Author Archives: Royal Hats

Milestone Birthday: Lady Gabriella Kingston

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Lady Gabriella Kingston celebrates her 40th birthday today, a milestone marked here with a look back at her life in hats:

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For a minor royal who lives a private life, it’s an impressive collection. Gabriella does not shy away from a wide brim or a bold shape, which makes Philip Treacy a natural go-to milliner for her. That all being said… fashion experimentation is good and I’d love to see her branch out with some less familiar shapes.

What do you notice about Lady Gabriella’s hats?

Photos from Getty as indicated

Inventory: Queen Elizabeth’s White Hats

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While Queen Elizabeth remains in mourning following the Duke of Edinburgh’s death, celebrating her birthday with vibrant colour does not feel appropriate. Instead, we’re going to follow the an example set by her mother’s famous White Wardrobe for 1938 visit to Paris and celebrate Her Majesty’s 95th birthday with a look at her white and ivory hats.

A clerical note-  many of the Queen’s white and ivory hats are contrasted with a brim, crown or significant trimming in another colour. We’ll save these (along with the ecru and palest beige ones) for another inventory and concentrate here on the hats that are primarily white or ivory. In 2000, Queen Elizabeth had several hats in these hues in her wardrobe:

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Since 2004, she has added the following designs:

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Designer: Marie O’Reagan; unknown; unknown 
Introduced: April 5, 2004; June 17, 2004; March 11, 2006

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Designer: both are Rachel Trevor Morgan
Introduced: June 21, 2007; June 23, 2007 

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Designer: unknown; Rachel Trevor Morgan
Introduced: November 9, 2007; November 19, 2007

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Designer: Rachel Trevor Morgan; unknown 
Introduced: March 19, 2008; July 22, 2008 

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Designer: Angela Kelly (made by Stella McLaren); unknown
Introduced: June 18, 2009 (with flower later removed); June 20, 2009

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Designer: all three  by Angela Kelly (made by Stella McLaren)
Introduced: November 28, 2009; July 1, 2010; July 20, 2010

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Designer: unknown; unknown; Rachel Trevor Morgan
Introduced: July 22, 2010; November 24, 2010; April 15, 2011

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Designer: Angela Kelly (made by Stella McLaren); Angela Kelly (made by Stella McLaren); unknown
Introduced: May 17, 2011; October 29, 2011; December 25, 2011 

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Designer: both are Angela Kelly (made by Stella McLaren)
Introduced: June 3, 2012;  June 4, 2013

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Designer: Angela Kelly (made by Stella McLaren); unknown; Angela Kelly (made by Stella McLaren);
Introduced:  June 21, 2013; May 7, 2014; June 5, 2014;

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Designer: all are Angela Kelly (made by Stella McLaren)
Introduced: June 7, 2014; July 23, 2014; June 24, 2015;

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Designer: unknown; Angela Kelly (made by Stella McLaren)
Introduced: June 25, 2015I; January 11, 2016

I’ll be honest- when I think of the Queen’s hats, few white designs jump to mind. As such, I was surprised to see so many (granted, the first five seem to be retired). Where the queen does not disappoint, however, is in her breadth of shape, scale and embellishment. These might all be white/ivory hats but they are not boring.

What do you notice about Her Majesty’s white hats?

Images from Getty as indicated; Carlo Allegri/AFP; Tim Graham Photo Library, Tim Graham Photo Library, Tim Graham Photo Library, John Stillwell – WPA Pool, Gareth Fuller-Pool, WPA Pool – Arthur Edwards, Stefan Gosatti, Mark Large – WPA Pool and Francois Guillot/AFP via Getty; Press Association; Max Mumby/Indigo via Getty

Hat From the Past

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Royal Hats to 19th April 1941, 80 years ago yesterday. While she wouldn’t become the Duchess of Devonshire until 1950, Deborah Mitford still turned heads when she married Lord Andrew Cavendish. And her floral bridal headpiece? Fantastic.

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Images from Getty as indicated

Inventory: Queen Margrethe’s Pink Hats

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We’re peeking into Queen Margrethe’s hat wardrobe today for a look at her pink hats. At the turn of the millennium there were a handful in regular use:

These are now retired, replaced by new designs added since~2009:

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Designer: unconfirmed (all are likely Per Falk Hansen)
Introduced: May 9, 2009 or earlier; Feb 16, 2010 or earlier; June 2010 or earlier 

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Designer: unconfirmed (both are likely Per Falk Hansen); flowers on the light pink hat by Effi Pingel
Introduced: June 26, 2015; July 15, 2017 

UPDATE: Since this post was published, Queen Margrethe has added the following pink hats:

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Designer Mathilde Førster 
Introduced: May 15, 2021

I’ll admit- I did not expect this inventory to be so small. When I think of the Danish queen’s style, I think bright colours and while a few of these hats meet that mark, I somehow thought she had considerably more hats in this hue. Granted, several designs I thought of as pink turned out to be red but even so…

What do you notice about Queen Margrethe’s pink hats?

Images from Kay Nietfeld / picture alliance; Georges Merillon/Gamma-Rapho, Emmanuel Dunand/AFP, Julian Parker/UK Press, Francis Dean/Corbis, Sergei Grits/AFP, Ole Jensen – Corbis/Corbis, and Ole Jensen via Getty and Corbis

This Week’s Extras

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While we’ve already looked at the royal hats that stepped out in the past week, here are some fantastic new millinery designs caught my eye this week:
Adore the jaunty sidesweep brim on this tan hat with feathers by Argentinian milliner Laura Noetinger
Wide brimmed pink straw beauties here and here from British milliner Rachel Trevor Morgan
Draped orange felt brimless hat with statement pheasant feathers by Australian milliner Melanie Atherinos
Pistachio green vintage woven straw cloche with silk dahlia by Canadian milliner Truly Carmichael
Oxblood newsboy cap from German milliner Ulrike Strelow that’s as chic on the inside as it is on the outside
Raspberry pink silk abaca draped headpiece studded with pearls by British milliner Lynn Leach
Black felt fedora with vibrant folk patterned hatband and bow by French brand Katoushti
Great shape and texture on this design with painted quills & orange jinsin twist by British milliner Louise Pocock

Such a fun statement disc in coral feathers by Australian milliner Cynthia Jones-Bryson
Biscuit straw saucer with the loveliest windowpane crin tiered bow by East Africa-based milliner Lali Heath
Colourful braided banana fibre bandeaux by British milliner Jess Collett
White hat with wide and wonderfully whimsical scalloped brim by Italian brand Batog
Apple green straw pyramid hat with overlapping silk trim by British milliner Edwina Ibbotsen
Read leather beret with very fun wired flowers by Australian brand Reuben Rose Millinery
The prettiest blush and ivory straw boater with feather trim by Irish milliner Alison Roe
And an absolute stunner in green feathers from Australian milliner Jill Humphries.