Royal Hats Last Year: The Rest

Royal Hats Year In Review 2014We have nearly come to the end of our review of all the hats, headpieces and feathery puffs we saw grace royal heads in 2014. Please click on each photo to link to the original post on each hat, complete with additional views, larger photos and detailed information. Here are the final royal hats we saw in 2014:

Austria- Archduchess Marie-Astrid (1-2), Archduchess Adelaide (3), Archduchess Margherita of Austria-Este (4) and Archduchess Anna-Gabriele (5)

 1. 2014-07-05 Amadeo and Elisabetta 31 2. Archduchess Marie Astrid, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats 3. Archduchess Adelaide, July 5, 2014 | Royal Hats 4. Archduchess Margherita of Austria-Este , July 7, 2014 | Royal Hats 5. Archduchess Anna-Gabriele of Austria, July 7, 2014 | Royal Hats 

Romania- Princess Maria (6) and Crown Princess Margareta (7-8)

6. Crown Princess Maria, May 16, 2014 | Royal Hats  7. Crown Princess Margarita, May 16, 2014 | Royal Hats 8. Crown Princess Margarita, September 29, 2014 | Royal Hats

Italy- Duchess of Castro (9-10), Princess Cecilia of Bourbon-Parma (11) and Princess Maria of Bourbon-Parma (12)

9. Duchess of Castro, November 19, 2014 | Royal Hats  10. Duchess of Castro, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats 11. Princess Cecilia of Bourbon-Parma, April 5, 2014 | The Royal Hats Blog 12. Princess Maria of Bourbon-Parma, April 5, 2014 | The Royal Hats Blog

Iran- Empress Farah and Greece- Princess Marie-Chantal

13. Empress Farah, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats 14. Princess Marie-Chantal, June 7, 2014 in Philip Treacy |Royal Hats

British Nobility- Lady Brabourne (15-16), the Duchess of Devonshire (17-18) and the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough (19)

15. Baroness Brabourne, January 12, 2014 | The Royal Hats Blog 16. Baroness Brabourne, June 18, 2014 in Dillon Wallwork | Royal Hats 17. Duchess of Devonshire, July 10, 2014 | Royal Hats 18. Duchess of Devonshire, October 2, 2014 | Royal Hats 19. Dowager Duchess of Marlborough, October 24, 2014 | Royal Hats

The next post will FINALLY invite you all, dear readers, to formally nominate your favourite hat, least favourite hat and best overall hat style from the royal hats we saw in 2014. Will any of these hats make your list?

Please click on each photo to link back to the original post with additional information and photo sources

Funeral of Queen Fabiola

The Belgian Royal Family was joined by monarchs and representatives from numerous other royal houses for Queen Fabiola’s funeral today. Empress Michiko of Japan wore a petite black saucer hat that featured a flat fan bow and net tulle veil.

Empress Michiko, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats

Queen Margrethe of Denmark repeated her a black Karakul fur toque with feather pouf trim.

Empress Michiko and Queen Margrethe, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats Queen Margrethe, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats Queen Margrethe, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats

Queen Silvia of Sweden wore a black felt cloche hat with wide, folded black velvet band around the crown.

Queen Silvia, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats Queen Silvia, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats Queen Silvia, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats

Queen Sofia of Spain wore a black pillbox which was covered in net tulle and wrapped with a band of black velvet around the outside of the hat.

Queen Sofia and Princess Beatrix, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats Queen Sofia and Princess Beatrix, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats

Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands repeated her black fur felt hat with pointed crown and upfolded felt and straw double brim.

Princess Beatrix, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats

Empress Farah of Iran wore a black silk pleated turban that was interlaced with strands of metallic black straw and trimmed with a loosely woven black straw rosette.

Empress Farah, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats

Princess Astrid of Norway, who accompanied King Harald, wore a black bumper hat. At first glance, I thought this hat and coat combination were made from the same Karakul fur but after a closer look, I believe they are made of textured wool.

Princess Astrid, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats

And finally, the Duchess of Castro wore a black calot trimmed with a silk ruffle that spanned the side and back of the hat. Duchess of Castro, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats

I think that includes all the royals who attended this event (please let me know if I missed anyone). The hats were all rather simple, but simple elegance is exactly what was required. Did any of these royal hats stand out to you today?

Photos from Vincent Kalut, Patrick van Katwijk, Patrick van Katwijk, Patrick van Katwijk, Patrick van KatwijkPatrick van Katwijk, Patrick van Katwijk, Patrick van KatwijkPatrick van KatwijkPatrick van Katwijk, Didier LebrunPatrick van Katwijk, and Albert Nieboer, all via Corbis

Monaco National Day

Members of Monaco’s Royal Family gathered to celebrate their national holiday today. And a national holiday, dear friends, means lots of royal hats!

