Tag Archives: Countess of Frederksborg

Danish Royals Celebrate Confirmation

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On Saturday, the Danish royal family gathered to celebrate Prince Felix’s confirmation at  Fredensborg Palace church.

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Queen Margrethe marked this milestone in her second eldest grandson’s life in her bright turquoise coat and matching hat. The hat, which follows a rounded helmet shape, is trimmed with a braided stripe of appliqued silk, tall curling feathers and feather quills.

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Princess Marie wore a new fascinator with a white lace base trimmed with pale pink silk ruffles, flowers and feathers. As far as fascinators go, this one is a really lovely design and was shown to great effect with Marie’s sweeping chignon.

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Designer: unknown. Dress by Huishan Zhang
Previously Worn: this headpiece is new

Little Princess Athena adorably matched her mum’s headwear with a pale pink headband embellished with organza flowers. For her very first royal headpiece, this one is very sweet.

Princess Athena, April 1, 2017 | Royal Hats  Princess Athena, April 1, 2017 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: this headpiece is new

Felix’s mother, the Countess of Frederiksborg, topped her dusky lilac-grey lace dress with a similarly hued fascinator made of feathers roughly grouped in floral shapes. While the headpiece complimented Alexandra’s dress well enough, its placement, vertically on the side of her head, was neither flattering nor attractive. Alexandra’s mother, Christa Manley, wore a pale blue organza puff fascinator.

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Countess of Frederiksborg, April 1, 2017 | Royal Hats

Crown Princess Mary repeated her pale grey veiled fascinator with silk flowers and feathers (see a better photo of it at its last outing here). This is a more substantial piece that Mary wears well and at an event dominated by fascinators, seemed a logical choice for her.

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: June 5, 2015; June 25, 2013; April 30, 2013
While we saw only one hat at this event, I think the choice of fascinator headpieces worked well not only for this time of year, but to keep the fashion tone light, informal and even, a little fun. In the end, the center of attention was a beaming young man in a red tie (not stuffy fashions surrounding him) which is exactly how I think it should have been. What do you think of the fascinators in Denmark yesterday?

Danish Royal Family, April 1, 2017 | Royal Hats

Photos from Getty as indicated; Steen Brogaard, Royal Family via the Danish Monarchy

Christening of Prince Christian: Royal Guests

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Royal Hats When Prince Christian of Denmark was christened ten years ago, the event was attended by numerous royal relatives and close friends. After looking at the hats worn by his mother, grandparents and godparents, we now turn our attention to those worn by royal guests.

Queen Margrethe’s sisters, Queen Anne-Marie and Princess Benedikte, both wore vibrant hats. In bright red felt, Queen Anne-Marie’s hat featured an unusually tall crown, a short, upturned brim; the piece was boldly embellished with a large knotted bow and curling black feather spines. Princess Benedikte topped her grey fur coat with a large beret-style design in raspberry felt. We have seen Princess Benedikte in numerous hats in this hue and the colour is fantastic on her.

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Princess Marie-Chantal wore a Philip Treacy designed fascinator of straw twists and several different varieties of gold feathers. While some might argue that the spiky design gave some textural contrast to her tweed coat and dress, I have always found the combination of classic clothing and modern headpiece to be jarring and disharmonious.

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Princess Alexia of Greece topped her grey fur jacket with a burgundy felt hat. With an indented crown and fluted, upturned brim, this hat is all about shape. I adore the grey and burgundy colour scheme of her ensemble but I’m afraid the stylised brim and crown shapes on her hat look rather dated today. Tatiana Blatnik (who would become Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark in 2010) wore a simple fascinator of navy feathers. The lightness of the piece, which feels better suited to a summer wedding or garden party, feels off balance against her winter coat

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Princess Theodora wore an interesting loden green beret variation with high peaked side trimmed with a felt rose in the same colour. Princess Benedikte’s daughter, Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg topped her gold bouclé coat with a purple fascinator. The headpiece, consisting of a purple silk rose and feathers that swept around the top of her head, provided a spot of colour and textural contrast to her ensemble.

