This Week’s Extras

Princess Akiko in a pale grey repeated bucket hat with kettle brim at the National Junior High School Selection Shogi Championship in Yamagata August 3
On Saturday, August 3, Princess Hisako was in Teshikaga for the “Starry Sky Town, Blue Sky Town” National Convention. She wore a very interesting ivory hat with short brim, coral hatband and tall ivory wrap around the crown that fluted into the shape of a flower.
On Sunday, August 4, she attended the closing ceremony of a national Sea Cadet convention in Tokyo. The blue hat she wore is trimmed with a twist in the same printed fabric as her suit, a slim navy twisted hatband and layered, textured leaves in jade, magenta, chocolate, blue and cream. The scale and shape are so great on her and I adore the pop of colour!


On Tuesday, August 6, Queen Elizabeth officially took up summer residence at Balmoral Castle, inspecting the Balaklava Company, 5 Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland at the castle gates. She repeated a Rachel Trevor Morgan designed hat first worn last summer– this outing gives a much better view of the silk crepe covered cloche with double hatband (love the punchy contrast of the black hatband) and handmade flowers.
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On Wednesday, August 7, Empress Masako, Crown Princess Kiko, Princess Hanako and Princess Nobuko attended the Florence Nightingale Medal Ceremony, which honors nurses. Empress Masako’s white silk covered bowler features a wide hatband of appliqued lace, Crown Princess Kiko’s ecru hat with mushroom brim is covered in the same jacquard floral print as her suit, Princess Hanako’s repeated white straw hat has a cuffed brim in silk crepe that is slightly elevated on one side and Princess Nobuko’s white hat has a crisply contrasting wide navy silk hatband. You can see these hats in motion at this video clip.


On Thursday, August 8, Prince George and Princess Charlotte attended the King’s Cup Regatta in Cowes to watch the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge take part in the race. While his parents donned informal baseball hats, Prince George was slightly more commanding in his naval cap.
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On Saturday, August 10th, Princess Tsuguko of Takamado attended the archery finals of the Inter-High School General Sports Championships in Yatsushiro in a striking black and white straw hat.


On Sunday, August 11, members of Queen Elizabeth’s family joined her for Sunday morning service at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral in Scotland. The Queen repeated an Angela Kelly designed cream square-crowned cloche with thick hatband in the same pink striped bouclé as her matching suit, trimmed with a pink silk rose. The Duchess of Cornwall repeated a dark mushroom grey formed felt beret trimmed with pheasant feathers. Princess Beatrice of York repeated a cream Gina Foster beret percher trimmed with navy silk flowers and veil.
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Empress Masako in an angular grey silk hat with bumper brim and small bow at the back on Thursday at a WWII commemoration ceremony
Princess Hisako in a pale celery green hat with appliqued lace covered crown and rolled crin brim today to open a new field hockey stadium for next year’s Olympic summer games (notice her field hockey stick necklace!)
Queen Elizabeth attended a craft fair at Crathie Kirk in Scotland today, finally giving us a great view of the turquoise straw hat with double hatband and bows she wore, also in Scotland, back in 2017. Clearly a Rachel Trevor Morgan design, I really like the contrasting stripes on the bow ribbon tails which tie in with Her Majesty’s skirt
1940s inspired hat with deeply pinched black crown and ivory mushroom brim by Australian milliner Carole Maher
Lime sinamay abstract leaf headpiece with ivory bow by Spanish-based British milliner Donna Hartley
Teal button percher with veil, curled quills and multicoloured silk flowers by British milliner Bee Smith
Amazing texture and volume on this ecru silk abaca ruffled bandeau by Australian milliner Rachel Henry
Blush sinamay sidesweep with rose and black feathers and black butterflies by British milliner Bundle MacLaren
Fantastic open-crowned hat covered in red flowers by Irish brand Suzanne Ryan Millinery
Creative take on a classic black and white boater (love the textured brim!) by Australian Brand Monroe Millinery
Tangerine sinamay hat with button base edged in a wide, sleek ruffle by Dutch milliner Myra van de Korput
Raspberry pink straw teardrop beret percher with plume and multicoloured flower by UK brand Miss Ginny Millinery
Teal felt Garbo hat with amazing black embroidered brim by American milliner Behida Dolić
Ivory braided straw vintage Dior-inspired hat with black veil and ribbon by Australian milliner Jill Humphries
Oversize ice blue saucer with irredescent blue and silver floral trim by UK brand Guibert Millinery
Pink pyramid of ombre dyed silk round petals trimmed with an ostrich plume by London milliner Awon Golding
Pale apricot sinamay hat with flying bow and quill by Czech milliner Jolana Kotabova
For our dear gents, a patterned Panama from Christys Hats and deep blue felt fedora from Hornskov København
Wonderful rosette bandeau of sage silk taffeta and blush silk organza by Prudence for Lock & Co. Hatters
And from Dutch milliner Wies Mauduit, this fabulous grape sinamay percher with pink and scarlet twist. Colourful hats can be difficult to balance but this one is perfect, remaining firmly stylish and modern (no cartoonishness here!). It’s also impeccably finished- note the complete absence of visible seams and crisp edges on the two-toned twist.  So fun!

