaving the various decorations as the spots of colour (and really, if you have to contend with a portrait on a yellow ribbon, a red and gold cross and a diamond sunburst with a red and white cross in the middle, it’s going to be hard not to give an impression of going OTT…).
I’m so happy to see my favorite of Camilla’s berets out again, and we get a much better look at it this time! I’ve really grown to love the harlequin coat from this hat’s premiere and would’ve liked to see it again, but I also like that she paired it with something else; for me, the color of this coat straddles the border of color mismatch and color contrast, so I remain torn on whether this ultimately works or not, but seeing more of her dress underneath or having other accessories that pulled out the teal of the hat might’ve helped too. (You can see more of her dress here: https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/britains-camilla-queen-consort-shakes-hands-with-a-member-news-photo/1249881410)
Elke Büdenbender’s hat is nice enough, but I wish the brim had more structure, or the hat just had fancier trim; as is it looks slightly too casual for my personal tastes, although kudos for bringing out a hat again with this outfit (I liked the previous hat better, although material-wise it wouldn’t have worked this time: https://royalhats.net/2021/09/08/swedish-royals-host-german-state-visit/).
I wonder if this visit will feature any more hats? P.S. I love this photo of Camilla’s hat today:
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One more vote for love the hat, but not the color pairing with this coat. I didn’t like the patchwork coat either. Hoping the third time is the charm, and the next coat will be the one that really makes this stunning beret sing.
I love the hat and enjoy the way the plume has been trimmed to make it sleeker. I find most of the pictures show the coat as more of a blue than the teal so the colour mismatch doesn’t quite work for me.
The evening look is lovely. I’m rather glad the Queen Consort has stuck with a tiara she likes. The transition to those now available to her needs to be gradual, and there may need to be fittings. Comfort may play a role too, as many tiara wearers seem to gravitate to certain ones for this reason from what one reads.
I agree; the hat should either have been an exact match or a very definite contrast, otherwise it looks a bit haphazard.
Elke does look a little rumpled, although the color is wonderful on her. The hat with the headband looks like an
afterthought, like, “Well, I guess I’ll need a hat, I can make do with this”- too beach-hat looking. I really like Camilla’s
evening dress, but think either the tiara should have been simpler with that necklace, or the necklace should have been
simpler with that tiara – it’s a little overwhelming.
I LOVE the hat, although I find the angle a bit off and her hair a bit stiff. And I love the coat–it’s a beautiful color, but the teal hat is not working with the pale blue coat. With a coat that’s the exact same shade of teal or something more contrasting, like black or royal blue, it would have been a more unified look. I love her evening dress for the State dinner. It’s a departure for her with the print, but I love it. Love all the bling as well!
I’m with JamesB – While I really like Camilla’s hat, I actually liked its pairing with the first coat from Christmas 2021 better; the color mismatch was more forgiving with the two-toned check activity. I didn’t care for Elke’s floppy brimmed hat. (Ignorant question: are hats worn a lot in Germany, and is the president’s wife one to wear them with any regularity?) Her wrinkled coat didn’t add to the festivities either. As for the State Dinner, there’s a LOT (too much) going on with Camilla’s look. Elke was beautiful.
The blue hat is stunning, with interesting features.
The hat is stunning, I love the trimmed feathers, and that circular trim is perfect. I just don’t love it’s pairing with the coat, it’s too close to be a match, yet not far away enough for a contrast, it’s as if they thought it matched. I actually liked the harlequin coat and kinda wished she’d worn that again.
I love the evening look, fabulous – and I’m even okay with the lack of a new tiara.
Camilla looks terrific.
The hat is a perfect pair with the coat.
I question the decision to wear boots vs shoes for this occasion, it’s no big deal.
The state banquet ensemble? The dress is lovely. Not crazy about the blouson fit, but a different look for her, and does not overpower the jewels.