Category Archives: Denmark

Christening of Princess Estelle, Nine Years On

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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.

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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.

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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.


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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.

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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.

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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

Confirmation of Danish Prince

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Prince Christian of Denmark was confirmed yesterday at Fredensborg Castle Church in a small service attended by close friends and family who live in the area.  

Crown Princess Mary wore a new hat for the occasion. In royal blue straw, the beret base shape is trimmed with large silk calla lily flowers and wired leaves.

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Mary placed the hat on the back of her head, leaving the flowers and leaves sweeping forward over her forehead. This placement makes sense of the long leaves – the way the leaves and flowers frame Mary’s face like a bandeau really works. The piece pairs well with her navy dotted dress to make a stylish look that doesn’t stands up well without standing out and I’m sure many of you will notice Mary’s sapphire brooch is the same one worn for Christian’s christening. I always love such sweet, sentimental touches.

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Designer: Susanne Juul. Dress by Iris & Ink
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Queen Margrethe also wore a new hat for this milestone, a bright pink beret simply trimmed with a large side twist.

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Margrethe wears vibrant colour well and after our recent look at her pink hats, it’s great to see her add another. Yes, the whole ensemble is a rather punchy hit of colour but it feels very authentic to Margrethe’s style. Like everything we’ve seen from Mathilde Førster’s studio, this hat is impeccably made- I’m unable to find a single waver or pucker on that beautifully sewn edge on the twist.

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Like many families, the event was celebrated on a smaller scale than originally planned (and held a year after originally scheduled!).  As such, it was lovely to see both Queen Margrethe and Crown Princess Mary bring a greater sense of celebration to the occasion with the debut of new hats.

What do you think of this new pair of berets yesterday in Denmark?

Images from Getty and social media as indicated

Danish Queen Opens 2021 Cruise Season

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Queen Margrethe kicked off the 2021 Cruise Season on Tuesday, boarding the Royal Yacht Dannebrog and sailing from the Port of Copenhagen to the sound of the cannons from the Sixtus Battery.

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Amidst rough seas, the royal ship was welcomed by a cannon salute of 27 shots at Kronborg Castle in Elsinore.

For this first sail of the season, Queen Margrethe repeated her red felt cloche hat trimmed with a wide, dimensional, striped hatband that ties in a side bow. The pork pie shaped crown gives some variation and height to the shape which is more interesting than balanced, although the scale works well for Queen Margrethe. With her red cape, navy suit and dotted scarf, the hat tops a handsome nautical ensemble.

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Designer: likely Per Falk Hansen
Previously Worn: Sep 13, 2017; May 3, 2013 and others

Yesterday, Queen Margrethe was in Humlebaek for the inauguration of a sculpture by artist Per Arnoldi to commemorate the flight of Danish Jews to Sweden in October 1943 during World War II. For this event, she repeated her mint green fabric-covered bumper hat with side split brim curling around pair of feathers. While usually see this hat worn with a matching suit and coat, cool weather mandated its pairing with this warmer ivory coat. The contrast works so well, letting the statement brooch and green hat stand out amidst the neutral tones of the rest of the ensemble.

Designer: likely Per Falk Hansen
Previously Worn: Sep 5, 2019; May 31, 2019; June 13, 2017; Mar 28, 2017; Oct 3, 2016; Apr 30, 2016; Sep 8, 2015; Jun 5, 2015; May 23, 2015; Apr 16, 2015

The Queen’s official boarding thus marks the start of this year’s sailing season which will include a Reunion Celebration in Southern Jutland, voyages to the Faroe Islands and Greenland and stops around Denmark in the the municipalities of Thisted, Esbjerg and Fanø.

Images from Getty and social media as indicated

Inventory: Princess Benedikte’s Pink and Burgundy Hats

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The Danish monarchy released a lovely new portrait of Princess Benedikte yesterday to celebrate her 77th birthday.

Taking inspiration from this photo, we’re marking her birthday with a look at her pink and burgundy hats:

1. 2.  3.   
Designer: all unknown
Introduced: October 2003 or earlier; April 2, 2005 or earlier; January 21, 2006 or earlier

4.    5.
Designer: both are unknown
Introduced: 2007 or earlier (feather pouf removed for an April 2015 outing and replaced by October 2017) May 11, 2011 or earlier

6.  7.
Designer: both are unknown
Introduced:  April 24, 2013; June 10, 2014

Princess Benedikte seems to favour deeper, berry shades and my, do they suit her well. I notice a streamlined, elegant aesthetic here with a single statement trim, if there’s to be trim at all. What do you notice about her pink hats?

Images from Marijan Murat/dpa/CorbisCorbis; Chris Jackson, Ole Jensen – Corbis/Corbis, and Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty; Jesper Sunesen; Lars Salomonsen; Corbis​

Danish Royals Open Kolding Exhibitions

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Queen Margrethe and Princess Benedikte were in Kolding on Friday to open two exhibitions at the Royal Collection at Koldinghus. The first exhibition ‘Christian V – King, warrior and the anointed of God” is about the 17th century king but the second, “The Queen’s Embroideries” is contemporary, showcasing Queen Margrethe’s own embroidery work.

The collection includes pillows, furniture, table linen, advent calendars, clothing and accessories, including a pair of clutch bags the Danish queen made for each of her daughter-in-laws.

For this visit, Queen Margrethe repeated the aubergine and red boater hat covered in the same fabrics as her dress and jacket.

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This is this hat’s second outing and it remains a winner, thanks to its unexpected unexpected colour scheme, excellent scale and flawless execution. And the jaunty angle the Danish queen wears it- well, that’s perfection.

Designer: Mathilde Førster
Previously Worn: Nov 27, 2020

Princess Benedikte joined her sister for this visit in a new periwinkle brimmed hat with a pink hatband. It’s a great addition to her wardrobe- Benedikte wears the classic shape well and the colour suits her well.

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: this hat is new

Queen Margrethe and Princess Benedikte were also joined by their first cousin Count Ingolf of Rosenborg and his wife Sussie, who topped her suit with a small fascinator (see gallery below).

Back on Wednesday, Queen Margrethe opened an Auguste Rodin exhibition at the Glyptoteket museum in Copenhagen. She repeated her denim blue cloche hat with upturned brim around one side trimmed with a checked tweed hatband and side bow. It’s another fine design- Mathilde Førster’s work certainly suits the Danish queen, doesn’t it? This relatively new pairing of milliner and wearer continues to excite. 

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Designer: Mathilde Førster
Previously Worn: Oct 6, 2020; Feb 8, 2020; Jan 14, 2020

These days, any royal hat we see is a welcome one- what do you think about these designs?

Images from Getty as indicated