Embed from Getty Images

While Princess Charlene did not attend the celebration mass at Cathedrale Notre-Dame-Immaculee de Monaco or watch the military parade, she did make an appearance on the balcony in the most quintessential of French hats. While the black hue feels too harsh for my taste, the simple lines of this beret seem a good fit with Charlene’s clean-lined fashion aesthetic. She looks quite chic in this beret, don’t you think?

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this is a new hat

Princess Caroline of Hanover and Monaco’s hat was neither clean nor simple but it was great fun. She topped her navy tweed dress and jacket with a whimsical navy cocktail hat trimmed with straw ribbon twists, feathers flying off in all directions, and a large navy net tulle veil. On its on, I find the hat to be rather run of the mill but paired, to great contrast, with her austere suit, it made a fantastic combination.

Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this is a new hat

Tatiana Santo Domingo Casiraghi wore a gently sloped black pyramid hat trimmed with a large black bow. Tatiana is known for her bohemian fashion style and I thought that her ensemble was an interesting style departure for her. In the end, I think her beautiful grey and blue lace suit was much more successful than the hat which, from a distance, looked like a squashed mortar board.

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this is a new hat

Oddly shaped as it was, Tatiana’s hat was a vast improvement to the headpiece worn by Princess Stephanie. For the second year in a row, Stephanie trotted out a royal scrunchie to secure the chignon in her hair. I defer to the words of commenter edoep who wrote last year, ” ‘dear steph, please note: a scrunchie is NOT a teeny-weeny hat!” That sums up my sentiments as well.

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Baroness Elisabeth-Anne de Massy (Prince Albert’s first cousin, the daughter of his father’s sister Princess Antoinette) wore a stylised black bowler hat with black net veil (behind Princess Caroline, below), Her daughter, Mélanie-Antoinette Costello de Massy (beside Princess Stephanie, below), wore a black cloche variation with a square crown, wrapped in a ruched black sash.

Embed from Getty Images

And finally, the Duke and Duches of Castro, who are close friends of Prince Albert, were also in attendance. Camilla topped her purple coat dress in a coordinating slouchy Fez-style hat which was trimmed in a swath of net tulle veil. While the hat has a slight air hostess vibe about it, the colour is lovely on her and the concept is unique. It’s nice to see a hat we don’t see every day, isn’t it?

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this is a new hat

Because Monaco’s national holiday falls at this time of year, we usually see hats in dark, wintery hues and this year was no exception. Did any of these hats stand out to you?

Photos from Getty as indicated

Spanish Royal Wedding Ten Years On: Remaining Non-Reigning Royals

The Royal Hats Blog We have finally come to the final post on our look back at the hats worn by family and guests at the May 22, 2004 wedding of the Princes of Asturias and Letizia Ortiz Rocosolano! Our peek is at the hats worn by representatives from non-reigning royal houses.

One of my favorite hats in this group was worn by Empress Farah of Iran. In palest blue straw, this hat featured a flat crown and large, mushroom shaped brim. The brim is not a shape we see often, perhaps because it can easily swallow up the face of the person wearing it. Brim proportions aside, the hat was a lovely compliment for the Empress’ perfectly tailored coat and, as usual, she looked elegant and very refined.

Empress Farah of Iran, May 22, 2004 | Royal Hats Embed from Getty Images

Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia, wore a kokoshnik-inspired hat in the same white, pink and red silk print as her dress. Trimmed in pink silk with a bow at the back, this halo shaped hat framed Maria Vladimirovna’s face and made her look all the more Russian.

Maria Vladimirovna, May 22, 2004 | Royal Hats

The Duchess of Bragança topped her pale peach silk suit with a cream straw hat trimmed in a peach sash around the crown and bloom on the side. The brim on this hat was slightly upturned on one side- a feature I would have loved to see exaggerated more to give the hat more panache and personality. It was a little too sedate, as it was.

 Duchess of Braganza, May 22, 2004 | Royal Hats

Princess Béatrice of Orléans, Comtesse d’Evreux showed her fashion fearlessness by pairing a bold magenta headpiece with an even bolder magenta frock. A mass of magenta straw curling leaves and flowers, the headpiece was wrapped in net tulle veil and worn directly on the top of Béatrice’s head. While I do not want to question the Princess’ fashion sense (she was a fashion consultant for many years for Women’s Wear Daily and Dior), the placement of this headpiece doesn’t seem right. Nor do the lilac satin gloves, reminiscent of identical ones worn by a certain diva Muppet.

Princess Béatrice of Orléans, Comtesse d'Evreux, May 22, 2004 | Royal Hats

Marina Doria, the Princess of Naples, wore a white lace veil anchored at the back of her head. While this was presumably done for religious reasons, the combination of the lace veil with Princess Marina tanned décolletage and white disco ball skirt was unexpected, to say the least. Her daughter-in-law, Princess Clotilde of Savoy, wore a headpiece of swirling white feathers that wrapped around her head.  I suspect the intent of this piece was to add to the ethereal effect of her organza trimmed suit but in reality, it looked like she was sporting a pair of white ear muffs.

Princess Clotilde of Savoy and The Princess of Naples, May 22, 2004 | Royal Hats Princess Clotilde of Savoy, May 22, 2004 | Royal Hats

While we have seen numerous brightly hued and whimsical hats worn at this wedding, I do not believe any topped the chapeau worn by Princess Inaara Aga Khan for sheer fun and frivolity This hat, in white straw wrapped in an overlay of red fishnet with polka dots, was trimmed in a red, purple, lime and white straw bow at the front. Princess Inaara paired it with a white suit – a good thing, to be sure, but a choice which made the hat stand out all the more.

Princess Inaara Aga Khan. May 22, 2004 | Royal Hats

That draws our look back at King Felipe and Queen Letizia’s wedding to a close. And what fun this has been! I am curious to hear what you thought of these and the other MANY royal hats that made an appearance at this event. Which one was your absolute favourite?

An index of all hats worn at this wedding can be seen at this post. We’ll be back to regular royal hat news and features first thing Monday morning.

Photos from  Lalo Yaky,Tim Graham and Pascal Le Segretain via Getty; El Mundo, El Mundo and El Mundo; Getty/Stringer via Getty; and El Mundo

Bourbon-Parma Family Celebrates Christening

Prince Carlos and Princess Annemarie of Bourbon-Parma christened their younger daughter Princess Cecilia at the Cathedral of Piacenza in Northern Italy yesterday.  For this special day, Princess Annemarie wore the most delicate cream silk rose fascinator trimmed with lace and fine net tulle. I thought she looked absolutely exquisite.

Princess Annemarie of Bourbon-Parma, April 5, 2014 | The Royal Hats Blog

Little Princess Cecelia wore a bonnet of what looks like antique Battenburg lace. I thought she looked very sweet and suspect that her older sister Luisa’s sour face below was because she was forced to attend the event without a hat.

Princess Annemarie of Bourbon-Parma, April 5, 2014 | The Royal Hats Blog Princess Cecilia of Bourbon-Parma, April 5, 2014 | The Royal Hats Blog

Prince Carlos’ sister, Princess Margarita of Bourbon-Parama, arrived with their aunt, Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands. Princess Margarita wore a pale pink pouf fascinator that coordinated with her coat and lace sheath. It was not the most exciting of headpieces but somehow, it worked with her ensemble. Princess Beatrix wore a very pretty melon-hued picture hat with upturned brim, ruched band around the crown and large side bow. The hat alone, I quite like. The hat with the sorbet-striped tunic and skirt however, was a little too…. orange. I suppose for a member of the House of Orange, this may not be an unwelcome criticism! Prince Carlos’ aunt, Princess Marie of Bourbon-Parama (pictured below right with Carlos’ brother Prince Jaime and sister-in-law Princess Victoria) was also in pink. Her hat defied gravity with a sharply angled brim and large side pouf bow. I loved how it coordinated with her chic bobbed haircut although I think the fur cuffs on her suit are horrid. Fur and pink jacquard together is never a good idea.

  Princess Margarita of Bourbon-Parma and Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, April 5, 2014 | The Royal Hats Blog  Princess Maria of Bourbon-Parma, April 5, 2014 | The Royal Hats Blog

Prince Carlos’ other aunt, Princess Cecilia of Bourbon-Parma (I suppose she must be who they named the baby after) wore a vibrant blue pleated straw and flowered headpiece. This headpiece left me scratching my own head as it did not seem to relate to her ornately patterned suit. I think the mix of swirls, scrolls, pleats and flowers was a little too much for one outfit- especially an outfit that looked like it was attending a Christmas soiree from the neck down and a garden party from the neck up.

Princess Cecilia of Bourbon-Parma and Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, April 5, 2014 | The Royal Hats Blog

Despite these quirks, it was lovely to see members of the Bourbon-Parma family who we don’t see that often. It was also lovely to see this family so happy to christen their little daughter (a daughter who arrived early and spent many weeks in hospital). As we offer our best wishes to this family, I ask you, dear readers, which of the royal christening hats did you like best on this day?

Princess Annemarie of Bourbon-Parma, April 5, 2014 | The Royal Hats Blog

Photos from Albert Nieboer, Albert NieboerAlbert NieboerAlbert NieboerAlbert NieboerAlbert Nieboer, and Albert Nieboer, all via Corbis