Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa were officially welcomed by cousins in Belgium yesterday for the start of a state visit.
Queen Mathilde wore a teardrop percher hat covered in the same moire print as her coat dress (and purse) with a pale pink birdcage tulle veil.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
The design, its placement and colour of this hat falls flat for me, a flatness emphasized against the voluminous skirt and setting the overall proportions of the ensemble off.
Milliner: entire ensemble by Dior
Previously Worn: this hat is new
Today, Queen Mathilde wore another new millinery design, this one a red headband draped in pleated natural fibre (tit looks like a loosely woven sinamay).
I think the design would greatly benefit with more refinement (thinner, neater finished edges on the pleated fan, crisper pleating). ‘Nuff said.
Milliner: “Redline” by Fabienne Delvigne. Dress by Natan
Previously Worn: This headpiece is new
Thoughts about these two new hats on the Belgian queen?
Images from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
I agree with the previous commenters that these are not her best millinery efforts. I understand wanting to be sensitive to a non-hat wearing visiting royal, but there is a way to do that without looking like you tied a bandana around your hair to keep it out of your face. I’m not a fan of either, but I much prefer the red outfit to the oversized pink. It’s a shame too, because we know her hat closet runs deep, and she could have opted for something neutral with more style than either of these as a rewear that would have been more successful.
Gigi
Oh my, not loving either of these for Mathilde. The pale pearl pink arrival hat looks more like just a base that’s missing all of its trim; it definitely needs more height since it’s so flat to begin with, and just looks like it’s flattening her hair on top of that. Mathilde has so many all-red ensembles that she could’ve repeated, and this new one doesn’t stand out at all; at least her hair looked good.
Considering the only hat/headpiece we’ve seen on Maria Teresa in the past 5 years was a bandeau at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, I wasn’t surprised she showed up hatless, and I doubt we’ll see her in one again. I did like her arrival outfit though.
Here to agree with your assessment. Looks like she had an end of roll bargain with the pink moire and wanted to use it all up! A bigger hat in a different colour would have been better.
Both of them are, to be honest, underwhelming. The arrival hat needs a bit more drama to complement the coat, even if just in scale. And the red one is that kind of crumpled affair, plonked on the head we’ve seen many times before. Still, as you say, at least she wore a hat!
I wonder if the headpieces were minimized as herBelgian counterpart chose to go hatless both times?
I found the pink washed out poor Queen Mathilde. And on a grey, rainy day that doesn’t help.
Not much “WOW” in either one. Yes, the pale pink ensemble could have been balanced with a larger, brimmed hat, especially since there was a balcony scene. But even still, the color would not have been too easy to see from a distance. Red for day one, pink for the visit to the art gallery, where my 5th grade art class green apple was on display. (I can’t even draw convincing stick figures!)
Maybe as host, she was downplaying the “WOW”? Whatever the reason, state visits are time to bring the “WOW” and I don’t see it here.
Althought, at least Queen Mathilde wore a hat and a headpiece. Maybe flat is better than nothing?!