This Week’s Extras

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Princess Alexandra repeated a grey straw hat by Rachel Trevor Morgan on Wednesday for a visit to Leeds Castle in Kent to celebrate its 900th anniversary
On Thursday, Princess Benedikte attended the opening of the Jacob A. Riis Museum the Southwest Jutland city of Ribe in her repeated navy textured straw picture hat with curving, sideweeping brim.

Queen Mathilde and Princess Elisabeth were in Africa this week, visiting several UNICEF projects. After meeting with the Maasai in Kenya, they came away gifted with names “Namayiana” (blessed one) and “Nasieku” (first born) and these traditional headdresses

On Friday, Queen Margrethe presented a military award, repeating her new terra cotta orange straw hat with navy hatband. Yesterday, she took part in events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the execution of a Danish resistance group in her refined pink straw hat with white trim.
Princess Hisako and Princess Tsuguko took part in American Independence Day celebrations today at the Tokyo American Club. Princess Hisako wore a biscuit straw hat with very short, rolled brim while Princess Tsuguko topped her floral dress with a lovely wider brimmed hat trimmed with flowers.

Make sure to cast your vote in the 2019 Millinery Association of Australia Design Award People’s Choice category– there are some truly astounding hats

The following new millinery designs caught my eye this week:

Orange parsisal button percher with peach blossom vine by American milliner Karen Morris
Kokoshnik bandeau headpiece covered in pink pearls by British milliner Jane Taylor
Black and white straw design with flying bow by Czech milliner Jolana Kotabova
Blue straw percher with crimson silk floral trim by Australian brand Felicity Northeast Millinery
Fanciful maribou-edged brim on this grey, pink & white ombre design by Danish milliner Mathilde Thoe Førster
Green leaf shaped disc hat with gold quills by Irish milliner Teresa Nugent
Striking stripes! Trio of eye catching striped hats by American milliner Behida Dolić
Slate blue saucer embroidered with tropical birds by Australian brand Amanda Lynn Millinery
Chic pink and cream straw fedoras with slim silver hatbands from French milliner Laurence Bossion
Stunning transparent brim on this navy and marine blue picture hat by Dutch milliner Myra van de Korput
Dusky pink straw percher with flying bow and chenille rosebud veil by Australian milliner Jill Humphries
Lovely textured sage green Florentine stitched straw summer hat by British milliner Siana Yewdall
And two hats that made me catch my breath- first is this natural straw beret percher with exquisitely ethereal handmade silk iris flowers and leaves by Leicester-based milliner Guilia Mio

and second is this stunning turquoise design with parasisal crown, two-toned double layer sinamay brim, hand rolled flying bow and turquoise guipure lace applique by Dutch milliner Wies Mauduit. Truly- this hat caught my eye before I realized who made it!

A possible answer to widespread questions about Princess Haya’s absence at Royal Ascot. Whatever is going on in this situation, I’m sure you all join me in wishing her and her children safety and peace.

 

A few lovely snaps taken from the religious wedding of Charlotte Casiraghi and Dimitri Rassam held yesterday in Saint-Rèmy-de-Provence.

Photos from social media as indicated

British Queen and Heir Celebrate Scottish Parliament

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Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Rothesay (Prince Charles’ title when in Scotland) visited Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh today to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its re-establishment. For this event, which saw the Queen address the Holyrood chamber, she wore an outstanding new hat in deep periwinkle blue-purple straw.

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The design features a tall, gently sloped crown with molded creases along the top edge and a moderately sized brim that folds upward around the back. The hat is trimmed with blue hatband (looks like silk) and four yellow-centered purple handmade violet flowers scattered across one side, interspersed with green silk leaves.

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In a word, it’s stunning. We’ve seen this shape and scale on the Queen before- they’re still good. What elevates the hat to greatness is colour and trim. Looking closely at the crown, it appeared that the straw’s warp and weft were woven in slightly different shades- one more royal blue and one more purple-  but on second look (and on Wies’ expert suggestion in the comments below!), I believe the hat is made of layers of sinamay in both royal blue and purple. This layered technique only gives incredible dimension and depth to the hue, but allows those purple violets to blend as perfectly as they do with a a blue hat. The transparent brim keeps the dark-hued design wonderfully light and the violets- well, they are simply works of art. They look to be hand-painted with beautiful varying shades of purple that play so well with purple undertone in the hat’s crown. The whole ensemble is balanced, vibrant, elegant and full of life.

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Queen Elizabeth’s foreign sartorial choices are often full of meaningful colours and motifs- I can’t imagine that this bluey purple is a coincidence here (it was made by a Scottish designer, after all!) and I love the way it makes subtle reference to the purple hat and coat she wore 20 years ago when she attended this Parliament’s first session.

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Designer: Rachel Trevor Morgan. Coat and dress by Stewart Parvin
Previously Worn: This hat is new

I’ve declared my adoration for this hat- what do you think of it, dearest readers?