Condolences to the Dutch royal family as they grieve the loss of Princess Christina (Princess Beatrix’s youngest sister) who died yesterday after a battle with bone cancer. Plans are for a private memorial with her cremated remains going to Fagel’s Garden Pavilion on the grounds of Noordeinde Palace. Read a statement and obituary from the Dutch monarchy here. 
Lovely informal shots of the Spanish Royal Family taken while on their annual vacation in Palma de Mallorca.
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Adorable picture of Lady Sarah McCorquodale and her daughter Celia taken during preparations for Celia’s wedding last summer, for which she wore the Spencer family tiara.
Countess Josephine of Rosenborg (daughter of the late Count Christian of Rosenborg) and Kenneth Schmidt were married on August 8
In an interesting move, the Imperial Household Agency released footage of former Princess Noriko’s music and dance performances (she is an accomplished ballerina), taken before she married. They also announced that her younger sister, the former Princess Ayako, and her husband Kei Moriya are expecting their first child.
We end this week with adorable photos of Princess Anne’s four granddaughters Savannah, Isla, Mia and Lena, enjoying the Festival of British Eventing the first weekend of August at their grandmum’s estate, Gatcombe Park
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Photos from social media as indicated

York Royal Wedding: The Bride, Groom & Bridal Party

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank were married this morning at St. George’s Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle.

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One wishes a bride to look her most most beautiful on her wedding day and such was the case for Princess Eugenie today.

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Designed by Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos, her dress featured a fitted bodice, long sleeves and folded portrait neckline that folds around the shoulders into an open back that drapes into a flowing, full length train. The low cut back was a special request of the bride who wanted to embrace and celebrate the scar from her adolescent scoliosis surgery.

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The stars of this gown are its cut and fabric – while it appears to be embroidered or appliqued with lace, the silk, cotton and viscose blended jacquard is actually woven with a custom floral motif of the bride’s request: Scottish thistles as a nod to the couple’s love for Balmoral, Irish shamrocks in honor of Ferguson family heritage and York roses and ivy to represent the couple’s home. The beautiful striped floral pattern on the fabric and impeccable cut and tailoring of the gown combine to create a streamlined and beautifully modern take on a traditional silhouette. On Eugenie, it was just exquisite.

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Princess Eugenie surprised with her bridal headwear, eschewing a veil and a widely-shared prediction she would wear her mother’s York tiara. Instead, she borrowed the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara from the Queen. Never before seen on a royal head, the tiara is part of the famous Greville suite of jewels left to the Queen Mother in 1942 (read more about the tiara’s background over at the Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor or at the Court Jeweller). This tiara was made in 1919 by Boucheron of brilliant and rose cut diamonds pavé set in platinum around emeralds – a stone that coordinated beautifully with Eugenie’s green eyes and the autumnal scheme of the wedding.

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The young bridesmaids and pages wore dresses, shirts and velvet trousers from designed by Amaia Arrieta of Amaia Kids.The bridesmaids also wore patterned sashes printed with an art print by Mark Bradford included in the Order of Service. They carried posies of Lily of the Valley and spray roses which were also used to make small sprays for their hair.

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I love it good royal bridal surprises and Princess Eugenie’s look today was surprisingly streamlined, modern, and all kinds of beautiful.

UPDATE: For the evening party, Eugenie changed into a blush Zac Posen silk gown embroidered with York roses on one shoulder and the back. Queen Victoria’s wheat-ear brooches, borrowed from her grandmother, were incorporated in her hair to top another stunningly beautiful bridal look.

Photos from Getty as indicated

Cambridge Family Enjoy Ski Holiday

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent the weekend in the French Alps on a skiing holiday with their children. They released a number of wonderful photographs this morning that show Prince George and Princess Charlotte in darling knit wool hats.

Trooping the Colour: British Royal Family

Much of the Queen’s immediate family joined Her Majesty for her official birthday celebration this morning. For this event, the Duchess of Cornwall repeated her cream straw picture hat with up-swept brim. The smoothly curving lines of this hat and the gossamer straw it is constructed from combine to give it a dramatic shape that feels very airy and light. Not everyone can pull off such a large hat but I think Camilla wears it well.

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Designer: Philip Treacy
Previously Worn:  June 19, 2013; June 14, 2011; April 29, 2011; June 16, 2009

In her first official engagement since Princess Charlotte’s birth, the Duchess of Cambridge attended today’s festivities in a new hat. A structured piece made of white sinamay trimmed with curled feathers, this saucer hat is a substantially larger piece than the hats Kate has worn in the past year. While I’m not sure about the shape (the high rim of the saucer makes it more of a basin than a saucer), the hat made a great pairing with Kate’s beautiful blue and white coat.

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Designer: Silvia Fletcher for Lock and Co. It is a bespoke version of the Marisabel design. Coat from Catherine Walker.
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Princess Beatrice topped her grey silk coat dress with a black headpiece lavishly embellished on one side with sparkling beads. The headpiece has a beautiful sense of movement and texture and I loved the way it tied in with her belt. The piece also brought a welcome edgy contrast to the Peter Pan collar on Beatrice’s coat and made for an ensemble that is the best of retro chic.

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Designer: Juliette Botterill
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Princess Eugenie topped her tan and black dress with a beautiful new saucer hat. Made of cream pinopok straw, the percher hat is trimmed with a silk rose and curling, bleached pheasant feathers and a slim straw bow. The proportion of this hat is just right for Eugenie and the colour is a lovely contrast against her dark hair. This piece was by far, my favourite saucer hat of the day.

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Designer: Juliette Botterill. It is the Rose and Feather Trim Percher
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Prince Andrew repeated his black silk top hat while Prince Harry wore the uniform and cap of his ranking of Captain of The Blues and Royals.

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While he did not wear a hat, all eyes were on Prince George who made his royal balcony début. Dressed in the same pale blue outfit his father wore for his first Trooping the Colour in 1984, George was absolutely adorable.

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I felt the absence of the Countess of Wessex at this event (she and the Earl were in Stockholm for the Swedish Royal wedding) but there were still a number of show stopping hats worn in this group. Did any stand out especially for you?

Photos from Getty as indicated