On June 6, 1944, 156,000 British, Canadian and American allied troops joined forces and landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast in France’s Normandy region.  The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and the Battle of Normandy, which lasted through August that year, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe. Today marks the 70th day of this momentous event. To commemorate today’s anniversary of the D-Day landings, many heads of state gathered at the famous beaches to pay their respects to those who lost their lives.

Queen Elizabeth, the only current monarch who served in World War II, wore a bright, citrusy green straw hat with a sharply upturned brim on one side balanced by a large fabric flower on the other. It’s a lot of bright green but she wore it very well. As expected, the Duke of Edinburgh was in military dress.

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Designer: Rachel Trevor Morgan
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Queen Margrethe of Denmark repeated her electric blue hat with pork pie crown, downward curved brim and striped band around the crown. While I love this hat on her, I was secretly hoping she would unveil a new chapeau today.

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: May 5, 2013; April 27, 2014; October 6, 2013; September 3, 2013; July 4, 2013; June 2, 2013; May 6, 2013; June 14, 2012; September 2, 2012; September 20, 2011; September 6, 2011; and May 23, 2011

King Herald of Norway wore military uniform (I believe this is the uniform of Admiral of the Royal Norwegian Navy).

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While Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg opted for a suit instead of military dress (as did King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Prince Albert of Monaco and King Philippe of Belgium), Grand Duchess Maria Teresa unveiled a sleek new pillbox trimmed with what looked to be a flat white bow at the back. I loved the lack of frou frou on this hat and thought Maria Teresa looked great in this classic black and white scheme.

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this is a new hat

It was also wonderful to see Grand Duke Jean at this commemoration (seated to the left of Queen Elizabeth below). The Grand Duke landed at Normandy in the days after D-Day as a member of a reinforcement until. Luxarazzi has an excellent detail of his role in World War II in this article that I encourage you to read.

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As previously mentioned, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands did not wear military uniform and therefore, was without a hat. Queen Máxima made up for this with a super bright yellow ruched fabric toque hat that coordinated with her jacket.

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My general dislike of bright yellow aside, this ensemble just didn’t work for me (I think it was the boxy, ill fitting Big Bird-esque jacket). The whole look seemed imbalanced and odd… and that was before I realized the toque was not a toque, but another one of Máxima’s millinery doughnuts.

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Designer:  I suspect Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Queen Mathilde of Belgium wore a pale blue calot hat with wide cuff (you can see the cuff here). I thought she looked exceedingly refined and elegant, especially when seated next to certain other yellow hat disasters.

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Designer: Christian Dior. Suit by Dior as well
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Seldom do we see such a gathering of heads of state at one event- today’s attendance by so many royal families shows how significant D-Day was in the history of each of their nations. It’s one of those occasions where the importance of history eclipses even the marvelous hats.

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Historical significance aside, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the hats worn by European monarchs today. Which one was your favourite?

Photos from Getty as indicated