Category Archives: Luxembourg

Belgian Royals Attend Annual Memorial Mass

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Members of Belgium’s royal family attended an annual mass to commemorate deceased relatives and ancestors yesterday at the Church of Our Lady in Brussels. Queen Mathilde used the occasion to debut a new black calot hat trimmed in overlaid stripes and a large twisted circle of textured black roughly woven fabric.

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It’s difficult to weigh in on this hat without a better look. At close range, the overlay on the hat looked a bit messy to me but from further away, it gives great textural contrast to Mathilde’s smoothly tailored flared coat.

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Designer: likely Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Princess Marie-Esméralda, King Albert’s half sister, wore an oversize chocolate felt fedora with relaxed brim piped in lighter cafe-au-lait hued ribbon. A patterned hatband in the same two shades finished the piece with a sharp bit of contrast that made the relaxed design look a bit more formal.

Feb 20, 2018 | Royal Hats

Feb 20, 2018 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I suspect this hat is new
Princess Léa, widow of King Albert’s late half brother Prince Alexandre, repeated a chic navy fedora with Petersham ribbon hatband and side bow (not visible here). Worn at a slight angle, the hat is wonderfully chic
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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: Feb 19, 2013

Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg, who is cousin-in-law to King Philippe and his siblings, wore a simple black pillbox hat on the back of her head. It’s a classic millinery choice very fitting for such an event as this.

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: Dec 12, 2014 and likely others
This annual event always brings us a number of sedately styled hats- any thoughts about the ones worn yesterday?

Photos from Getty as indicated; Place Royal TV and The Belgian Monarchy

Luxembourg State Visit to Japan

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Grand Duke Henri and Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg arrived in Japan today for a three day state visit.

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For the official welcome, Empress Michiko  ventured away from of her usual grey toward some colour! She topped her muted canteloupe (or peach? pumpkin? amber?) orange silk suit with a matching saucer hat trimmed in a folded bow. The high-sheen silk on the bow links with a panel of the same fabric on her jacket, drawing the pieces together and making a characteristically unified ensemble. While there’s nothing surprising about the saucer shape, the change of colour is a welcome one.

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Princess Alexandra stepped in for her mother (whose fear of flying prevented her from making the long trip) in a white suit with a feathered bandeau headpiece worn on the back of her head as a calot. It’s a more demure look than we’re used to on the young princess, likely chosen to fit with the Imperial Royal Family’s fairly conservative style. The most exciting thing about this headpiece is that it is same one that Princess Tessy wore in June 2013 for Luxembourg National Day, making me strongly suspect that it originated in the Grand Duchess’ closet.

    

  

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: June 23, 2013 by Princess Tessy 
Crown Princess Masako topped her royal blue coat with a matching hat. There are many things to like here- the hat’s wide black hatband coordinates beautifully with the black velvet collar and cuffs on Masako’s coat and the colour is SO lovely on her. I’d much prefer sharper lines on the hat (I’m not such a fan of the thick, curved brim  and a slightly different shape (nix the the slightly bulbous crown) but will settle for contentment over the saturated colour, which carries the piece.
Designer: unknown
Previously Worn:  January 26, 2016
It’s always nice to see the Imperial royal ladies venture out a bit with their millinery choices- what do you think of this trio of hats today in Tokyo?
Photos from Getty as indicated

Jordan & Luxembourg Royals Attend Sandhurst Parade

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The passing out parade at Sandhurst yesterday was attended by members of the Jordan and Luxembourg royal families, on hand to offer their congratulations to Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg who were among the new graduates completing their officer training at the prestigious military academy in Surrey (Prince Wenzel of Liechtenstein and Shaikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa of Bahrain were also graduates).

 

 

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King Abdallah, a 1981 graduate of the Royal Military Academy himself, stood in for Queen Elizabeth to oversee the Sovereign’s Parade.

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Grand Duke Henri, a 1975 Sandhurst graduate and Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, a 2002 graduate, both attended in military uniform with caps. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore a vibrant pink saucer hat in matching straw that looks to be a near identical twin to the cherry red hat she wore for Luxembourg’s National Day celebrations in June. The saucer follows a gentle curve that raises at the back and, like its twin, is simply trimmed with a looped ribbon of straw. The shape is a little too clunky (from the front, it does look like someone sat upon it), the binding a little too thick and the straw ribbon trim too random for this hat to be a winner for me.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: This hat is new

The Hereditary Grand Duchess, Princess Stéphanie, wore a pale aqua straw hat with wide, gently upswept brim on one side, trimmed with a slim layered straw hatband in the same hue that tied at the side. From the side view below, you’ll note that the hatband continued around the brim of the hat in several large loops. We haven’t seen Stéphanie in many wide brims and while I want to encourage such millinery experimentation for her, something about its combination with her dress and coat was slightly off balance. I may prefer this ensemble with the smaller, quirkier hat she originally paired with it.

