In the course of following royal hats, there are occasions when a certain hat elicits the unmistakeable feeling that one has seen it before. A few of you have experienced this in recent weeks with hats worn by the Grand Duchess and Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.

When Prince Guillaume and Princess Stéphanie of Luxembourg unveiled a memorial at Auschwitz in late January, many  thought her brown felt brimless hat was her best piece of millinery to date. To some, however, this hat looked familiar. Svenja, one of the writers of the Luxarazzi blog, was the first to recognize it as the same hat Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore to the December 1999 wedding of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium. The left side of the hat (on the right side of the photo below) has been slightly crushed since its original outing but there’s no question- this is indeed the same hat.

Designer: unknown
Worn by When Grand Duchess Stéphanie: January 26, 2015
Worn by Grand Duchess Maria Teresa: December 4, 1999

When Princess Stéphanie attended Queen Fabiola’s funeral in December, her classic black pillbox raised similar questions as to where we had seen this hat before. This pillbox was also from Grand Duchess Maria Teresa’s millinery closet, last seen during the Dutch royal visit to Luxembourg in March 2012 (see below).

Designer: unknown
Worn by Princess Stéphanie: December 12, 2014
Worn by Grand Duchess Maria Teresa: March 22, 2014; January 15, 2005

The Luxembourg royals are a hat and fashion sharing bunch (see a a number of their other hat swaps at this Luxarazzi post). I’m all for hat sharing although I would love to see the Hereditary Grand Duchess develop a millinery style and approach that is uniquely her own.

Photos from Getty as indicated; Gamma Presse via The Royal Forums; Mark Renders/Stringer and Laurie Dieffembacq/Stringer via Getty; Patrick van Katwijk and Patrick van Katwijk via Corbis

On Monday, the Luxembourg Royal Family celebrated their country’s national holiday. As in years past, the celebration included a military parade and an inter-religious Te Deum mass at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Luxembourg. The Grand Duke and Duchess were joined by the Hereditary Grand Duke and Duchess for the military parade. Predictably, the men wore military uniform with related caps.

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Grand Duchess Maria Teresa topped her streamlined navy dress and coat with a statement hat. In beige gossamer straw, this hat formed a sculptural, fluted base which nestled several huge silk flower blooms in the same colour. While the hat is nearly the same size as Maria Teresa’s head, it provided some wonderful lift and made her look much taller than she really is. I liked how the ornate hat contrasted with the streamlined coat and dress and I thought the neutral colour kept it from looking overly fussy. I think it looks marvelous on Maria Teresa.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: This is a new hat

The Hereditary Grand Duchess chose an ensemble in vivid pink. Her hat, in fuschia straw, was a slightly different shade than her coat; while these shade contrasts often work well, I thought Princess Stéphanie’s hat and coat pairing was a mis-match. The shape of the hat, which fell in folded straw waves across the top of her head, was awkward, and the white flowers plonked on the hat did not help its appearance. Needless to say, I was not a fan.

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: This is a new hat

For the Te Deum Mass, there was a quick change (and exchange of all-pink outfits, unfortunately). The Grand Duchess repeated her bright pink lace coat with matching cocktail hat. Time has not altered my opinion of this ensemble (we first saw it last year for Prince Felix’s wedding)– it’s simply too much bright pink. If Maria Theresa paired this hat with a suit or coat in charcoal grey, taupe or even black, I might like it. As it is here, I feel compelled to look away.

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Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn: September 21, 2013

Princess Stéphanie followed her mother-in-law’s fashion lead from earlier in the day, pairing a streamlined coat with a very fancy beige straw hat. This hat featured an asymmetrical brim that folded up on one side to host a spray of monochrome feathers. I liked the shape on her and adored the subtle metalic sheen in the woven straw. I think the hat might have been better balanced with a slightly larger crown but I quite liked it on the Hereditary Grand Duchess.

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: This is a new hat

It seems the uniform for Luxembourg royal ladies on Monday was either a streamlined coat topped with a neutral statement hat, or head to toe bright pink. Between these options, I think the first is always a better choice. What did you think of this parade of Luxembourgish royal hats?

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Photos from Anouk Antony and Getty as indicated