This Week’s Extras

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Empress Masako in a white silk covered hat for the opening ceremony of the National Cultural Festival and National Arts & Culture Festival for People with Disabilities in Niigata on Monday.
Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in cosy hats while on a visit to Dovrefjell on Tuesday
Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser looking characteristically glamorous this week for meetings at Georgetown University and the World Bank


Princess Beatrix and the Prince of Wales attended a parade on the Ginkelse Heide on the outskirts of Arnhem this morning to commemorate the the 75th anniversary of ‘Operation Market Garden’ in September 1944 which marked the beginning of the liberation of the Netherlands. Princess Beatrix wore a black straw bumper hat and the Prince Of Wales wore the burgundy beret of his uniform of Colonel in Chief of The Parachute Regiment
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Josine Droogendijk, author of the “Mode Koningin Maxima” (Queen Maxima’s Fashion) blog, wrote a fascinating post this week about all 234 of Maxima’s hats!
The following new millinery designs caught my eye this week:
Midnight blue trilby with piped hatband and peacock feathers by British milliner Bundle MacLaren
Fantastic sculptural ikat-print turban with vertical lift by Australian milliner Meghan Briton
Handpainted purple and gold fedora from Italian hatmaker Borsalino
Acid green straw boater hat with black trim and silver stars by Australian milliner Cynthia Jones-Bryson Millinery
Black and white percher and scarlet fur felt teardrop beret with double bow by British milliner Tracey Miller
Delicate blue silk floral headpiece by Australian milliner Meredith McMaster
Black straw percher with gravity-defying trim by German brand Hutkunst Ana
Wonderful parade of designs from Dutch milliner Wies Mauduit (I adore this black lace brim!)
Such unique, angular trim on this tangerine straw hat with printed brim from Aussie brand Contempromental Millinery

And from Irish milliner Caithriona King, this natural straw saucer with soaring pink trim

Princess Kako wore a beautiful kimono on Monday in Austria to meet President Alexander Van der Bellen
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And we close with this stunning sunset portrait of Princess Tatiana of Greece, taken by Prince Nikolaos

Photos from social media as indicated

Guest Post: Sporty Royal Hats

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I’m pleased to welcome New Zealand reader Sandra to Royal Hats today. Sandra is going to guide our look at a series of royal hats we don’t spend much time discussing. Welcome, Sandra!

Sometimes Royals have to be as practical as us ordinary folk when it comes to their attire in certain weathers – although, naturally, their ensembles are “fit for a Queen”. There are many times when Royals don, for instance, hard hats or sporting hats. Those are not the focus here, this is all about dressing for the elements while still managing to be stylish.

The Scandinavian Royals understand the cold, just look at these magnificent furs from King Harald’s 70th birthday in February, 2007 – Queen Sonja and Prince Henrik of Denmark on a joyous, snow-filled ride near Oslo.

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Princess Madeleine (left) and Crown Princess Mette Marit. Crown Princess Victoria, for some reason, was bare-headed (I love her expression in the photo, almost as if she’s just realised how cold it is).

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Queen Silvia is the perfect Nordic snow queen (and toasty warm).

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When a brolly just isn’t enough … practical wet weather gear for Queen Maxima at Queen Sonja’s 70th birthday in July, 2007 and birthday girl Queen Sonja was a picture in an all-white ensemble on her rainy day.

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But the best – and I have no doubt she will always retain this title – wet weather ensemble comes from the artistic and effervescent Queen Margarethe. 

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Pictured below at Queen Sonja’s 70th birthday (at a summer event where seems like some of the royals had packed for any eventuality!), there’s a story behind this cheery raincoat. According to a great post about the outfit at the Royal Order of Sartorial Splendour, Queen Margrethe purchased the wax cloth fabric in London on one of her annual shopping forays there. Jørgen Bender, responsible for several royal wedding and gala gowns, made the raincoat, which Margarethe helped design, in 1995. The coat and hat featured in a 2015 exhibition of Margrethe’s wardrobe to mark her 75th birthday.

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The heat requires certain precautions too and Queen Noor of Jordan chose a simple, but stylish straw hat during a visit to St Tropez, France in July, 1983. She’s pictured with her infant daughter, Princess Iman bint Al Hussein.

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Princess Anne has been photographed many times wearing  sunhats while attending horse trials and the like. However, she has had a ‘working’ stylish sunhat or two, this one is from a visit to Kenya in 1971. She’s chatting to Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of the country which gained independence from Britain in 1963.

