to this day in 1950 and a wonderfully sassy hat on the Queen Mother.
Images from Getty as indicated
Author Archives: Royal Hats
Christening of Princess Estelle, Nine Years On: Royal Guests & Extended Family
t’s no surprise that Princess Estelle’s christening on May 22, 2012 was also attended by numerous royal guests and extended members of the Swedish royal family.
Queen Margrethe wore a navy straw wide-brimmed picture hat. Navy dotted white tulle overlaid the open-weave straw brim and a large flower of white feathers adored the piece on the side. The scale of the piece is such a contrast from the brimless and short-brimmed hats we’re used to seeing on the Danish queen today and while the tulle looks overly fussy to me now, it links the hat well to Margrethe’s dotted ensemble.
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Queen Mathilde (was was Crown Princess at the time, wore a layered calot hat in the same taupe silk chiffon as her skirt. It’s not an terribly exciting hat but anything with more presence likely would have competed with her elaborate beaded jacket and the overall look is certainly festive, however subdued.
Princess Máxima, who would become queen a year later, stood out in a red suit and Fabienne Delvigne ruched turban. The turban is beautifully draped and pairs well with the modern-vintage vibe of the suit, the vibrant colour giving some much needed pep at an event that, as we’ve seen, saw so many pale and neutral ensembles. Trust Máxima to liven things up.
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Princess Märtha Louise wore a pale straw pink hat with layered raw-edge brim. The jaunty angle provided by the brim’s sidesweeping shape gave it lovely lift and that unfinished edge, echoed on the hat’s wide hatband, contrasted well with the smooth silk of Märtha’s jacket. With diamond chandelier earrings and an ecru and blush striped dress, it was a great look for her.
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As this was Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy’s first major royal event (she and Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume would marry five months later), it wasn’t a surprise that she dipped into her future mother-in-law’s closet for a hat. This grey pleated silk abaca headpiece by Fabienne Delvigne requires some millinery courage to pull off and while I wasn’t thrilled about its pairing with this grey bouclé jacket, Stéphanie still wore it well.
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The King’s sisters were all in attendance, Princess Margaretha in a grey pillbox with side bow, Princess Birgitta in a white rose fascinator and Princess Désirée in a red Garbo hat with relaxed brim. Princess Christina wore a disc headpiece in navy straw painted with white Swiss dots, edged in white binding and trimmed with navy and white feathers (see a better view of it at Crown Princess Victoria’s 40th birthday celebration here).
Princess Christina’s daughter-in-laws, Emma Magnussen, Vicky Andren and Frida Bergström were all in attendance. Emma’s navy crin headpiece featured a birdcage-style transparent brim and was studded in slim feathers. Vicky’s taupe straw hat was trimmed in a triple stacked hatband with straw flower and goose feathers on the side.
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Frida Bergström (4th row, far left) wore a loden green pillbox hat swathed in a gold dotted net veil. Also seen in the photo above are Countess Marianne Bernadott (3rd row, far left in front of Frida) in a mint green brimmed hat (see a better view at a later wearing here) and Dagmar von Arbin (4th row, 4th from left) in a purple straw pillbox studded with silk flowers (see a better view at Prince Oscar’s christening here). After the palate of very pale neutrals we saw in the first post, the brighter spring hues seen in the photo above give some welcome vibrancy to this event!
Nearly a decade on, which hats stand out most to you from this event? To see hats worn by Princess Estelle’s family members and godparents, jump over to this post.
Photos from Getty as indicated; SVT and the Swedish Monarchy
This Week’s Extras
Queen Sonja, Princess Ingrid and Maud Behn in Norwegian folk bunad ring headpieces on Monday for National Day
Princess Gabriella of Monaco in a sweet red rosette headband yesterday to watch qualifying races for the Monaco F1 Grand Prix with her dad and brother
The American Milliner’s Guild is counting down to Royal Ascot with an interactive event inspired by Eliza Doolittle- see how you can take part here.
The following new millinery designs caught my eye this week:
Lighter-than-air design in black crinoline and cane by London-based milliner Anna Stefanou
Grey saucer with multicolour statement feathers by US milliner Alexandra Bell for Suzanne Couture Millinery
Exquisite filigree beaded Kokoshnik headpiece by Australian milliner Wendy Louise Diggles
Lovely cream to navy ombre Panama straw fedora with leather flower by British milliner Louise Pocock
Whimsical striped sun hats with twist trim by Japanese milliner Yumiko Kuroiwa
Wonderful modern take on a cloche in aubergine straw by German milliner Ulrike Strelow
Beautiful use of 3D organza on this brimmed design with bird by American milliner Jamie Cantwell
Natural straw button with fantastic black braid trim by Australian milliner Jill Humphries
Grey saucer with multicolour statement feathers by US milliner Alexandra Bell for Suzanne Couture Millinery
Exquisite filigree beaded Kokoshnik headpiece by Australian milliner Wendy Louise Diggles
Lovely cream to navy ombre Panama straw fedora with leather flower by British milliner Louise Pocock
Whimsical striped sun hats with twist trim by Japanese milliner Yumiko Kuroiwa
Wonderful modern take on a cloche in aubergine straw by German milliner Ulrike Strelow
Beautiful use of 3D organza on this brimmed design with bird by American milliner Jamie Cantwell
Natural straw button with fantastic black braid trim by Australian milliner Jill Humphries
Also from Australian milliner Jill Humphries, this red bandeau with charming straw braid flowers
Absolutely beautiful brim shape on this black straw design by Russian milliner Lia Gureeva
Simple but still memorable ecru and slate grey bow headpiece by Italian brand Galia e Peter
Green leopard print covered pillbox with back bow by Australian milliner Lisa Hughes
Charming natural patterned straw hat with red hatband and blue brim binding by Czech milliner Jolana Kotabova
Pink jinsin oversize saucer with braided brim edge by Australian milliner Christine Waring
Incredible feather flowers on this grey button beret percher by British milliner Ian Bennett
Absolutely beautiful brim shape on this black straw design by Russian milliner Lia Gureeva
Simple but still memorable ecru and slate grey bow headpiece by Italian brand Galia e Peter
Green leopard print covered pillbox with back bow by Australian milliner Lisa Hughes
Charming natural patterned straw hat with red hatband and blue brim binding by Czech milliner Jolana Kotabova
Pink jinsin oversize saucer with braided brim edge by Australian milliner Christine Waring
Incredible feather flowers on this grey button beret percher by British milliner Ian Bennett
Lovely new photos of Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Princess Estelle, Prince Oscar and pup Rio released today for Pentecost. Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia also shared these photos of Prince Alexander to celebrate his fifth birthday.
