Princess Anne Takes Royal Salute

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On Sunday, The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery staged a 41 Gun Royal Salute to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 93rd birthday. Princess Anne attended on behalf of Her Majesty in a hat we had some questions about at its last outing. Photos here give much better views of this toast brown straw design and confirm it is a new design to Princess Anne’s millinery closet.

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The hat is built around an asymmetrical, hourglass shaped crown and oval brim that is sharply upturned on its wider side. The outside of this sidesweep is covered in oatmeal feathers; the base of the hat’s crown is wrapped in a wide, warm brown silk hatband and the design is completed with a flat spray of pheasant and other assorted feathers on the side.

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Overall, I’m afraid it’s a miss. The scale and proportion are skewed and the very awkward shape looks like a leftover from the late 1990s. The feather cover on the outer brim sets the hat off balance and looks messy in most photographs. It’s not flattering to its wearer and while I appreciate there is some lovely potential in the warm brown colour and the feathers on the hatband (love the mix of teal and orange feathers with the pheasant ones) and there is workmanship in the design, the hat simply looks dated and unattractive with the crown and brim shapes as they are.

Designer: uknown
Previously Worn: March 18, 2019

I hate to be so harsh about a hat, particularly when its wearer is as hardworking as the Princess Royal is. Please tell me, dearest readers- am I wrong about this one?

Photos from Getty as indicated

Easter at Windsor: Part 2

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We continue our look at the royal hats on Sunday at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle with the Countess of Wessex. Sophie topped her floral dress with a navy straw percher saucer hat trimmed with silver metallic leather flowers and leaves, burnt feathers and rough-edged crin. I understand the design is about making a statement of the edgy trim but it came off a bit messy for me.

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Designer: Jane Taylor. Dress by Oscar de la Renta
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Lady Louise Windsor repeated her navy satin covered button percher with multi looped satin and beaded bows. It’s a great scale for this young royal hat wearer and the bit of sparkle makes it a wonderfully youthful choice. With her navy floral dress, the hat tops a great Easter look.

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Designer: Emily London. Dress by Reiss
Previously Worn: Oct 12, 2018

Princess Anne repeated her oyster straw hat with sideswept brim trimmed with layered cream curling quills. The hat used to also include feather trim in apricot/burnt orange hues that have now been removed- an interesting development that extends this hat’s ability to be paired with different ensembles such as the silver silk frock Anne paired with it here. For good views of this hat in its previously trimmed form, jump over here to its last outing, last June at Ascot.

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Designer: Amy Morris-Adams
Previously Worn: June 19, 2018; June 4, 2018;  June 20, 2017, May 20, 2017 

Autumn Phillips wore a new navy straw hugger percher design trimmed with cream silk flowers and a swath of ruffled widely woven tulle veil. The cream trim links well with the statement buttons on Autumn’s dress and the hat’s blocking creates a beautiful line to the design. It’s a lovely design by a designer we’ve not seen on a royal head before- a designer I can’t wait to see more of.


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Designer: bespoke Julian Garner.  Dress by Claire Mischevani.
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Zara Tindall topped her elegantly streamlined cream coat with a pink felt formed button percher trimmed with curving leaf trim in silver and pink and white gingham patterned leather. The hat’s interesting trim makes a wonderful statement that is tempered ever so slightly by its pale colour scheme- a scheme which Zara wears really well. It’s an interesting but pretty hat well suited to an event such as this.

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Designer: Sarah Cant. Coat by Goat Fashion.
Previously Worn: This hat is new

This wraps up the eight royal hats we saw at Windsor on Easter Sunday. This group included a few surprises and renovations which makes me curious, dearest readers- which designs stood out most to you?

Photos from Getty as indicated

Easter at Windsor: Part 1

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Members of the British Royal family joined Queen Elizabeth on a sunny morning yesterday at Windsor Castle to attend Easter Sunday service at St. George’s Chapel. For this service, the Queen repeated her robin’s egg blue silk cloque hat with straw kettle brim, trimmed with a fuchsia hatband and pair of silk carnations.

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The colour scheme alone makes this a great Easter look for her,doesn’t it?! While I’d still like to tweak the placement of those pink flowers, the hat’s contrast of colour and texture (the straw brim breaks up the silk cloque on the crown and the coat so well) gives it dimension and life. The lovely curved double coat lapel is such a great support to the hat, not only giving a great peek at the fuchsia dress but beautifully framing the Queen’s face and giving an uplifting base to the more straight lines of the hat.

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Designer: Angela Kelly, made by Stella McLaren. Coat and dress by Angela Kelly.
Previously Worn: Nov 27, 2015

The Duchess of Cambridge repeated her grey felt teardrop percher with multi-looped organdie bow, pairing it with the palest dove grey dress and coat she wore when she debuted the hat in Australia for Easter five years ago. The gentle curves of the hat flatter the face so beautifully and play well against the sleek lines of the coat and I really like how wearing her hair down provides some dark contrast between the pale hued coat and hat.

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Designer: Jane Taylor. Coat and dress by Alexander McQueen.
Previously Worn: Oct 21, 2014; April 20, 2014

Princess Beatrice topped an elegant, embroidered blue dress with copper straw disc saucer trimmed with pink silk flowers and blue and fuchsia curling feathers that beautifully mimic the curving paisley lines in the dress’ embroidery.