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Full points to Queen Maxima who protects her face with a large hat, keeps her eyes sun safe, stays hydrated – and looks gorgeous – during a 2018 visit to the Caribbean island of Curacao. (SunSafe motto: Slip, slop, slap and wrap – slip on a shirt/into the shade, slop on sunblock, slap on a hat and wrap on sunglasses.) 

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Oddly, Crown Princess Mary isn’t often pictured wearing hats in her native Australia, despite the sun’s stronger effects there. This large hat was worn in November, 2011. The occasion was the awards ceremony for Sculpture by the Sea in New South Wales (they’re pictured with a piece in the third photo in the sequence below).

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Pictured at a children’s swim event in Monaco in 1964, Princess Grace keeps the sun off with a lovely straw hat. Sitting in front of her, enjoying lollipops are Prince Albert, 6, and Princess Caroline, 7 (in an intriguing swim hat). Princess Grace had just announced she would be having a third child in 1965.

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Forty-seven years later, Princess Caroline chose a sensible and stylish hat for the religious ceremony when Prince Albert married in 2011. Guests were seated in an outdoor courtyard at the Grimaldi Palace.

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I look forward to seeing other marvelous examples of stylish “weather dressing” unearthed by Royal Hats readers!

Sun, rain and snow hats are usually left for our weekly end-of-week “Extra’s” posts and it’s fun to bring them out for full review and admiration here! Thank you so much, Sandra! I particularly love your description of Queen Margrethe and her fashion as ‘effervescent’.

Photos from Getty as indicated 

Hat From the Past

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Royal Hatsto the early 1980s and this blue cloche with darling butterfly trim. While we see LOTS of feathers and flowers trimming royal millinery, there are surprisingly few butterflies.

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Photo from Getty as indicated

Dutch Monarchs Visit Southwest Drenthe

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King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima braved temperamental weather today on a regional visit that took them to four towns in the northern area of Southwest Drenthe.

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For this visit, Queen Máxima repeated her waved headpiece in blush striped silk abaca, trimmed with a large coordinating silk flower.

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There’s much to love about this headpiece- it’s beautiful shape, sense of movement, exquisite lightness and the lovely contrast provided by those stripes. What doesn’t work here for me is the styling- there’s just too much going on. Ruffled high necked blouses and sweeping headpieces are usually an unsuccessful combination adding a fussy, voluminous trouser suit is never going to help. After Máxima’s stellar look yesterday for Prinsjesdag, this ensemble just falls flat. Although… if I’m honest… this headpiece has always felt a little flat in comparison to it’s stunning cousin.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: Oct 12, 2017;  May 27, 2014;  March 24, 2014

I’m curious, dear readers- if you were tasked with styling this headpiece on Queen Máxima, what would you pair it with?

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Photos from social media and Getty as indicated 

Prinsjesdag 2019

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Members of the Dutch Royal family celebrated Prinsjesdag today, the start of a new session of Dutch parliament that takes place every year in The Hague on the third Tuesday of September.

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King Willem-Alexander, who addressed a joint session of the Dutch Senate and House of Representatives, was joined in The Hague by Queen Máxima, Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien (along with this familiar cheerleader!). As per tradition, the women dressed in long gowns and hats according to the 18th century court dress code that remains in place for this event.

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Queen Máxima wore a domed beret hat with teardrop point in deep claret velvet felt. The brimless design is trimmed with a double knotted bow with rolled tails on the side.

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First up, the colour is absolutely divine on Máxima. I wasn’t initially on board with the hat’s uniquely domed shape but I’ve come around- the pearl encrusted collar/capelet on Máxima’s gorgeous gown (LOVE her in Timinau designs!) makes a strong statement that needed some millinery oomph to counterpoint. A flatter percher would have been too little and a brimmed hat, too much against that collar. The luxuriously sleek lines and texture of this hat enable it to stand on its own while linking so amazingly well with the dress (and THAT diamond and ruby stomacher!). It’s grand, regal and all kinds of glamour.

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Designer: Philip Treacy. It is OC933 from AW 2019. Gown by Jan Taminiau
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Princess Laurentien also topped her gown, in pink textured lace with underlayer of sequinned metallic voille, with a teardrop- shaped hat. The pink sinamay percher base is formed with a gently curving raised edge that gives dimension to the design, which is completed with a mass of hibiscus blooms made of pink feathers. The hat pairs with the gown to create a beautifully coordinated look with layered, textural contrast to break up the single colour. It’s a more subtle look for Laurentien but one she wears very well.

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Designer: Eudia. Gown by Hardies Couture The Hague
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Prinsjesdag always brings statement royal looks and this year is no different- what do you think of this pair of hats today in The Hague?

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Photos from Getty as indicated