Photos from Getty as indicated 

Imperial Royals Host and Embark on Foreign Visits

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Numerous world leaders were in Japan this week for the G20 Summit- on Thursday, the emperor and empress welcomed French President and Mrs. Macron to the Imperial Palace for a luncheon in their honour. While the empress, as hostess, did not wear a hat, the Imperial princesses in attendance did.

Princess Mako and Princess Kako both wore silk covered bumper hats trimmed with bows at the back. It’s difficult to tell- I think Mako’s hat and suit is an almond beige while Kako’s looks to be a blush pink.


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Princess Nobuko of Mikasa wore a grey hat with Pork pie crown and rolled brim trimmed with a darker grey hatband and bow at the back. Princess Hisako of Takamado topped her blue and grey floral print suit with a repeated ivory saucer. The hat features an ivory windowpane crin inverted binding around the brim and is trimmed with pale blue silk ruffled flowers on the side.

The most interesting hats of the day were on Princess Yoko of Mikasa, who wore a white hat with wide, curved brim and tall pinched crown, trimmed with a pale turquoise hatband and Princess Tsuguko of Takamado, whose hat featured a navy crown with ivory wrap and ivory brim with a stripe of navy binding. With her navy and cream ensemble, the hat topped a crisp and very summery look.

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This year marks 100 years of Polish-Japanese diplomatic relations, a centennary being celebrated with a visit by Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko to the Eastern European nation. For their arrival yesterday at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Princess Kiko wore a cream bumper hat with upfolded brim. Polish first lady Agata Duda’s fuchsia straw button percher with straw loops and feathers is a small hat but an eye-catching one!

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For a visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier later in the day, the Crown Princess wore a brimmed white hat with upturned kettle brim trimmed with a layered taupe hatband. Kiko wears so many brimless bumpers, it’s great to see her in a brimmed design for a change.

Following the visit to Poland, Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko will continue to Finland where we’ll no doubt see several more hats. What do you think of these designs at these foreign diplomatic relations events?

Photos from Getty and social media as indicated

Queen Kicks Off Holyrood Week

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Queen Elizabeth arrived in Scotland this morning for the start of Holyrood Week, attending the Ceremony of the Keys at Holyrood House in Edinburgh and visiting Greenfaulds High School in a repeated primrose yellow hat some of you will remember from its first outing three years ago at the Service of Thanksgiving celebrating Her Majesty’s 90th birthday.

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The hat features a white straw brim with upturned kettle edge and crown covered in the same yellow silk wool pique as the ensemble’s matching dress and coat. The brim edge is embroidered in the same delicate white flowers as embellish the coat and the hat is finished with a large yellow and white silk dahlia bloom on the side.

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The Queen is such a master of dressing in ways that will enable her to stand out- even in such a soft shade of yellow! The colour is very pretty on her and while some parts of the ensemble still seem overly fussy (scalloped edges on the coat and all that embroidered on top of a patterned fabric), the hat coordinates with a scale that suits the Queen very well.

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Designer: Angela Kelly made by Stella McLaren
Previously Worn: June 10, 2016

What do you think of this hat on this, its second outing?

Photos from Getty as indicated 

Favourite New Royal Hat: Royal Ascot

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Of the 24 new royal hats we saw at Ascot this year, 13 were met with particular admiration, based on your comments. It’s now time to take another look at these baker’s dozen of millinery beauties and choose two favourites to put forward in our year-long quest to name Favourite New Royal Hat of 2019.

Click on any photo or caption to jump over to a feature post with additional views and discussion on each hat:

1.    2.   

Queen Elizabeth blue hat with peaked brim and velvet flowers by Angela Kelly worn on Day 1
Queen Máxima’s tawny pink straw saucer covered in feather flowers by Berry Rutjes worn on Day 1

3.    4.

Duchess of Cambridge’s wide blue straw saucer with underbrim flowers by Philip Treacy worn on Day 1
Princess Beatrice’s blue straw matador boater with tassels by Bundle MacLaren worn on Day 1

   5.    6.

Zara Tindall’s pale blue saucer with flowers and twists by Juliette Botterill worn on Day 1
Duchess of Cornwall’s pale aqua straw Philip Treacy picture hat with peaked crown worn on Day 2

7.    8.    

Queen Elizabeth’s silver straw hat with pleated crin brim overlay and gold flowers by Angela Kelly worn on Day 3
Princess Eugnie’s teal saucer covered in feathers with gold quill by Bundle MacLaren worn on Day 3

9.   10.   11. 

Princess Anne’s muted teal straw hat with sidesweeping brim, looping bow and deep teal hatband worn on Day 3
Autumn Phillips’ cream satin & straw percher with pink dyed silk ruffle by Bee Smith worn on Day 3
Zara Tindall’s deep teal saucer with ruffled back, flower and quill trim by Juliette Botterill worn on Day 3

12,   13.

Princess Michael of Kent’s ivory picture hat with black brim piping and bow worn on Day 3
Autumn Phillips’ lattice straw saucer trimmed with flowers and feathers by Sally Ann Provan worn on Day 5

This poll will remain open until next Sunday, July 7 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. Enjoy!