When a noble bride’s extended family contains members of the Brazilian, Belgian and Luxembourgish aristocracy, one can expect many royal guests at the wedding! Such was the case for last weekend’s marriage of Princess Alix de Ligne and Count Guillaume de Dampierre last weekend. As the bride’s father, Prince Michel de Ligne, is a first cousin of Grand Duke Henri, most of the Grand Ducal family of Luxembourg were in Belgium for the wedding. My sincere thanks to Valentin Dupont, author of Royalement Blog, for generously sharing his photos of the event.
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa repeated her black straw slice hat with ribbon twist trim, a hat that remains a great one for her. With her tan leaf trimmed suit, the hat made for a polished ensemble.
Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn: June 24, 2015
Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie went a more vibrant route, pairing her electric blue knit dress with a sunny yellow straw picture hat. While the hat looks to feature a double brim, it is actually a simple sedge shape with pyramid top (the brim of the base hat is just above ‘s eyebrows) with a curving, wide silk edged wrap of sorts that circles around the base hat’s brim (view this video at 1:33 for a full picture) and curling blue feather trim. While I want to commend Stéphanie’s bold use of colour, I’m not sure that the hat flatters her. There’s also something about the placement of those feathers I don’t like, perhaps because they are competing with the soaring wrap on the brim.
Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
Princess Claire paired her peachy pink wrap dress with a coordinating straw hat trimmed in a slim cerise hatband and silk rose at the side. While the Hereditary Grand Duchess opted for too much colour, Claire’s ensemble read a little bland.
Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
Princess Tessy got the colour mix in her ensemble just right, pairing her white dress and floral coat with a turquoise statement headpiece. I imagine the unique shape of this piece is meant to frame the wearer’s face… in this case, it looks more like it’s swallowing her up. With its mass of curling straw ribbon, it is fun design that I think would work better for Tessy if it was about half the size.
Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: June 24, 2011
Princess Alexandra repeated her embellished lace headband, replacing the band’s original lime green flower with a larger one in black silk. I’m all for renovating pieces to give them new life but the mix of Alexandra’s delicate lace dress, heavy black jacket and the flapper style headpiece felt convoluted and I’m afraid, didn’t work for me.
Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: in a previous reiteration, June 24, 2015
We seldom see the Grand Ducal family at the same event (except for National Day, which is coming up on Friday this week) and my quibbles about their hats aside, it’s wonderful to see the whole family together. What do you think of the hats they wore for this wedding?
Photos from Valentin Dupont, author of Royalement Blog and Rex/Shutterstock
3.
Princess Maria Teresa, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (as she was known then) wore a beige silk headband with bow at the side while Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, who was still a teenager, wore a large white hat with squared crown and wide upturned stripe of black straw around the brim.
Royal Hats 