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Princess Stéphanie, Aug 11, 2017 | Royal Hats
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Designer: Amelie D’Hooghvorst
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Princess Claire wore a pale pink straw hat piped a narrow stripe of burgundy piping. From far away, the hat looks like a raised ‘slice’ brim design but it is actually a large saucer with domed crown and curved front brim. I like the side view much better than the front, where the piece unfortunately resembles a wonky, sideways-worn cowboy hat.

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Princess Claire, Aug 11, 2017 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
Princess Alexandra repeated her rose-beige straw hat with pork pie crown, floppy brim and grosgrain ribbon hat band finished at the side with a flat bow. It’s not the most refined piece in her millinery closet but paired well with her navy silk dress.

Princess Alexandra, Aug 11, 2017 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: June 23, 2016
Thoughts about the hats in Surrey yesterday?
Grand Ducal Family, Aug 11, 2017 | Royal Hats
Photos from Getty as indicated; Cour grand-ducale / Lola Velasco  

 

Luxembourg National Day

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Members of Luxembourg’s royal family celebrated their country’s national holiday today in a slightly lower key way than in years past (fewer family members in attendance and no hats worn for the annual military parade. For the Te Deum for National Day at Notre Dame du Luxembourg cathedral, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa topped her cherry red dress and coat with a new disc hat in matching straw. The hat features a gentle curve around the back and is very simply trimmed with a looped ribbon of straw.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: this hat is new

Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie topped her pink caped sleeve dress with a matching cocktail hat. Built on a triangular straw base, the hat is trimmed with looped crin embroidered with beads, which relate wonderfully to the beaded neckline on her dress. We’ve seen Stéphanie struggle with percher placements before but this one is in a great spot on the side of her head and the bright colour is absolutely fantastic on her.

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Designer: Sylvia Martinez of Les Folie’s Bibis
Previously Worn: this hat is new

Just two hats for National Day in Luxembourg is a little disappointing- thankfully, both of these designs packed a lot of punch.

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Photos from Getty as indicated and The Catholic Church of Luxembourg

Luxembourg Royals at Closing Octave Procession

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Members of the Luxembourg royal family took part in the closing procession of the Octave of Our Lady of Luxembourg on Sunday.

Luxembourg Royal Family, May 21, 2017 | Royal Hats

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore a new black straw hat with upswept ‘slice’ brim, trimmed with a wide Petersham ribbon hatband, folded into an abstract bow at the side. While it’s a versatile new design for her, it’s close enough to this diagonally brimmed straw black hat that I’m left more than a little curious about its addition.

 Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, May 21, 2017 | Royal Hats

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, May 21, 2017 | Royal Hats  Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, May 21, 2017 | Royal Hats

Designer: unconfirmed. I strongly suspect Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: this hat is new

Back in late January, our friends at Luxarazzi interviewed milliner Sylvia Martinez about her participation in a recent exhibition which included designing pieces for the Grand Duchess and Hereditary Grand Duchess. She sent these two hats to the Luxembourg royal ladies and in a surprise move, Princess Stéphanie wore this design to this event. In golden beige sinmay, the percher design features a lace covered disk base trimmed in pearls with a multi looped straw bow at the back. The hat fits Stéphanie’s style well (and she’s done very well pairing it to her bouclé dress) although I would have loved the placement to be further forward, jauntily angled over her right eye.

Princess Stéphanie, May 21, 2017 in Sylvia Martinez/Les Folie's Bibis | Royal Hats  Princess Stéphanie, May 21, 2017 in Sylvia Martinez/Les Folie's Bibis | Royal Hats

Princess Stéphanie, May 21, 2017 in Sylvia Martinez/Les Folie's Bibis | Royal Hats  Princess Stéphanie, May 21, 2017 in Sylvia Martinez/Les Folie's Bibis | Royal Hats

Designer: Sylvia Martinez of Les Folie’s Bibis,
Previously Worn: this hat is new

Princess Claire topped her pale blue chiffon hat with a pillbox hat in the same hue. The straw hat, in palest blue nubbly straw, features a slightly domed crown and is trimmed with a swath of widely woven net veil. After our recent marathon look at pillbox placement, I think this one is placed back slightly too far and I’d prefer it scooted up an inch or two.

 Princess Claire, May 21, 2017 | Royal Hats  Princess Claire, May 21, 2017 | Royal Hats

Princess Claire, May 21, 2017 | Royal Hats  Princess Claire, May 21, 2017 | Royal Hats

Designer: unconfirmed.
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new

Princess Amalia and Prince Liam of Nassau joined their parents on the balcony. Princess Amalia sported a sweet pale blue hair bow.

Princess Amalia, May 21, 2017 | Royal Hats

It’s lovely to see the Luxembourg royals and this is one of the few annual events outside National Day celebrations when we do. What do you think about the three new hats we saw in Luxembourg this weekend?

Luxembourg Royal Family, May 21, 2017 | Royal Hats

Photos  Jean-Paul Frisch and Monique Kater / RTL Laurent Blum / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu