Hat From the Past

Posted on by

Royal Hats On November 22, 1976, a lavish gold-and-white themed party was held for Colin Tennant (the future Lord Glenconnor) on the Caribbean island of Mustique. Princess Margaret’s embroidered caftan and dramatically embellished silk turban made a statement memorable enough to be included in a Kensington Palace fashion exhibit several years ago.

 

Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images

Photo from Lichfield Archive, Lichfield Archive and Lichfield Archive via Getty Images; Getty and social media as indicated

Monday Multiples: Queen Elizabeth

Posted on by

Thanks to longtime reader Jimbo for providing the introduction and background research for Queen Elizabeth’s hats featured in this “Monday Multiples” series.

Jimbo’s Introduction: Queen Elizabeth visited Canada in 1983 and again in 1984.  For both trips she wore a very nice pale yellow dress with matching coat featuring a faint yellow and white plaid pattern. For her 1983 trip to Vancouver, Her Majesty selected a unique, coarsely woven tan straw hat which reminds me of a picnic basket.  Current records do not indicate a second outing of this unusual hat.  Perhaps it was either uncomfortable to wear, or it was met with comments other than highly flattering, or both!

For her 1984 trip to Winnipeg, she wore what was possibly this hat’s debut – much lighter in weight and design.  Apparently, the Queen liked this hat so much that she kept it in her closet until at least 1990, when she paired it with another ensemble.

Look #1:  The textured woven straw boater hat with black velvet hatband tied in a front bow worn March 9,1983

Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

Look #2: The white stitched satin voluminous tam ‘o shanter with bow worn October 6, 1984

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

Thanks, Jimbo! Now dear readers- which hat do you prefer with this pale yellow plaid coat?

Photos from Getty as indicated 

This Week’s Extras

Posted on by

Top hats for King Harald and Crown Prince Haakon last Sunday for Norway’s national holiday
A LOT of millinery designs caught my eye this week:
Waved screen print fabric covered hat with flexible, changeable brim by Italian milliner Sabrina Baldacchini
Show-stopping red layered crin pyramid shaped hat by Australian milliner Lauren J Ritchie
Fuchsia straw button percher with lush vine of silk morning glories by Brtish milliner William Chambers
Navy felt trilby with blue-hued feather covered brim by Dutch milliner Berry Rutjes
Dusky pink leather button percher with beautiful layered lace trim by Australian milliner Kylie Heagney
Ecru straw wide brimmed slice hat with black embroidery by London-based milliner Filipa Cardoso
Pink, yellow and blue handpainted percher hat with straw twists and feathers by US brand Lifted Millinery

For our dear gents, this beautifully textured Panama hat with crisp and classic navy and cream
double hatband by British brand John Boyd Millinery
Cream straw picture hat with green statement bow and fantastic hand pieced straw brim, inspired
by jockey silks, by American brand Amy Jo Original Hats
The most charming pink and green sinamay handmade tulip bandeau headpiece from UK milliner Bridget Bailey
Grey felt fedora with ribbon work lily-of-the valley trim and beaded hatband by British milliner Jane Corbett
Padded oversize pillbox covered in a fantastically bold, retro floral print by Australian milliner Chris Mullane
Warm gold angular straw short-brimmed hat with neon pink silk organza rose by Czech milliner Jolana Kotabova
Large waved percher covered entirely in magenta feathers by Irish milliner Aoife Harrison

And from Scottish milliner Stephanie, this elegantly restrained grey wide brimmed boater with guipure lace hatband

For World Bee Day on Wednesday, Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar visited the beehives gifted to Victoria and Daniel for their wedding
View this post on Instagram

🐝🍯 I dag är det världsbidagen och runtom i världen uppmärksammas biets betydelse för planeten. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Inför #worldbeeday tog Kronprinsessan med sig Prinsessan Estelle och Prins Oscar till bikuporna på Haga. Där fick de lära sig mer om bin och varför de är viktiga för vår biologiska mångfald. Människan är beroende av pollinerare, såsom bin och humlor, för att i slutändan kunna få mat på bordet. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Bikuporna på Haga var en mycket uppskattad lysningsgåva till Kronprinsessparet från Sveriges biodlares riksförbund, @biodlarna, för 10 år sedan. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Läs mer om bikuporna på kungahuset.se ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 📷: Jonas Ekströmer/TT (bild 1) och Pelle T Nilsson/SPA (bild 2 och 3)

A post shared by Kungahuset (@kungahuset) on

Princess Alexandra shared a heartfelt message with Alzheimer Society, as did the Earl and Countess of Wessex for Local Resilience Forums in Wessex


We end this week with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge trying out new roles.

Photos from social media as indicated

Hat From the Past

Posted on by

Royal Hatsto May 21, 1991 and proof that the Dutch and Belgian queens are not the first monarch to experiment with open-crowned hats.

