Category Archives: Swaziland

The Coronation: Royal Guests

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As we have come to expect at such landmark royal events, royal guests at King Charles III’s coronation represented nations from around the globe. Those who wore hats to this event were as follows:

The Sultan of Brunei and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

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King Mswati III and Inkhosikati LaMbikiza of Eswatini: Inkhosikati LaMbikiza wore a dusty pink crin halo headpiece trimmed with feathers in the same colour (see a better photo here)

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King Letsie III and Queen Mesenate of Lesotho: Queen Masenate wore a royal blue straw saucer hat trimmed with a dramatic starburst of ivory goose biot feathers.

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King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan: Queen Rania wore a brimless domed hat in the same pale yellow as her dress. The design includes embellishment at the back (a rosette? a bow?) and a wrap of delicate yellow veil.

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Designer: Noel Stewart. Dress by Tamara Ralph. 
Previously Worn: this hat is new

Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco:  Princess Charlene topped her pale suit (love the pearl floral buttons!) with a sleek beret percher hat simply trimmed with a knotted bow at the side. The hat looks to be covered in the same barely-blush hue as the suit.

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Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn: This hat is new

King Willem Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands: Queen Máxima wore a structural white straw saucer hat with brim extension and flying bow. The vertical design of the hat pairs so beautifully with the exquisite applique lace cutout on the bodice of her dress.

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Designer: Philip Treacy. Dress by Jan Taminiau
Previously Worn: This hat is new

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium: Queen Mathilde topped a caped pink dress with an ivory straw saucer hat with extended windowpane brim that folds downward in a sharp edge.

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Designer: dress by Armani Prive.
Previously Worn: This hat is new

King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain: Queen Letizia wore the largest hat we’ve seen her in to date, a design in natural hued straw with mushroom brim and button crown, draped in an overlay of widely woven (I think it’s vintage?) bubblegum pink net veil. It’s a dramatic design for Letizia and so wonderful to see her experimenting with new millinery shapes.

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Designer: Balel Millinery. Suit by Carolina Hererra. 
Previously Worn: This hat is new

His Majesty The Yang di-Pertuan Agong XVI and Her Majesty Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia

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Queen Anne-Marie, Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece: Queen Anne-Marie wore a navy bandeau headpiece trimmed with a pair of navy silk bows. Crown Princess Marie-Chantal topped her ice blue Mary Katrantzou dress with a coordinating Philip Treacy percher hat trimmed with a monochrome multi-looped bow on the side.

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His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, King of the Ashanti Kingdom and Lady Julia Osei Tutu

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Her Majesty Margareta and Prince Radu of Romania: Margareta wore a cornflower blue silk covered percher with feather mount trim. While it coordinates well with her ensemble, unfortunately, it has some some visible construction issues.

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Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark: Crown Princess Mary was head to toe in regal purple, her ensemble crowned by a pleated bandeau headpiece with birdcage tulle veil.

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Designer: bespoke Jane Taylor. Coat dress by Soren Le Schmidt 
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden wore a klein blue silk covered domed pillbox with bow at the back.

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Designer: Tim Martenson. Dress by Pär Engsheden. Styling by Tina Torn
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein: Princess Sophie echoed the sleek lines of her dress and coat with a straw beret percher hat in the same orchid purple. The hat is simply trimmed with a straw twist.

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Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway: Princess Mette-Marit wore a pink pillbox hat with birdcage veil.

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Designer: bespoke Jane Taylor. Dress by Peter Dundas
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Foreign Minister of Oman, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi and Crown Prince of Oman, Theyazin bin Haitham

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I know many of your have been waiting for this- which hats stood out most to you?

Images from Getty as indicated 

Remembering Zulu Queen

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Queen Mantfombi Dlamini passed away unexpectedly last Thursday.  Born a Swazi princess, the daughter of King Sobhuza II  and sister of King Mswati III, she married King Goodwill Zwelithini in 1973 and and was queen consort of the Zulu Nation from 1977 to 2021. When her husband died in March, she served as queen regnant.

We have not admired the intricately beaded headdresses worn by Zulu queens here before- they really are striking.

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Our condolences are extended to the Zulu royal family.

Special thank you to reader Jake for sharing this story.

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Imperial Enthronement: Foreign Royal Guests

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Tuesday’s enthronement ceremony was attended by a number of royal events adorned in either national costume or traditional century court dress, giving the wonderfully formal gown-and-hat combination we don’t often see.

Queen Máxima donned a familiar slate blue gown in transparent silk brocade printed with large roses  but paired it with a different hat than we’ve seen with it before- her grey silk floral and dotted net tulle statement headpiece. The scale and bold design of the headpiece pairs wonderfully with the gown, elevating the sense of drama and gravitas of the overall ensemble.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. Gown by Natan.
Previously Worn: Nov 4, 2014; November 19, 2005

Queen Mathilde was wonderfully elegant in a an exquisite gown, cape and pillbox trio in pale pink silk crepe. The clean, sleek lines of each piece make them balance perfectly together and create a serene and quietly regal look. It’s a fashion philosophy we often see used with the Imperial royal ladies- perhaps the inspiration or influence for this ensemble?

