Princess Beatrice celebrated her 32nd birthday on Saturday. To celebrate this, I thought it was high time we dove into her millinery closet for an inventory. Surprisingly, she has publicly worn 20 different blue designs:
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Designer: All are Philip Treacy
Introduced: December 25, 2002; June 12, 2010; June 17, 2010
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Designer: unknown; Angela Kelly (made by Stella McLaren); Stephen Jones
Introduced: June 16, 2011; July 30, 2011; June 5, 2012
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Designer: Sarah Cant; unknown; Sarah Cant
Introduced: June 4, 2013; August 11, 2013; June 17, 2014
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Designer: unknown; Laura Apsit Livens
Introduced: November 19, 2014; June 18, 2015
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Designer: Juliette Botterill; unknown; Laura Apsit Livens
Introduced: June 19, 2015; May 26, 2016; June 16, 2016
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Designer: Gina Foster; Emily London; Juliette Botterill
Introduced: June 18, 2016; June 17, 2017; December 25, 2017;
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Designer: Stephen Jones;Juliette Botterill; Bundle MacLaren
Introduced: May 19, 2018; June 19, 2018, June 18, 2019
There’s considerable diversity of shade and shape here- saucers, boaters, fedora, bandeau, pillbox, teardrop and button perchers and brims of all sizes. Seeing this collection reminds me how well Beatrice wears hats, how much we underestimate her millinery sophistication and how wearing the work of numerous milliners (at least nine here) pushes her style and saves her from falling into a single signature look. The wide brimmed Sarah Cant and Gina Foster designs (#9 and #15) remain long held favourites for me because they are just so beautiful, along with the wonderful blue embroidered Bundle MacLaren Matador (#20). I also have a soft spot for the pair of blue and orange Laura Apsit Livens designs (#11 and #14) that were punchy, bold, and very unexpected choices that certainly stood out in the crowd. And you know, I love a hat that stands out!
Which blue hats in Princess Beatrice’s hat closet are your favourites?
Photos from Max Mumby/Indigo; RMA Sandhurst; Max Mumby/Indigo, Paul Ellis / AFP, Kirstin Sinclair/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse, Samir Hussein/WireImage, Gareth Fuller – WPA Pool, Chris Jackson and Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty and Getty as indicated