The funeral of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg was attended by representatives from nearly every European royal house, many who wore hats. Out of respect for this event and the Grand Duke’s memory, this post contains photos only (no commentary) and is not open for comments.
Monarchs from Denmark, Sweden, Liechtenstein and Norway:
The funeral for Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg was held Saturday at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg City, attended by all members of the extended Grand Ducal Family and their Belgian royal cousins. Out of respect for this event and the Grand Duke’s memory, this post does not contain any commentary on the hats and it is not open for comments.
Some of you have written asking for coverage of this weekend’s Kentucky Derby. I don’t believe a royal hat will appear at this year’s races so I’ll leave the coverage to you- feel free to post any Derby hats and engage in related discussion in the comments of this post. I’ll hold coverage of Grand Duke Jean’s funeral and Dutch Remembrance Day until later on Monday.
For the 70th anniversary of the modern Commonwealth this week, the British monarchy released these throw-back photos that include some wonderful past hats on Her Majesty
On his birthday on Tuesday, King Carl Gustaf was joined by Queen Silvia and their dog, Brandie, to open a ‘rain and rest’ pavilion for visitors of both the 2 and 4-legged varieties at Ormholmen in Drottningholm Castle Off-Leash Park. For this event, the King repeated his trusty brown fedora.
Queen Margrethe officially commenced the 2019 sailing season with a small trip yesterday on board the royal yacht Dannebrog from Copenhagen to Elsinore. For this, she repeated her nautical navy hat with white brim binding and layered navy and white stacked ribbon hatbands.
Interesting ceremonial hat on King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailant this morning as he was is carried on a golden palanquin out of the Grand Palace for the coronation procession
Queen Elizabeth was spotted en route to church at Windsor this morning in the pink straw hat with ostrich feather trim by Angela Kelly (made by Stella McLaren) she debuted last year
Days before his coronation, the never-boring new Thai king announced his fourth marriage this week and has declared his new wife as queen. His bride, Suthida Tidjai, previously worked as a flight attendant for Thai Airways before being appointed as one of the king’s bodyguards. Most recently, she was promoted to his head of security and a general in the army. (CNN)
Three sweet portraits of Princess Charlotte, taken by her mum, released on Wednesday for her 4th birthday.
We end this week with a sweet photo shared by Princess Eugnie in celebration of her husband, Jack’s birthday.
Following the abdication and enthronement ceremonies that took place earlier last week, the Japanese royal family appeared balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Friday for the emperor and empress’ first official public appearance.
Empress Masako chose vibrant yellow for this debut, a colour we’ve not seen on her in recent memory. Her silk covered hat features a domed crown and tightly upturned kettle brim, trimmed with a hatband embroidered with diagonal stripes of gold and saffron bugle beads.
The beaded hatband links with the exquisite starburst (or rising sun?!) motif around the collar and cuffs of her gown with a slight but very welcome contrast provided by the diagonal direction. It’s a matched ensemble, for certain, but such is the Imperial way at events as high profile as this and it’s wonderful to see something on the empress as sunny as her smile has been this week. Dare we hope it’s a foretaste of more vibrant hats to come?!
Designer: unknown Previously Worn: This hat is new
Crown Princess Kiko repeated a bumper hat covered in cream silk printed with a small floral jacquard pattern. The hat is simply trimmed with the same finely braided trim as on the bodice seams and cuffs of her gown. Kiko’s ensembles are always impeccably finished and I suspect the subtle detail in this hat is best viewed at closer range.
Princess Kako followed her sister’s lead, repeating a cuffed calot hat and gown in pink silk printed with a small floral motif. As far as calots go, this has a lovely shape emphasized by the cuff. The right side of the hat is trimmed with pink silk flowers.
Princess Hanako brought some of her characteristic millinery pizzazz with a heart shaped hat in the same periwinkle blue silk as her gown. The hat’s crown features an inlay of pleats- a unique detail I can’t remember seeing on another royal hat. The pleats emphasize the unusual heart shape; the hat is finished with a small, rolled brim and spray of silk lilies of the valley at the back. The design feels rather creative for an Imperial hat, something I’ll always applaud!
Designer: unknown Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
Princess Yuriko, who will celebrate her 96th birthday next month, looked regally elegant in her deep green pillbox hat trimmed with a silk rose at the side.
Princess Nobuko topped her melon hued gown with a pleated bandeau-calot in a slightly lighter shade, trimmed with orange silk rolled rosettes and bow loops on the side. The different shades of peach, melon and orange work so well to create a look that is interestingly nuanced but still, very coordinated
Designer: unknown Previously Worn: I believe this is nes
Princess Akiko repeated her pale blues silk covered Breton hat trimed with ostrich feather wrap that fills the surface of the brim, and a dotted net veil. The hat’s narrow brim suits petite Akiko very well and, as I’ve mentioned before, does not overwhelm the amazing cutwork on the collar of her gown.
Princess Hisako paired her salmon pink paisley floral high necked gown with a beautiful brimmed hat. The design, which features a shallow crown, is trimmed with a lace hatband and delicately patterned veil that overlays the brim. The plain salmon silk covered hat is further trimmed with a spray of silk blooms and leaves on the side. We consistently see the Imperial royals in hats and gowns of the same hue but the different materials used on the two pieces here give such lovely contrast and interest to the ensemble. It’s just exquisite.
Designer: unknown Previously Worn: This hat is new
Princess Tsuguko wore a percher hat in a beautifully patterned green silk. The teardrop shaped base is trimmed with a layered sash across the top of the hat embroidered with the same vine pattern as on the collar of her gown, and is finished with a trailing spray of blossoms on the side. The embroidered detail gives lovely dimension to the pieces and the balance of high collar, hairstyle and angle of hat placement (set off by that stunning aquamarine brooch) is just superb.
Designer: unknown Previously Worn: This hat is new
This event leaves me hope-filled for an increase of more colourful and creative millinery on the Imperial royal ladies during this Reiwa era. There are some wonderful hats here- which ones stand out most to you?
In preparing polls for some beautiful hats worn in April, I realized, to my embarrassment, that I’ve not shared the results for March polls for favourite repeated and favourite new hats.These were close races but clear winners have prevailed:
Royal Hats 