Category Archives: All About Design

Inventory: Duchess of Cornwall’s Red Hats

Posted on by

Continuing our look at red royal hat wardrobe inventories, we move today to the millinery closet of the Duchess of Cornwall. This will be an extremely short tour as Camilla has just one red hat:

1.2006-04-09

Designer: unconfirmed. Likely Philip Treacy
Introduced: April 10, 2005

UPDATE- A second hat in raspberry wool with black faux fur cuff brim was added on Christmas Day 2017

2. Dec 25, 2017 in Lock & Co | Royal Hats

Designer: Lock & Co.
Introduced: Dec 25, 2017  

This piece is a simple one that shows how great Camilla looks in red, although I can see how one of her go-to picture hats in this shade might be a bit much. She also wore an interesting red headpiece for Prince William’s African themed birthday party in 2003 before she joined the family but I doubt we’ll see that piece in public again. What do you think- yes or no to more red hats for the Duchess’ wardrobe?

Photo from Mark Cuthbert via Getty;  Tim Rooke/REX/Shutterstock 

Inventory: Princess Mary’s Red Hats

Posted on by

As we continue building royal hat wardrobe inventories, February will focus on all things red. To kick off this month’s first millinery tour, we’re headed into the closet of Princess Mary of Denmark who celebrated her 44th birthday on February 5. So far, there are three red/burgundy pieces in her millinery wardrobe. Here they are, in the order they were introduced:

1. Crown Princess Mary, January 10, 2012 in Philip Treacy | Royal Hats  Crown Princess Mary, January 10, 2012 in Philip Treacy | Royal Hats      

Designers: Philip Treacy; 
Introduced: October 9, 2004

2. 2006-11-01 football game 2     3. Crown Princess Mary, May 6, 2009 in Jill Courtemanche | Royal Hats

Designers: likely Susanne Juul; Jill Courtemanche
Introduced: November 1, 2006; May 6, 2009

While we might debate on counting hat #2 in this list (obviously a very informal piece, worn to a football match), Mary has so few red pieces in her wardrobe that I thought it warranted inclusion. While the first hat seems to be Mary’s favourite (with seven public outings so far), I have always had a soft spot for the third headpiece which is the most glorious colour and frames Mary’s face so beautifully. I’ll admit- this is not the most exciting group of royal red hats which is unfortunate, as Mary wears red so very well (I’d love to see her pick up this raspberry straw design from her go-to Danish milliner, Susanne Juul) Do any of these pieces strike your fancy?

Don’t worry, dear readers. We have a few more royal hat wardrobes to peek inside this month and there are some marvellous red designs that await us. Stay tuned!

Photos from Albert Philip van der Werf/dpa/Corbis; Albert Philip van der Werf/dpa/Corbis; unknown; Carsten Rehder/POOL/epa/Corbis

One Coat, Two Hats

Posted on by

Royal HatsOn Sunday, Queen Elizabeth surprised us by wearing this new red hat to church:

Designer: I suspect Angela Kelly
This was unusual for a couple of reasons. The Queen does not usually use Sunday church as an occasion to début a new hat- she usually saves new pieces for big events such as Trooping the Colour, state visits and Ascot. The new hat was also paired with a red coat and printed black and red silk dress we’ve seen before, back in April 2012, on a Diamond Jubilee visit to Greenwich:

Designer: I suspect Angela Kelly
The original hat worn with this dress and coat was a rather stark design with tall, flat crown and flat brim. Now here is where things get interesting (thanks to additional sleuthing from readers Baxter and Snug Harbour)- this original hat also appears to have made its debut at Sunday church in Norfolk, back in 2010 (below).  If you look closely, you’ll see that the hat was paired with the same coat usually worn with a Rachel Trevor Morgan designed hat (below, bottom).
This begs some interesting questions- was the flat topped hat brought in to replace the beautiful flowered RTM design and didn’t cut the mustard? Was it lurking about in the Queen’s closet without an assigned coat to accompany until 2012? Is it more than coincidence that these two red coats are exactly the same shades? And is there a reason why the flat topped hat was worn just once with Sunday’s coat before being replaced (I assume) by the red and black hat?
All these questions and millinery mystery aside, I think this retirement was a good call. The flat-topped hat’s shape, reminiscent of a Pilgrim or Puritan hat, combined with its lack of embellishment makes for an extremely austere piece that I don’t think works with the floral print dress and Peter Pan collared coat nor is flattering on the Queen. I suppose that sometimes, designs on paper just don’t translate well in reality and when that happens, going back to the drawing board is the best option.
I much prefer the new hat but I do not expect you all to agree! So I’m curious- which hat do you prefer?
Photos from Getty and Rex Features as indicated

