Our favourite tiny-princess-with-hairbow began her academic career today in Stockholm with her first day of school. Little Princess Estelle, who was accompanied by her parents Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, wore a petite blue bowed hair clip for the occasion. Adorable!
Photos from Mark Cuthbert, Mark Cuthbert, Mark Cuthbert, and Mark Cuthbert via Getty
Last Saturday, August 16, 2014, King King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden attended the King’s Rally on the island of Öland. The royal couple joined 350 other vintage car enthusiasts in the King’s 1946 Volvo PV 60. For this event, Queen Silvia topped her 1940s inspired red peplum suit with a red and black straw cloche hat. The cloche was trimmed with large straw flowers and bows on the side that trailed in long tails around the bottom of the hat. I don’t expect we’ll see this hat for future daytime royal engagements but it was so very suitable for this event. The King looked quite handsome in a white fedora; I loved how he matched his red polka dot bow tie to his wife’s ensemble.
Photos from Stella via Svenskdam
The Swedish Royal family were also all in attendance for the May 22, 2004 wedding of the Prince of Asturias and Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano. Queen Silvia wore a pale aqua blue ensemble with a matching hat. This hat, with a rounded crown hat and slightly curled brim, was an exquisite colour on the Swedish queen but the simplicity of its shape makes the hat seem ordinary… perhaps too ordinary for a queen.
Crown Princess Victoria caused a fashion stir by not wearing a hat. Her orange embroidered, Asian-inspired silk dress made a phenomenal statement all by itself – instead of a hat, Victoria wisely chose to top it with a small orange feather fascinator worn at the back of her head. I have always thought Princess Victoria looked stunning in this dress although I wonder if was better suited to a evening or cocktail event instead of a daytime royal wedding. The dress seems too sparkly and shiny and that little bunch of orange feathers does not, a royal headpiece make.
While Princess Victoria’s outfit pushed the daytime dress code, Princess Madeleine’s cream suit and rose-beige hat fell quietly within it. The hat, with a short crown and downward curved brim is rather neither offensive nor memorable. While I understand that not all royal hats can be dramatic statements, this one felt like a rather bland millinery choice for this fashionable young princess.
Looking back, I am certainly not as impressed by the hats worn by the Swedish royal family at this wedding as I was by the Belgian, Greek or Spanish royal families. Do you agree? Is there a hat in this trio that strikes your fancy?
Later today, we’ll look at the hats worn by the Norwegian royal family.
Photos from A. Jones/J. Whatling/J. Parker/M. Cuthbert, Lalo Yasky, A. Jones/J. Whatling/J. Parker/M. Cuthbert, A. Jones/J. Whatling/J. Parker/M. Cuthbert, A. Jones/J. Whatling/J. Parker/M. Cuthbert, and Getty Images/Stringer via Getty;
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden celebrated her 37th birthday today. While the Swedish royal family joined in the celebration, the star of the festivities was undoubtedly little Princess Estelle. Wearing an adorable dress worn back in 1984 by her aunt, Princess Madeleine, Estelle was the picture of sweetness in a little pink hair bow.
During the celebration, Estelle was given a wreath of red roses for her hair. She was less enthused about this headpiece and decided it was more interesting to study than to wear.
Photos from Mark Cuthbert, Mark Cuthbert, Mark Cuthbert, Mark Cuthbert, and Mark Cuthbert via Getty
As we have already looked at the hats worn by her mother and grandmothers, let’s now turn our view to the hats worn by guests at Princess Amalia’s baptism ten years ago.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, who was named one of Princess Amalia’s godmothers, wore a hat I absolutely adore on her. This chocolate brown straw picture hat designed by Irish milliner Philip Treacey featured Treacy’s signature figure-8 looped bow as a minimalist trim. The bow, in pink, coordinated beautifully with Victoria’s tailored pink suit, and created such a chic ensemble.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg wore a juicy lime green.straw hat with oval, upturned brim edged in bubblegum pink. The high contrast colour combination was echoed in her suit to create a fantastic overall ensemble. My only quibble was the brim of her hat, which seemed a too large for Maria Teresa.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Princess Mathilde of Belgium (as she was known then) wore a pale gold mushroom-shaped straw hat designed by Fabienne Delvigne. This hat shows Mathilde’s streamlined millinery style a decade ago and makes such an interesting comparison with the bright and more daring hats she wears today.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Princess Laurentien wore one of the most interesting hats at this event. Made of three layers of red straw, this hat flowed over Laurentien’s head like a wave (notice there is no specifically formed crown) and raised vertically on one side. Trimmed with a large bow and feathers on the raised side, the hat made quite a statement. I think I would have liked it much better had it not been paired with Laurentien’s busy, patterned jacket and necklace.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Princess Mabel, in comparison, looked serene and very streamlined in a white picture hat with a square crown. The unusual proportion of the large brim and short crown on this hat creates much visual interest on this hat (something that is created on most other hats by embellishment). At the time, Mabel was a newcomer to the Dutch Royal Family and had worn many outfits with bows (something I was never a fan of) and I thought this clean-lined and bow-free coat and hat were such an elegant look for her.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Other members of the Dutch royal family were also in attendance for Princess Amalia’s christening. Princess Margriet wore a white picture hat with floppy brim and red flower on the side. Princess Irene wore a beautiful black hat with flat crown and brim, trimmed with a Chanel-esque pink rose on the side. And Princess Christina wore a sunny yellow pillbox trimmed with a flower and trailing looped ribbon. This pillbox remains one of my favourite ever hats on Princess Christina.
Princess Marilène wore a royal blue ensemble topped with an elegant straw hat. The brim of the hat gently rolled up around her face and created the most flattering and beautiful hat shapes on her. When the proportions of a hat are just right for the wearer, the hat ‘sings’ and I think such was the case with this hat on Marilène.
Princess Annette wore a white hat in an oversize cloche shape with a tall, rounded crown and low brim. While these photos do not share the detail of this hat (I believe there was a white ribbon around the crown and the edge of the brim), it still seemed a little too big for petite Annette.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Princess Anita wore a sea foam green straw picture hat draped in a vine of straw leaves. I love this hat much more now than I did at the time, and appreciate such interesting trim that does not involve flowers or feathers! The trailing vine framed Anita’s face so beautifully and the large scale of the hat was wonderful on her. Princess Aimée wore a small bucket hat in pale pink with a soft, ruched scarf around the crown. I particularly like how the soft pink of her hat coordinated with the darker pink of her suit.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
All in all, Princess Amalia’s christening was a colourful day of royal hats, wasn’t it? I am curious- do you find that time has been kind to these hats or do they seem dated and best left as a memory?
Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 