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The hat, interestingly, is a remodeled saucer Beatrice first wore for Easter in 2016. It was originally trimmed with curling pheasant feathers which have been replaced here by the pink and blue ones. I like both versions on Bea- the scale is great on her and the colour is wonderful with her auburn hair. Retrimming the hat was definitely the right decision to pair with this dress- the copper is such a great compliment to the blue and the feathers tie the hat firmly in to the rest of the ensemble. It’s a great example of how a minor hat tweak can extend a hat’s wearability and topped a very beautiful look for Princess Beatrice yesterday.

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Designer: Juliette Botterill. Claire Mischevani dress. 
Previously Worn: Mar 27, 2016

What do you think of this first trio of royal hats yesterday at Windsor Castle?

Photos from Getty as indicated

This Week’s Extras

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Princess Hisako wore a smart ivory hat with layered green hatbands and silk butterfly (or bow?) today in Fukushima Prefecture to open a national football training center.
A whole lot of new millinery designs caught my eye this week:
Vibrant navy, purple and turquoise straw boater with pompoms by London-based milliner Lisa Tan
Very pretty pink scrolled percher saucer with flower & quills by New Zealand milliner Claire Hahn
Wonderful pattern on this vintage fabric hugger with feather peony by Australian milliner Cessiah Alice
Very fun textured pink saucer with bow by British milliner Jess Collett
Bold and very fun navy polka dot boater hat with navy ribbon from Australian brand Murley and Co. Millinery
2 bandeaus: Pink silk with braid and blue straw with hand cut & dyed petals from British milliner Laura Cathcart
Lilac straw button percher with cream extended flying brim and feather from American milliner Tiffany Arey
Punchy colour scheme on this grey and orange straw fedora with turquoise hatband from Belgian brand My Bob
Statuesque pink fur felt riviera with pink ombre hatband from Melbourne based Jill and Jack Millinery
Stunning sequinned and beaded flapper cap from American milliner Karen Morris
Adore the vibrant colour and graceful movement on this flower trimmed bandeau by Irish milliner Laura Hanlon
Classic straw wide mushroom brimmed design with black crin twists by British milliner Jane Taylor

And from British milliner Rae Oakley, this pale blue cartwheel brimmed picture hat with flying bows of blue straw and yellow and lime green flying crin. The colour scheme is unexpected but so charming!

Touching tribute from the Countess of Carnarvon to her late mother-in-law (Jean Margaret Wallop Herbert, wife of the 7th Earl of Carnarvon who was a close friend and former horse racing manager of Queen Elizabeth, died on April 10).  The Prince of Wales’ letter to French President Macron on Tuesday was also poignant.

Prince Gabriel celebrated his third birthday this week and the Swedish monarchy released this adorable portrait.
Sweet snap shared by Princess Madeleine of her own trio of Easter bunnies
And finally, the Danish monarchy released this clip of Queen Margrethe painting Easter eggs. May you all have a very happy Easter and if you’ll be wearing an Easter bonnet, tell us bout it (or share an embedded social media photo) in the comments!  I’ll pop back later tomorrow for the Easter hats at Windsor.

Photos from social media as indicated

Imperial Visit to Ise Shrine

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Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko journeyed to Ise this week to take part in rituals at Ise Jingu Shrine related to the emperor’s upcoming abdication. One of the most sacred Shinto shrines in the country that can only be overseen by a chief priest or priestess from the Imperial family, it is currently under the charge of Sayako Kuroda, the couple’s daughter, who celebrated her 50th birthday on Thursday.

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The Emperor and Empress’ arrival at Ujiyamada Station on Wednesday gave us a great view of the oyster hat Empress Michiko recently brought into rotation.  The lattice crin underbrim and darker grey piping on the bow are delicate touches to be appreciated and ones easily missed from the further views we usually get. These subtle contrasts give layers of texture and interest to the hat, making it a much more complex and nuanced design than it appears at first glance.

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Designer: unknown. Likely Akio Hirata
Previously Worn: Mar 26, 2019
For the visit to the shrine Thursday, the Emperor wore traditional morning suit and carried a black silk top hat.
Empress wore a pearly white rimmed saucer with pinwheel silk bow and delicate lattice crin underbrim
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Designer: unknown. Likely Akio Hirata
Previously Worn: March 25 2014;
Following the shine visit, Empress Michiko repeated her pale pink disc with crin underbrim, trimmed with double silk bows and silk flowers. It’s another delicate design (and not grey!) that she wears really well.
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Designer: unknown. Likely Akio Hirata
Previously Worn: Feb 24, 2019; Nov 14, 2018
For the couple’s return train journey to Tokyo yesterday, the Empress repeated her slate bluey-grey rimmed saucer with looped silk bow trim. We’ve seen this hat a few times on Michiko but it remains a great one on her- at closer view, the silk bows have the most beautiful sheen that just makes the hat.
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Designer: unknown. Likely Akio Hirata
Previously Worn: Mar 28, 2019; June 10, 2018; Mar 29, 2018; Mar 7, 2018; Oct 29, 2017

It’s amazing to think that there will be a new emperor and empress in Japan in 10 days… and while it’s unclear what role this couple will have, I hope we’ll see them from time to time. I’ve come to appreciate many of Empress Michiko’s signature saucers – especially some of the ones here – and I would hate to see both the hats and their very dignified and elegant wearer disappear altogether from public view.

Photos from Getty as indicated