Over the late summer and early fall, we undertook a quest to identify Queen Elizabeth’s most iconic hats. Through much searching and discussion, we narrowed down hats worn over eight decades to a few that are “widely known and acknowledged especially for distinctive excellence.” It’s interesting- some hats were nominated as iconic for the events they attended, while others for the merit (or memorability) of their design. Despite some difficulties with subjectivity and definition, there were 34 hats that received consensus as deserving of this ‘iconic’ label:

Red velvet bow trimmed bonnet with black veil at Prince Charles’ Christening on December 15, 1948
Blue folded-brim calot with tulle ruffle for Princess Anne’s christening on October 21, 1950

Feather trimmed brimmless black hat worn for her return to London from Kenya as Queen, February 7, 1952
Black-crinoline brimmed hat trimmed with red and green ostrich feathers worn with a Hardie Ames white lace dress at a Sydney, Australia garden party on February 1, 1954 during the Coronation tour

Blue veiled headpiece with silk flowers designed by Norman Hartnell for Princess Margaret’s wedding, May 7, 1960
The memorable “yellow spaghetti” hat by Simone Mirman worn May 27, 1965 on a visit to Germany

The yellow silk Tudor snood with pearls by Simone Mirman worn for the July 1, 1969 investiture of the Prince of Wales
Aqua blue silk and feather brimless hat by Simone Mirman on November 20, 1972 for the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh’s 25th wedding anniversary Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey

Royal blue silk turban with purple lace and ribbon flowers by Simone Mirman worn for Princess Anne’s first wedding on November 14, 1973
Bright pink Simone Mirman designed turban with swinging bell flowers around the back worn for the opening of the 1976 Montreal Olympics and the June 7, 1977 Silver Jubilee 

Stitched green tam ‘o shanter hat with feather trim worn to the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May 1980
Ian Thomas designed sky blue silk crepe turban with chiffon flowers worn July 29, 1981 for the Wales’ wedding

Ruched turban in dotted blue silk organdie by Frederick Fox worn for Prince William’s christening August 4, 1982 and a tour of the Solomon Islands in October 1982
Blue silk crepe hat with chiffon flowers by Ian Thomas worn for the York’s wedding in July 1986

Double brimmed purple felt hat worn for a memorable visit to the Great Wall of China on October 14, 1986
Royal blue Philip Somerville hat (made by Dillon Wallwork) with chevron silk striped bows worn October 17, 1988 during a visit to Spain

The purple straw boater with white stripes ‘talking hat’ worn on May 14, 1991 for an address (on a too-short podium) at the White House in Washington, DC
The dark teal velvet “Annus Horribilis” hat worn for a November 24, 1992 speech at Guildhall in London

Wide brimmed black Bretton hat worn to return to London from Scotland on September 5, 1997
Triangular shaped bumper hat with silk bow worn to the Princess of Wales’ funeral on September 6, 2018

The brimless, stacked accordion hat by Marie O’Reagan worn December 11, 1997 to decommission Britannia
Purple feather bandeau fascinator by Frederick Fox for the July 19, 1999 wedding of the Wessexes

Purple asymmetrical hat by Philip Somerville with green feathers worn to the opening of Scottish Parliament, July 1, 1999
Black square crowned cloche with silk folded hatband and feathers worn to the funerals of her mother and sister in 2002

Vibrant blue straw hat with basket-weave brim by Frederick Fox worn for the Golden Jubilee, June 4, 2002 (and on an earlier visit to Botswana in 1998
White ruched crown Philip Somerville hat with black silk bow and straw brim worn on a 2008 trip to Slovakia and on April 25, 2015 for a Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving to mark the ANZAC Landings 

Philip Somerville’s ‘pink swirl’ silk picture hat worn to Oman in 2010 and Ascot in June 2011
Blue straw ‘Union Jack hat’ with red piped bow by Rachel Trevor Morgan worn in 2011 in Cambridge and on April 2015 day at Newbury Races

Yellow silk crepe covered boater hat with flowers and velvet leaves by Angela Kelly worn April 29, 2011 for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding
White hat with upswept, ruched silk brim by Angela Kelly worn for the June 3, 2012 Diamond Jubilee Thames Flotilla

Textured silk hat with kettle straw brim and crystal-studded green chiffon hatband by Angela Kelly worn for the June 5, 2012 Diamond Jubilee Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral
Blue silk crepe covered ‘Wedgwood’ hat with lace trim by Angela Kelly first worn June 25, 2012 in Norther Ireland

Peach feathered ‘Bond Girl’ fascinator by Angela Kelly worn for the July 27, 2012 opening of the London Olympics
The ‘EU flag’ hat in covered in blue paisley silk wool cloqué fabric with yellow-centered blue flowers first worn June 21, 2017 for the state opening of parliament (one of a few in a hat, not a tiara)

It’s incredibly difficult to narrow down several hundreds (thousands?) of hats worn over eight decades but I think you have done and excellent job with this group. Numerous hats here are known by a nickname (surely a sight of distinctive excellence!) or by naming the event they were worn to. I’m curious, dearest readers- what do you think of your list? Are there hats here you don’t think should be included? Is there are particular hat you think has been unfairly omitted?

Photos from Getty as indicated Photo: AP; Camera Press; V&A Images; Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images; Alamy; DPA: Reginal Davis/Rex Features; Fox Photos, and Hulton Archive via Getty; Douglas Kirkland/Corbis; Serge Lemoine, Princess Diana Archive, Tim Graham, Tim Graham, Tim Graham, Tim Graham, Anwar Hussein, Joel Robine, Julian Parker, John Shelley Collection/Avalon, Hulton Royals Collection, Tim Graham, Ian Waldie, PA Images, Tim Graham, Tim Graham, Max Mumby/Indigo, Samir Hussein, Max Mumby/Indigo, Chris Jackson, Bethany Clark/Stringer, Max Mumby/Indigo, John Stillwell, Carl Court