Queen Visits Royal College Of Physicians

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Queen Elizabeth visited the Royal College of Physicians in London this morning to mark its 500th anniversary. For this event, she repeated her pale grey-blue straw hat with domed crown, asymmetrical upturned brim, and silk flower and ribbon trim.

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The last time we saw this hat and coordinating ensemble, it looked decidedly blue but today it looked much more grey. This colour variation makes the hat more interesting and while I prefer it shown in natural light (where it looks more blue), the hat’s scale and shape combined with its beautiful trimmings and finishing make it a truly exquisite design. I particularly love how the silk hatband and bow loops link with the buttons on the coat- such a lovely touch.

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Designer: Rachel Trevor Morgan
Previously Worn: June 4, 2015;  June 17, 2014; April 20, 2014
I love Queen Elizabeth in saturated colours but when it comes to her more muted ensembles, this is one of my favourites. What do you think about this hat after seeing it again today?
Photos from Getty as indicated

Funeral of Prince Henrik

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The funeral of Prince Henrik of Denmark took place today in the chapel of Christiansborg Palace, attended only by family, close friends and the late prince’s staff. Queen Margrethe led her family in her fur black bumper hat. A long black silk veil was anchored in between the upfolded front brim and crown of the hat that framed her face and trailed down her back.

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Crown Princess Mary repeated her black felt calot hat designed by Susanne Juul. The feather and felt leaf spray that was added to the piece in 2015 was joined today by the further addition of a black net veil.

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Princess Marie wore her black felt Garbo hat with wide brim, trimmed with a pale grey hatband and cluster of black felt flowers on the side.

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Princess Josephine and Princess Athena wore matching headbands from Norwegian brand Princessefin (the Josephine design) with a subtle diamond pattern in pink and black from
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Princess Benedikte wore her black bumper hat with diagonal stripe detail on the cuffed brim.

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Queen Anne-Marie repeated her black felt bumper hat wrapped in a wide swath of dotted net veil. The hat features a double upturned brim, the inner of which is made of silk.

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Princess Elisabeth wore a wider brimmed design in light black straw, trimmed with a large ruffled bow at the back.

Countess Sussie of Rosenborg wore a prim bumper hat embellished with a gold button on the side.

Countess Alexandra of Frederiksborg wore a black felt cloche variation with square, domed crown and short downturned brim. A slim leather hatband and black feather flower at the side trimmed the piece.
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The service was broadcast on Danish television available for international viewers to see here (the royal family’s arrival starts at 1:49:00). Additional photo galleries can also be seen here and here. A final note- well known for his love of flowers and gardening, Prince Henrik requested that the memorial wreaths today be arranged as a flower garden as a last surprise and gift for his wife. It was beautiful.

I know you will join me in wishing peace and comfort to the entire Danish royal family as they continue to grieve this immense loss.

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Photos from Getty and social media as indicated

Hat From the Past

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Royal Hats to this day in 1985 and the arrival of Diana, Princess of Wales at East Midlands airport for a visit to Derby in a camel felt hat with upfolded brim edged in silk velvet with a bow at the back. The hat comes from a period in her millinery which saw her experiment more with larger scale pieces of various shapes.

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Photos from Getty as indicated

This Week’s Extras

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Royal Hats

King Carl Gustaf in his trusty fedora last weekend for a visit to Vilhelmina

The Belgian King and Queen with their four children, all in cozy hats while on a skiing holiday

Crown Prince Haakon has been spotted at numerous Winter Olympics events in Pyeong Chang this week in a navy wool hat with Norgwegian flag. On Wednesday, Crown Princess Mette-Marit visited the site for the future Cathedral of Hope, to be built with recycled plastic gathered from the ocean, in a floppy navy wool hat. (Royal House of Norway)

Tatiana Santo Domingo Casiraghi shared this throwback photo to a past visit to Carnival in Rio in a floral crown

The following new millinery designs caught my eye this week:

Oversize pale blue saucer with crin brim edge and pastel trim by UK milliner Merve Bayindir
Jewel toned trilbys with textural patterned hatbands by new UK brand Karasu London
Exquisite design in pleated pink crin from Munich based milliner Nicki Marquardt
Très chic rain hat in maroon water repellent cotton from Australian milliner Helen Kaminsky
Sculpted sky blue straw saucer percher with lace trim from UK brand Layla Leigh Millinery
Coral straw boater with bows and net overlay from Australian brand Jill and Jack Millinery
Striking tri-colour blocked oversize fedora with flying bow from UK milliner Lisa Tan
Teal leather pillbox base percher with giant spring bloom from Tasmanian Cessiah Alice Millinery
Lovely use of black net on this felt design with pork pie crown from Australian milliner Meg Rafter

I don’t imagine we’ll see these on royal heads but the saucer and percher designs trimmed with food by Israeli milliner Maor Zabar are most certainly memorable.

 Royal Hats

Princess Märtha Louise, who is an accomplished equestrian, showed that talent for this sport has passed to a new generation of Norwegian royal family members with this video of her daughter Leah’s first international competition.

The entire Danish royal family joined Queen Margrethe to watch soldiers from the Royal Guard bring Prince Henrik’s remains to Parliament’s church in Copenhagen last night, where it will remain for members of the public to visit until Monday.

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Swedish Royals Celebrate Lithuanian Independence

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Crow Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel were in Vilnius, Lithuania today to participate in celebrations of the country’s centenary anniversary of independence.  Part of the day’s program included raising flags of the three Baltic nations in Daukanto Square and for this, Princess Victoria wore a tall, straight sided bumper hat in black faux fur.

Feb 16, 2018 | Royal Hats

Feb 16, 2018 | Royal Hats Feb 16, 2018 | Royal Hats

Designer: Alline Stockholm
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
This is not a shape or style we’ve seen on Princess Victoria and it works well with her trademark chignon, the fur collar on her coat and practically, for an outdoor winter event. This piece is a slightly more tailored and streamlined version of the black alpaca fur hat the Duchess of Cambridge wore in Sweden recently and while we will never know if one hat inspired the other, it’s great to see these young royals embracing more traditional hat shapes in a modern way.
Photos from The Office of the President of Lithuania; Zygimantas Gedvila/TT; Zygimantas Gedvila/TT