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Designer: unknown. Gown by Armani Prive. 
Previously Worn: This hat is new. It is not the same as the felt calot worn February 6, 2014 as some blogs are reporting. 

Queen Letizia paired her bright, floral gown with a divided bandeau headpiece in pale, dusky pink silk. The scale is great on her and the solid colour is a great choice against her patterned dress, although I thought the bandeau’s construction, with many visible stitches, wasn’t quite up to snuff.

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Designer: Nana Golmar. It is a bespoke silk version of the velvet “Iria Headband“. Gown by Matilde Cano.
Previously Worn: this headpiece is new

Crown Princess Mary’s muted lilac-grey caped dress was brightened with mulberry straw hat. The modified saucer  is worn at a steep incline and trimmed with two huge silk flowers on the underside of the raised brim, the one at the front in mixed shades of purple. Supremely elegant on its own, I think this gown is again, elevated with the statement hat – not to mention those rubies!

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🇯🇵 I Japan regerer kejseren i sin egen tidsæra, og når en ny kejser bestiger Krysantemumtronen i Tokyo, begynder en ny. Således indledte Deres Majestæter Kejser Naruhito og Kejserinde Masako af Japan den 1. maj i år tidsæraen Reiwa, der blandt andet betyder fortræffelig, orden og harmoni. Tronskiftet i Japan markeres i disse dage i hovedstaden Tokyo, hvor Kronprinsparret deltager i en række ceremonier og arrangementer. I morges dansk tid dannede Kejserpaladset ramme om den officielle tronskifteceremoni ”sokui no rei”, hvor Kejser Naruhito fik overrakt de kejserlige regalier under overværelse af kongelige fra hele Europa samt stats- og regeringschefer fra flere lande. Under ceremonien blev der placeret kasser ved siden af Kejseren, som indeholder et sværd og en juvel, der ifølge legenden strammer fra forfaderen til Japans første Kejser, Jimmu, der havde sin regeringstid for over 2.700 år siden. Sammen med et ottekantet spejl udgør de Japans kronregalier. Sværdet og juvelen har aldrig været vist offentligt, da de betragtes som hellige.

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Designer: Jane Taylor. Gown by Valentino
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Crown Princess Victoria wore a straw saucer hat in the same saturated inky purple shade as her gown. The piece, also designed to sit at a sharply tilted angle on the head, is lavishly trimmed with silk roses and straw twists beneath the raised brim, a touch that gives such textural contrast to the opposite, very smooth upper side of the saucer.

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Designer: Philip Treacy. Gown by Escada.
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Seated next to Crown Princess Victoria was a face new to Royal Hats, Swazi King Mswati III’s newest wife, Inkhosikati LaMashwama. She topped her white suit with a vibrant blue straw hat with disc base trimmed with rolled straw rosettes and large bow loops, blue tulle, purple cut feathers and pearls, scattered over the base.

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I know some readers have been waiting days to discuss the hats in this post (my apologies for the delay) so I turn it over to you- what millinery looks here were your favourites?

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Photos from Getty as indicated 

British Royal Wedding Four Years On: International Royal Guests

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Royal Hats The wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge four years ago was attended by representatives from several royal houses outside Europe. Several of these guests attended the wedding in national dress, giving us a glimpse of traditional royal headwear we do not often see here on the blog.

The Raja Isteri of Brunei (below, left with her husband, the Sultan) wore a headscarf in the same blue patterned silk as her baju kurung which was edged in ornate gold threaded lace. Queen Tuanku Nur Zahirah of Malaysia (below right) also wore a traditional baju kurung; her tunic and skirt was heavily appliquéd in pale blue lace. Her headscarf, in pale blue silk, was further edged in intricate silver embroidery.

The wife of King Mswati III of Swaziland (I think it is wife #10, Inkhosikati LaMahlangu) wore a tall vertical black hat. The straw brim was studded with polka dots and the hat was trimmed with large sprays of feathers on both sides of the brim. The hat suited her well and provided a little calm against her printed suit. My main qualm with her ensemble was the odd placement of her diamond brooch. King George Tupou V of Tonga (below left), on the other hand, looked so very handsome in his top hat. I adore a top hat with a morning suit and King George both very well.

Princess Mabereng of Lesotho wore a vibrant orange and tomato red Basotho blouse, skirt, sash and beautifully folded headscarf. She looked beautiful in this colour and I adore that her husband, Prince Seeiso (who co-founded the charity Sentibale with Prince Harry) matched his tie and pocket square to her ensemble.

 The Saudi Arabian royal family was represented by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal and Princess Ameerah. Princess Ameerah was one of the break-out fashion stars at this wedding in a breathtaking lace coat and dress by Zuhair Murad. Built on a light mushroom brim of pale pink crin, the crown of her coordinating has was formed from a mass of multi-looped crin bows studded with slim pink feathers (see a close-up view here). The fussy hat was kept looking light and effortless thanks to the gossamer crin and the ensemble put Ameerah on the international fashion map.

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Of Thailand and Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco were also in attendance but as their national dress does not include headwear, they did not wear hats. Did any of the hats or headpieces in this group strike your fancy?

Stay tuned first thing tomorrow morning when we draw our look back at the hats at this wedding with those worn by guests from the non-reigning European royals.

Photos from Getty as indicated