After reviewing the hats and headpieces worn by Princess Sofia and members of the Swedish royal family to Prince Alexander’s christening last Friday, it’s now time to turn our attention to those worn by extended family and royal guests. The only foreign royal guests at this event were Prince Leopold and Princess Ursula of Bavaria (Prince Leopold is Prince Carl Philip’s godfather). Princess Ursula followed the trend set by the Swedish royal family, opting for a triple silk bow fascinator with cascade of feathers in pale sky blue. The headpiece is fun but its whimsical feel was at odds with her more streamlined and formal coat. I really like both pieces… but not together.
The Haga princesses were represented by Princess Margaretha, who did not wear a hat. Frida Bergström, partner of Princess Christina’s son Victor Magnusson who was named as one of Prince Alexander’s godparents, was one of just two members of the extended Swedish royal family to wear a full-on hat. In pale oyster grey straw, the large saucer hat features a gently sloped pyramid at the crown that extends to a slight point on the bottom brim; the hat is simply trimmed with a straw double bow with centre knot embellished with crystals. The scale of this piece works well on Friday and while the colour is not best for her, I like the hat simply because it stands out amidst all the other headbands and fascinators at this event.
Countess Marianne Bernadotte of Wisborg repeated the silk flower and arrow trimmed gold feather headpiece she wore to King Carl Gustaf’s 70th birthday celebrations on April 30. Mrs. Dagmar von Arbin (granddaughter of Prince Oscar Bernadotte) who at 100 years old is currently the eldest member of the Swedish royal family, topped her coral suit with a small black silk bow and net fascinator.
Countess Jill Bernadotte (wife of Count Bertil Bernadotte af Wisborg) topped her honeycomb suit with a natty navy straw hat trimmed in feathers. The shape of this piece is a little unusual but it works with Jill’s short hairstyle and fits well with the informality of this event.
Several members of Queen Silvia’s extended family were also in attendance. Bettina Aussems (wife of Silvia’s nephew Thomas Sommerlath) wore one of my favourite pieces of millinery at this event. Built on a base of transparent black straw, this cocktail hat is all about its central mass of striped feathers. The overall flower shape of the piece is so lovely and the gentle sense of movement provided by the swaying feathers (which were beautifully caught by even the slightest breeze) made me smile. I think this is a great example of how to do a hat at an informal event… and the royals could take note!
The other Sommerlath family members in attendance were Queen Silvia’s nephew Patrick, his wife Maline and their family. Maline wore a simple navy fascinator attached to a headband while the couple’s twin daughters Chloe and Anais wore darling floral trimmed headbands.
And that wraps up the hats and headpieces at this christening. Several of you have commented about the wide use of headbands and fascinators at this event and wondered if this is a permanent millinery future direction the Swedish royal family. While the Swedish royal princesses have favoured smaller headpieces for several years, the
King’s 70th birthday celebration in April showed that when royal hat ‘A game’ is required, the Swedish royals deliver. Prince Alexander is fifth in line to the throne and as such, his christening was a less formal event than those of Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar. I think the informal headpieces we saw here were simply a reflection of the overall informality of the event and not a permanent eschewing of hats.
Now that we’ve seen all the millinery worn for this occasion, are you able to choose your stand out favourites?
Photos from Olle Sporrong, Meli Petersson Ellafi, Anders Wiklund/TT, Jonas Ekstromer/TT, Henrik Montgomery and Claudio Besciani/TT via IBL and TT News Agency
Royal Hats 