Princess Benedikte opened an exhibition of Danish artist Lars Physant’s work which includes a striking new portrait of her, unveiled at the opening.
And finally, this stunning photograph taken by Prince Nikolaos of Greece, shared to announce his upcoming photography exhibition in London
Images from social media as indicated
Queen Sends Namesake Vessel on Maiden Voyage
The Queen was at HM Naval Base in Portsmouth today to bid farewell to aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth ahead of its maiden voyage. The ship, which carries eight RAF and 10 US F35B stealth fighter jets on board, is on a 28-week operational deployment to the Philippines for its first operation, accompanied by six Royal Navy ships, a submarine, 14 naval helicopters and a Royal Marine company.
For this sendoff, the Queen wore a new red cashmere coat with black velvet collar and buttons and matching hat.
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The hat’s indented crown gently slopes to just above average height, the scale balanced by its cartwheel brim and high-contrast layered black and red hatbands. The hat is trimmed with an open red silk rose, rosebuds and green velvet leaves.
It’s not the first hat we’ve seen with that punchy black hatband stripe which is good news, because it works so well. We’ve talked before about coat necklines and how they add (or detract from) a hat’s success and this sharp black velvet collar is a winner, giving a beautiful base for the hat.
Designer: Rachel Trevor Morgan. Coat by Stewart Parvin.
Previously Worn: This hat is new
This new hat is a standout for me (it certainly stood out amidst today’s sea of navy uniforms!)- what do you think of it?
Images from Getty as indicated
Christening of Princess Estelle, Nine Years On
On May 22, 2012, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel brought their daughter, Princess Estelle, to the Royal Chapel in Stockholm’s Royal Palace to be christened.
Crown Princess Victoria wore cocktail hat with triangular base covered in the same nude pink fabric as her dress. Lace from her dress’ neckline was cut out into three dimensional applique trim along with rolled roses. A spray of the lace and floral trim was additionally tucked into Victoria’s chignon, just below the hat.
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It’s a beautifully trimmed hat, the scale perfect for an event where all eyes were on Estelle. The addition of that second spray of lace applique roses is a unique one, adding greater presence to the piece and linking it in a lovely way to Victoria’s updo. We don’t often see accompaniment milliner pieces in such a way.
Designer: Malinda Damgaard. Dress by Elie Saab.
Previously Worn: This hat was new
Queen Silvia repeated a blush straw turban with twisted side rose. For this occasion, small pink silk flowers, feathers and a scattering of pearls were added to the design, giving it texture that beautifully complimented her blush lace peplum jacket.
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Designer: unknown. Jacket by Valentino.
Previously Worn: April 30, 2004
Princess Madeleine wore a pale grey feather crescent shaped headpiece with lavender net birdcage veil. At the time, it seemed like such an elegant and classic choice for her.
Designer: Malinda Damgaard. Dress and coat from Philosophy by Alberta Ferretti
Previously Worn: This headpiece was new
Sofia Hellqvist, who was not yet a member of the Swedish royal family, wore an ecru multi-looped bow fascinator studded with trimmed feathers.
Designer: unknown. Dress by Tibi
Previously Worn: This headpiece was new
Prince Daniel’s mother, Ewa Westling, wore a fascinator of taupe twists and feathers. Danie’s sister Anna, who is one of Princess Estelle’s godparents, wore a simple brimmed hat in white straw trimmed with a flower and bow at the back.
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Estelle’s other godmother is Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, who repeated a golden wheat coloured straw saucer studded with tiny diamanté and trimmed with large ecru silk flowers and coque feathers on the underside of the raised brim. The neutral scheme of her ensemble kept Mary suitably in the background while the hat’s dramatic shape and bold trim gave it just the right amount of ‘statement’ in her significant role at this happy occasion.
Designer: Jane Taylor. Dress by Strenesse.
Previously Worn: July 2, 2011. It has since been repeated on June 15, 2016 and June 15, 2019
There were numerous royal guests and members of the extended Swedish royal family at this christening- see their hats at this post.
Which designs from this group of immediate family and godparents stand out to you most these nine years on?
Photos from Getty and social media as indicated; Corbis
Royal Hats 