The Duchess of Edinburgh was accompanied to the third day of racing by her father, Christopher Rhys-Jones. Sophie wore a blue parasisal straw saucer hat trimmed with feathers, jinsin loops, blue silk leaves and handmade silk pansies to match the print of her dress.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
The flowers on the hat were made by Anne Tomlin, a master flower maker I’m incredibly fortunate to have as one of my floral tutors. What a thrill it was to see these beauties while visiting her studio a week before the races! Anne’s specialty is hyper realism and she created the flowers by overlapping layers of cut silk. They are absolute works of art and it’s so unfortunate their incredible detail was lost a bit amidst all the other trim.
Designer: Jane Taylor with flowers made by Anne Tomlin. Dress by Suzannah London.
Previously Worn: This hat is new
What do you think of this design on Sophie?
Images from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
I like pairing this periwinkle blue hat with the white dress, and even though the pansies are matchy to an extent, it’s not overwhelmingly obvious like it could be. I do agree the flowers did get a bit lost in the midst of the rest of the trim, which I find a bit messy (something I’ve long thought with many of Jane Taylor’s hats). In the end, not my first choice for Sophie, but still a lovely look, and having her father in attendance just made this that much better.
SirLancelot and IntriguedByRoyals both make good observations. The hat could have been white, with the pansies in brighter colors, to match the dress better. The hat as is would really shine with a solid pale blue dress, and I hope we see it again. Exquisite work on the pansies! Kudos to Jane Taylor for crediting Anne Tomlin as well as creating a lovely hat.
How lovely to see how the gorgeous pansies were created for this hat. It was another really inspired choice for The Duchess. I love all the different elements of the trim. I think they add to it’s whimsical nature. The back view is absolutely gorgeous.
I’ve seen this Suzannah dress in person and it’s really beautiful. A worthy choice with the hat.
This was the first Ascot since The Duchess received her new title and I think the previous Duchess of Edinburgh would have smiled at her choice of hat.
I like the flow of the hat, a delicate petal
I wish the flowers were attached to the crease/flow of the hat now it looks slightly plonked
Just beautiful!!
Like the hat with the pansies especially the back.
The flowers are gorgeous, but the choice of light blue for the straw didn’t seem to match the dress.
Thank you for letting us see the pansies close up! They are gorgeous! This was my favorite Sophie look for Ascot in a few years
It was their maker, Anne Tomlin, who shared these photos on Instagram!
It’s very nice to see Jane Taylor acknowledging the maker of these flowers. Many of the flowers and leaves on her hats this season have been made by another flower maker who, unfortunately, has not been acknowledged.
This hat is utterly divine. The silk flowers are beautifully made. Sophie and her dad were adorable in that photo.
Love the hat, but disappointed with the whole outfit – total mis-match. Think the detailed hat would have shined brighter if the dress was plain blue. So look forward to seeing again with a new ensemble.
I loved her dress and the pansies were exceptionally beautiful. I agree that they do get a bit lost in all the other (and beautiful) trimmings. I wonder if this hat will reappear again without the pansies at times to marry with other outfits. It will be interesting to watch for. The picture of Sophie with her father’s arm around her waist is incredibly adorable. What a lovely day it must have been for them.