Embed from Getty Images

Photo from Getty as indicated

Chelsea Flower Show

Posted on by

Embed from Getty Images

The Chelsea Flower show is one of many things relocated online this year, with a message of encouragement from its patron. Buckingham Palace also shared a gallery of Her Majesty attending in years past and some of the hats are wonderful:

View this post on Instagram

The Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show is moving online for the first time. 🌸💻 . Visit @the_rhs for a unique timetable of events from Monday 18th to Saturday 23rd May, including gardening advice and virtual sessions. The RHS have been supporting gardeners old and new, with more people than ever accessing the advice pages on their website over recent weeks. Her Majesty has been Patron of the Royal Horticultural Society since 1952 - she first attended the show as Monarch in 1955, and has visited almost every year since. The Queen has today sent her best wishes to all those associated with the RHS: ‘My family and I have always enjoyed visiting the Show, and I know that your Members and Supporters will be disappointed that they are unable to attend in person this year. . ‘I am sure that my grandmother, Queen Mary, who first attended the Chelsea Flower Show in 1916, would be delighted that many people today have an enthusiasm for horticulture, and that gardening remains a popular pastime in the United Kingdom.’ . #RHSChelsea #VirtualChelsea #ChelseaFlowerShow Images: ©️ @the_rhs Lindley Library

A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily) on


Jump over to this post to see all the hats (and hairnets!) Queen Elizabeth has worn to the Chelsea Flower Show since first attending in 1952

To kick off this year’s virtual Flower Show, which coincides with Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK, members of the Royal Family joined in the #MyChelseaGarden campaign, sharing their favourite plants and flowers. Since flowers are such a huge part of royal hats and we all need some encouragement, let’s take a peek, starting with the Queen’s favourites:

View this post on Instagram

On the first day of the virtual Chelsea Flower Show, members of the Royal Family are taking part in the #MyChelseaGarden campaign, sharing a selection of their favourite plants and flowers at this time of year. 🌿🌸 . As this year's show coincides with #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek, @the_rhs are encouraging people to brighten their social media feeds with images of plants and gardens, to provide a moment of respite in these challenging times. The Queen has chosen lily of the valley, pictured here in the Buckingham Palace gardens. Lily of the valley featured in Her Majesty’s coronation bouquet and has held special associations since. Visit our website to see #MyChelseaGarden images shared by other members of the Royal Family (link in bio). . #MyChelseaGarden #VirtualChelsea #RHSChelsea

A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily) on

Princess Alexandra: 

Duke & Duchess of Gloucester

The Earl and Countess of Wessex

Princess Anne
Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall

I thought this was charming and I hope it brightens your day.

Embed from Getty Images

Photos from Getty and social media as indicated

Favourite New Royal Hat: January & February 2020

Posted on by

Nine of the new royal hats that debuted in January and February stood out in particular- which one was your favourite?

Please click on each caption link to jump to original feature posts with additional views, information and discussion on each hat, shown here in the order they were worn:

 

 

1.    2.
Zara Tindall’s woven black straw boater with relaxed brim by Sarah J Curtis worn Jan 5
Duchess of Cambridge’s blue felt Hicks and Brown fedora with pheasant feather hatband worn Jan 5
3.    4.
Zara Tindall in a wave trimmed teardrop percher covered in orange and pink feathers by Millinery Jill worn Jan 11
Queen Margrethe’s blue wool sidesweep hat with plaid hatband by Mathilde Thoe Førster worn Jan 14
5.     6.
Zara Tindall’s heathered grey felt fedora with darker grey hatband and side bow worn January 25
Queen Elizabeth’s ivory, pink and peach bouclé plaid hat with bow and peach feathers by Angela Kelly worn Feb 3
7.  8.  9.
Princess Sofia’s wide brimmed felt fedora hat worn February 4
Queen Mathilde’s grey bandeau by Amélie d’Hooghvorst worn February 17
Queen Máxima’s brimless beret-calot covered in pheasant feathers worn February 18 
This poll will remain open until Thursday, June 4 at midnight GMT.  As usual for these polls, each computer or mobile device can vote twice per day for as many hats as you wish. Happy voting!

Favourite Repeated Royal Hat: January & February 2020

Posted on by

What to say… while it’s been several months since public royal engagements ceased and with them, royal hats for us to admire, we have not chosen our favourite designs from the beginning of this year.

Ten repeated royal hats stood out in January and February- which one was your favourite?

Please click on each caption link to jump to original feature posts with additional views, information and discussion on each hat, shown here in the order they were worn:

 

1.     2.
Queen Margrethe’s winter white rimmed saucer with fur trim worn January 12
Princess Nobuko’s dark aubergine silk bumper with vented, bead brim worn January 15
3.     4.
Princess Hisako’s apricot silk boater with beaded applique, silk calla lilies and pearls worn Jan 15
Princess Akiko’s pale blue Breton with ostrich feathers and veil worn January 15
5.     6.
Queen Elizabeth’s recycled grey felt hat with assymetrical crown, feathe flowers & sweeping quills worn Jan 19
Empress Masko’s burgundy felt hat with lattice embroidered silk hatband worn January 22
7.     8.
Queen Margrethe’s blue wool sidesweep hat with plaid hatband by Mathilde Thoe Førster worn on February 8
Queen Elizabeth’s mulbery felt Angela Kelly split crown hat with pompoms worn February 19
9.  10.
Queen Elizabeth’s oxblood wool silk crepe and straw hat with cherry blossoms by Angela Kelly worn Feb 25
Princess Anne’s turquoise felt fedora with double hatband and feathers by Amy Morris-Adams worn Feb 29
This poll will remain open until Thursday, June 4 at midnight GMT.  As usual for these polls, each computer or mobile device can vote twice per day for as many hats as you wish. Happy voting!
Photos from Ole Jensen via Getty; TV Tokyo; FNN; Karwai Tang via Getty; TV Tokyo; Ritzau Scanpix via the Danish Monarchy; Heathcliff O’Malley/WPA Pool, Victoria Jones/POOL/AFPvia Getty;  David Hartley/Shutterstock