Princess Theodora, January 21, 2006 | Royal Hats   Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, January 21, 2006 | Royal Hats

The Countess of Frederiksborg, who arrived with her young sons Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix, wore in an ecru felt hat with asymmetrical upfolded brim. The hat was trimmed in a pleated sash of the same fabric as her coat, drawing the two pieces together in a unified winter white ensemble. Some of you might recognize the hat as the same one worn for Prince Felix’s christening (the last christening to have taken place in the Danish royal family at the time) in 2002- an interesting choice but a hat that Alexandra wore very well.

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Princess Mathilde (as was her title in 2006) topped her beautiful red coat dress and cape with a large matching hat. With a squared crown and upfolded brim, the hat was simply trimmed with a wide ribbon around the base of the crown. It’s a strong look for Mathilde but she carried it well. It’s a classic piece that I would love to see trotted out again.

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Dutch Princess Laurentien also wore an exaggerated hat- made of the same brown plaid as her tailored jacket, the piece featured a tall, indented crown and oval shaped brim. Unfortunately, the stylised fedora overwhelmed Laurentien and looked to be swallowing her up.

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Princess Märtha Louise of Norway wore a 1940s inspired hat by Anja Irgens. With a close fitting crown and diamond brooch detail, the star of this hat was its upfolded brim that swept around the hat in fluted waves. Märtha Louise has long been known for her quirky style and while this hat fits that style brief, the colour and shape are exquisite. Ten years later, it is still one of my favourite hats in her wardrobe.

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It is only once in a generation that a royal house christens a future king or queen and the scale of this event reflects its importance. Looking back, I’m surprised at how many hats withstand the test of time and could successfully (and stylishly) be repeated today. Which hats stand out most here to you?
Photo from Getty as indicated; CHRISTIAN CHARISIUS/Reuters/Corbis; CHRISTIAN CHARISIUS/Reuters/Corbis; Birger Storm / Billed Bladet;   

Confirmation of Danish Prince

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Prince Nikolai of Denmark, son of Prince Joachim and grandson of Queen Margrethe, was confirmed today at Fredensborg Palace Church by Bishop Erik Norman Svendsen. While it was a private event, the royal family appeared for a brief photocall after the service, before a private lunch. A brief video of The Royal Family taken just after the confirmation can be viewed on the Danish Monarchy website here.

Queen Margrethe wore a new hat for the occasion in beautiful marine blue. Margrethe looks great in picture hats and this one, with a contrasting white brim trimmed in the same blue as the crown, was beautiful and unique. Princess Marie (current wife of Prince Joachim) continued the blue theme in a navy straw hat with net wrapped around the crown  and a side flower. Marie last wore this hat for the 350th anniversary of the Danish Supreme Court in February 2011 and it’s a lovely hat on her. The shape might be a little plain and I’m not taken with the slapped-on flower but the colour on her is spectacular.

The Countess of Frederiksborg, Queen Margrethe and Princess Marie | The Royal Hats BlogPrince Nikolai’s mother, the Countess of Frederiksborg, wore a large feather fascinator. It’s gloriously over the top (it’s nearly the same size as Alexandra’s face!) and contrasts nicely with her dark hair but for this occasion, I think I would have preferred her in a hat. What do you think?

The Countess of Frederiksborg | The Royal Hats Blog

Prince Nikolai’s godparents and extended family were also in attendance. His maternal grandmother, Christina Manley, wore a small fuchsia hat with upturned brim and black bow to coordinate with her fuchsia and black suit. His maternal aunt, Nicola Baird,  wore a small cream feathered fascinator that looked like an afterthought plunked on her head. I would have loved her to wear a large cream picture hat to balance out the large print of her lovely wrap dress instead of that too-small fascinator. Nikolai’s godmother, Camilla Flint, wore a gorgeous chocolate brown picture hat with tilted brim and ruched crown that beautifully contrasted against her blue patterned frock.

Danish Royal Family | The Royal Hats Blog

My favourite hat of the day was tied between Queen Margrethe’s new blue and white picture hat and the beautiful chocolate brown hat worn by Camilla Flint. Which one is your favourite?

Photos from BT.dk and  Kongehuset