Inventory: Queen Elizabeth’s Blue Hats Part 4

Posted on by

We have come to the fourth and final post in our inventory of Queen Elizabeth’s blue (and white and pale blue) hats! Keeping our focus on hats worn since 2010, we turn our attention today to the largest group, Her Majesty’s pale blue hats. Here they are, roughly in the order each was introduced into her public wardrobe:

1A.Embed from Getty Images 1B.Embed from Getty Images
Designer: Philip Somerville
Introduced: June 20, 2003 (renovated and reintroduced June 11, 2005); 

2.Queen Elizabeth, September 28, 2014 in Philip Somerville | Royal Hats3. Embed from Getty Images  4.Embed from Getty Images
Designer: Philip Somerville; Philip Somerville; Rachel Trevor Morgan 
Introduced: July 2, 2004; November 26, 2005; June 21, 2006 

5.Embed from Getty Images  6.Embed from Getty Images  7.Embed from Getty Images
Designer: unknown; Rachel Trevor Morgan; Rachel Trevor Morgan
Introduced: June 23, 2006; October 19, 2006; May 16, 2008

 8A.Embed from Getty Images  8B.Embed from Getty Images
Designer: Rachel Trevor Morgan
Introduced:  March 9, 2009 (renovated and reintroduced December 2, 2009)

9.Embed from Getty Images 10.Embed from Getty Images 11.Embed from Getty Images
Designer: Philip Somerville; Angela Kelly; Angela Kelly
Introduced: June 20, 2009; October 27, 2009; June 18, 2010

12.Embed from Getty Images  13.Embed from Getty Images 14.Embed from Getty Images
Designer: Rachel Trevor Morgan; Angela Kelly; unknown
Introduced: June 30, 2010; November 27, 2010; November 23, 2011

15.Embed from Getty Images  16.Embed from Getty Images 17.Embed from Getty Images
Designer:  Rachel Trevor Morgan; Angela Kelly; Angela Kelly
Introduced: June 19, 2012; June 26, 2012; November 27, 2012

 18.Embed from Getty Images  19.  20.Embed from Getty Images
Designer: Rachel Trevor Morgan; unconfirmed; Angela Kelly
Introduced: April 20, 2014; May 18, 2014; June 26, 2015

21.  22. Embed from Getty Images  23.Embed from Getty Images
Designer: all are Angela Kelly 
Introduced:  July 9, 2015; November 26, 2015; November 27, 2015 

UPDATE: The following designs have been introduced since this post was first published:

24.Embed from Getty Images 25.Embed from Getty Images  26.
Designer: Angela Kelly; Rachel Trevor Morgan; unknown
Introduced: May 13, 2017; June 20, 2018; August 12, 2018 

27.  28.   29.

Designer: Angela Kelly; Angela Kelly; Rachel Trevor Morgan
Introduced: October 12, 2018; June 18, 2019; June 19, 2019

30.
Designer: Rachel Trevor Morgan
Introduced: Jun 28, 2021

It is another diverse groups of hats with varying brim shapes, crown heights and decoration. I’m struck by the colour combinations- we see light blue paired here with red, gold, black, fuchsia, grey and lime green- some of which are unexpected and brave. As with the other hats, I’m awed by the incredible use of trimmings that give each of these hats, which are very similar in shade, decidedly unique character. This group also includes a number of more austere hats which provides some interesting contrast when looking at the group as a whole.

You have weighed in with your opinions, dearest readers, and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this final group. To see the other groups of blue hats in Queen Elizabeth’s wardrobe, jump over to this turquoise post, this medium blue post and this dark blue post.

Photos from Cate Gillon/Pool via Corbis; Leo Mason via Corbis; WPA Pool,WPA Pool, Samir Hussein and Mike Egerton/PA Images and Chris Jackson – WPA Pool via Getty; and Getty as indicated