Sixty-eight years ago today, the British Royal Family appeared with Sir Winston Churchill on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to celebrate V-E Day.
Fifty years later (eighteen years ago today), Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret recreated that balcony scene. Much can be said about these iconic moments in British history. I’m just fascinated by how little the Queen Mum’s hat changed during those 50 years.
Photos from Getty as indicated
This week has been a quiet royal hat week (don’t worry – there are a few royal tours next week and there will be lots of activity around the Dutch coronation) so I thought today we would take time to look back at another hat from the past.
Queen Elizabeth’s mother, affectionately known as the Queen Mum, was a prolific hat wearer. Her MANY hats were almost always the same shape – an oversize capulet with a high upturned brim in the font that formed a sort of halo around her face. While they were the same shape, they appeared in a kalaidescope of every pastel rainbow colour you can imagine. More often than not, they were also adorned with a veil and either feathers or flowers (the Queen Mother’s hat philosophy was “more is more”). Twenty years ago today, when she was ninety-three years old, she wore this yellow flowered hat to church on Easter Sunday. With the upturned shape (see the halo effect?!) veil and side spray of feathers, this hat captures this unforgettable Queen’s style.
Photo from Getty as indicated
Sixty years ago today, King Baudouin of Belgium escorted Queen Juliana of the Netherlands into Luxembourg Cathedral to attend the wedding of Prince Jean of Luxembourg to Princess Josephine Charlotte of the Belgians (Baudouin’s elder sister) in this fantastical feather covered hat.
Photo from Kurt Hutton via Getty
Twenty-eight years ago today on March 25, 1985, this six month old royal baby was spotted in public, bundled up an adorable cream knit hat and coat. Can anyone guess the identity of this young royal?!
Two readers guessed this little one’s identity very quickly- it’s Prince Harry!
Photo from Getty as indicated
Thirty years ago today, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip toured a naval dockyard in San Diego during their visit to California. The Queen wore this nautically-themed suit and captain’s hat – an unusual hat shape for her. It’s a little too theme-y for me, although theme-y was pretty common in early 1980s fashion. For some reason, the whole ensemble reminds me of a Pearly Queen!
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Photo from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 
