Ascot Hats From the Past

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I need to step away from the blog for a week- while I’m away, we’re going to whet our Ascot hat appetites with a look back at some more memorable designs that appeared on royal heads at races in the past. We start this series of flashbacks today with a pair of hats from over 70 years ago that feel as though they could fashionably fit in today.

Royal Hatsto June 16, 1948 and an arrival at the races by newlywed Princess Elizabeth in a floral and veil trimmed percher cocktail hat and Princess Margaret in an upturned halo design with feathers around the brim.

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How timeless do you think these two designs are?! In my absence, please share any royal hats worn around the world today in the comments. I’ll see you all back here in a week!

Photos from Getty as indicated

Top Royal Hats: January & February

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Your picks for favourite repeated and new royal hats worn in January and February are in… with a surprising twist. Even with two polls, we have just one winner:


Princess Mako’s peacock blue silk bandeau with diamond motif worn February 26

So what happened? In a first ever here on Royal Hats, the poll for favourite new royal hat yielded a five-way tie for top spot. With just eight hats in the poll, the results show there simply wasn’t a hat that stood apart as your top pick. So this time, we’re just going to put a repeated hat forward as the first finalist in our race for top royal hats of the year. 
Photos from The Asahi Shimbun via  Getty

Danish Royals Celebrate Home Guard

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Queen Margrethe and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark celebrated the Danish Home Guard’s 70th anniversary yesterday with a visit to the Nymindegabcamp. Queen Margrethe repeated her checked fabric hat with domed crown and short sideswept brim trimmed with stacked hatbands in the same burgundy, chocolate and caramel tones in the plaid while Crown Princess Mary donned the green wool beret of the Danish Home Guard uniform.

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Designer of Queen Margrethe’s hat: likely Peter Falk Hansen
Previously Worn: Nov 11, 2018 

These photos offer side views of Queen Margrethe’s hat and show a trim cuff on the back of the hatband- a tailored touch I really like on this hat. What do you think of this hat on its second outing, yesterday?

Photos from Getty as indicated

This Week’s Extras

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More casual hats on Princess Anne and Zara Tindall last weekend at the Gatcombe Horse Trials
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Queen Elizabeth repeated her textured cream and gold split crown hat with black and gold feather trim last Sunday to attend church at The Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park. Interesting to note that this hat, made under the Angela Kelly Couture label by Stella McLaren, is still in rotation despite a four year gap since we saw it worn last. 
On Monday, the Japanese Emperor and Empress traveled to Kyoto. Empress Michicko wore a new oyster grey saucer with ivory windowpane lattice crin underbrim and a looped double bow (see the hat in better detail here)
On Tuesday, Princess Kako visited the Musashino Imperial Mausoleum in Hachioji, Tokyo, in a black silk covered bowler hat.
Also on Tuesday, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited the mausoleum of Emperor Jimmu in Kashihara as part of the rites in preparation for the emperor’s upcoming abdication. Empress Michiko wore a new lilac undertoned grey hat that seems standard but on closer look, shows exquisite details of a beautifully molded raised edge saucer shape, crin underbrim and silk bow. 
On Thursday, the Imperial couple returned to Tokyo, the Empress in a repeated blue-grey saucer with elegantly streamlined silk bow trim. You’ll notice it’s a lighter hued twin of the hat she wore on Tuesday.
Princess Hisako was in Yokohama yesterday to open the 83rd annual meeting of the Japanese Circulation (cardiovascular) Society. To deliver her opening address on the importance of heart disease prevention, she wore a white shallow crowned hat with saddle brim brimmed with a wide ruched green hatband.
The following new millinery designs caught my eye this week:
Stunning navy velvet felt trilby with twist and feather by British milliner Rachel Trevor Morgan
Black and purple iridescent large disc hat with silk & straw twists from UK brand Rebecca Couture Millinery
Bold and jade straw percher with fun silk abaca lilies by Aussie brand Melissa Gaye Millinery
Swirling blue and black quill headpiece with black stars from British milliner Sarah Cant
Lovely pleats around the back brim of this ivory straw design from UK milliner Rae Oakley
Fantastic metallic sheen on this black & gold looped silk bandeau by Australian brand Polly and Peaches
Adore the silk orchid trim on this monochrome blue straw saucer by UK brand Hostie Hats
For our dear gents, this very dapper beaver felt fedora in a delicious colour (the milliner calls is black
cherry) with black silk paisley hatband and brim binding from Danish brand Hornskov København
Wonderful use of abaca silk on this vibrant turquoise & green button percher by Dutch milliner Wies Mauduit
Dramatic red feather and floral headpiece from British milliner Edwina Ibbotson we’ll surely see at Ascot

And from London-based Turkish milliner Merve Bayindir, this whimsical and very fun black straw disc with multi-coloured tiles, flowers and curling black quills.

The Prince of Wales and Peter the blue iguana seemed delighted to make mutual acquaintance on Thursday in the Cayman Islands
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Some diplomatic dressing by young Princess Gabriella this week during the Chinese state visit to Monaco.
The Duke of Sussex has developed a special relationship over several encounters with an Australian fan and brightened her 99th birthday yesterday with a lovely greeting
We end this week with some great (and perplexing) formal looks at the annual Rose Ball in Monaco tonight- my favourite is Beatrice Borromeo Casiraghi’s Dior gown. Breathtaking.
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Photos from Rex/Shutterstock; social media and Getty as indicated 

Dutch Queen Celebrates Brewery Milestone

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Queen Máxima was in Lieshout to join in festivities at the Bavaria Brewery which celebrated its 300th anniversary. For this occasion, she topped a new sapphire dress and coat with her repeated large picture hat in palest, dusty pink straw. The hat features a dramatic, upswept ‘slice’ brim and is simply trimmed with a wide Petersham ribbon hatband in the same colour, tied in a bow at the side.

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This is hardly a new millinery look for Máxima but there are some nuanced touches here that set it off beautifully. The high-contrast colour scheme is a bit unexpected but pulled together through the metallic dusty pink appliqued roses on the dress that firmly link with the hat. The hat’s wide brim also acts as a beautiful neutral backdrop for those earrings, statement pieces of their own that would be lost against a fussier hat. Head to toe, it’s a fantastic look for the Dutch queen.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: May 16, 2018; June 20, 2017 

We see a full spectrum of royal daytime working outfits here- this certainly is on the glitzier end of things, which is all right by me. I’m a big fan of this hat with this ensemble- what do you think?

Photos from Getty as indicated