Tag Archives: Princess Madeleine

Monaco Royal Wedding: Scandinavian Royals

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It’s not often that a monarch marries so it was no surprise that the religious ceremony of Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock on July 2, 2011 included lots of royal guests.

We start our tour of royal hats worn to this wedding with the last bride to marry a reigning monarch- Queen Silvia, who wore a wide brimmed parasisal straw picture hat in lilac pink. The design featured a crossover shape on the front of the crown, a gently sideswept brim and was simply trimmed with a double looped straw bow on the side. With her silk jacquard cloqué dress in the same colour, the hat topped a very coordinated look.

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Designer: unknown

Crown Princess Victoria’s aqua calot hat was clearly designed to match her silk chiffon embellished dress with the same curved iridescent paillettes on the dress’ sleeves completely covering the hat. It’s a very textural look in a colour that’s great for Victoria but that was let down by her limply styled hair. Victoria was in her first trimester of pregnancy with Princess Estelle at the time of this wedding, making me wonder if she was feeling her best or if the heat of the day simply got the best of her. It’s a fussier look than we usually see on Victoria, which makes me like it for her, and I wish we could see it worn again with a more successful hairstyle.

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Designer: unknown. Dress by Escada.

Princess Madeleine paired her almond silk dress with a large silk rose headpiece in a similar hue, with tall curving pheasant feather. As far as fascinators go, this one makes a statement… although the curve and height of that feather always felt a bit random to me.

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Designer: unknown. Dress by Dolce & Gabbana

Princess Mette-Marit also chose a monochrome look in a pale, neutral pink with a crescent headpiece of layered hand cut lace that circled around the back of her head. The multiple layers of lace created a wonderfully dimensional piece that contrasted against the smooth lines and asymmetrical neckline of her dress and beautifully framed her face. I usually am a stickler for impeccable finishes on royal millinery but the the slightly raw lace on this design gave it an edgy, rough beauty.

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Designer: unknown. Dress by Valentino.

Princess Mary wore one of my favourite looks at this wedding with a finely woven, wheat-hued straw saucer hat studded with tiny diamanté, trimmed with large ecru silk roses and flying coque feathers. While a neutral colour, the hat was anything but boring thanks to its dramatic shape and bold trim, elements that enabled it to stand up as the perfect counterpoint for Mary’s Mediterranean blue silk dress. With neutral shoes and a fun, patterned turquoise purse, this ensemble was perfectly styled and firmly got my vote for best dressed guest at this wedding. Nine years on, it’s still one of my favourites.

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Designer: Jane Taylor. Dress by Prada. 

Princess Marie went with a more monochrome approach, topping her pale peach silk wrap dress with a brimmed hat in the same shade. The hat’s brim was gently turned up around the front the hat was completed a spray of straw leaves in darker and lighter shades sweeping over the side.

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Designer: unknown. Dress by Rikke Gudnitz.

There’s no shortage of interesting milliner here- we’ve got colour, sparkle and drama! I’ve already tipped my hand as to my favourite, dearest readers but I’m curious- which looks here stand out most to you?

Jump to this post for an index of other royal hats that appeared at this wedding. 

Photos from Getty as indicated 

Greek Royal Wedding 20 Years On: Norwegian & Swedish Royal Guests

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Continuing our look back at the July 9, 1999 wedding of Princess Alexia of Greece and Carlos Quintana, we turn our attention to hats worn by members of the Norwegian and Swedish royal families. Queen Sonja topped an iridescent lime suit with a picture hat in slightly darker green straw. The hat featured a shallow, rounded crown and a wide brim with dowturned edge and was trimmed with lovely lime silk orchids.

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Queen Silvia also wore a hat much larger than the styles we see her favour most often today. In dove grey straw, her picture hat’s round, flat crown topped an oversize mushroom brim. The hat was simply trimmed with a wide grey silk hat and and brim binding. With her grey ensemble, the overall look oozed elegance.

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Crown Princess Victoria was just 22 at the time of this wedding and, I suspect, not yet a customer of couture hats. Her slouchy brown stitched hat followed an hourglass shape (popular at the time) with upturned Kettle brim and bow on the side.

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Princess Madeleine wore a pink sinamay hat. The hat’s boater style crown was covered in pleated rows of crin and the cartwheel brim, in a relaxed crin ruffle overlay. The hat’s classic shape in light crin embellishment made a sweet and feminine choice for the teenage princess, even if the trailing bow down the back was a bit twee.

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Some of you have commented on the large number of picture hats at this wedding and the two added here were among my favourites. What do you think of these hats?

Photos from Getty as indicated 

Dutch Royal Wedding 17 Years On: Royal Guests Part 1

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When Crown Prince Willem-Alexander married Máxima Zorreguieta seventeen years ago, his status as heir to the Dutch throne made the wedding a state occasion and as such, a large number of royal guests attended. We now look at some of these royal hats.

Queen Margrethe’s hat linked with her fur trimmed coat, the domed crown covered in the same textured blue wool fabric. The denim blue inverse brim made this design unique, hugging the bottom of the crown tightly before opening horizontally, the shape punctuated by a slim lighter blue hatband on the under side. the brim’s front brim vent was further highlighted with a pearl brooch. Despite its small footprint, this hat packs a lot of punch- perhaps too much in combination with the fur collar and cuffs on the coat?

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Princess Benedikte wore a silver tweed coat and hat with fur trim on the bumper brim (and collar and dress hem). The scale of fur trim is just right here and the dark colour contrasts AND coordinates beautifully with the fabric. The fur hem of the dress is a little odd but the hat works really well.

Benedikte’s eldest daughter,  Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, topped her lilac dress and coat with a magenta felt brimless hat trimmed with a tall spray of feathers. The pieces are all individually attractive but I’m just not sure they combine well together. Photos of Alexandra’s younger sister, Princess Nathalie, who also attended, elude me.

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Queen Silvia’s midnight blue hat combined straw and velvet- not a combination we often see. The hat’s wide, upturned kettle brim was edged in a wide stripe of velvet which was repeated on the crown. A ruched hatband of light straw added softness, volume and textural contrast between the crown and brim.

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Crown Princess Victoria topped her tailored chocolate suit with a matching straw hat. It’s a hat I’m happy to leave in the past for Victoria, its unrefined finishing and awkward looking hatband making a less than flattering look for her.

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Princess Madeleine’s hat packed a little more style punch and finesse with its angular crown and upswept brim around the back. The sequinned hatband reads a little ‘glitzy cowgirl’ and the roughly woven straw feels slightly unmatched against Madeleine’s beautifully tailored dress and jacket but somehow, the look works for what it was.

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Queen Sonja topped her cantaloupe orange lace suit with a matching silk cloche hat. The upturned brim updated the traditional shape with some angular edge (a touch somewhat nullified by the wide, rather dowdy lace hatband) and a small spray of orange feathers and a canteloupe silk twist on the side attempted to liven the design. A matching canteloupe lace purse and fur stole completed the look- and a lot of canteloupe it was. Melon overkill, I’d say.

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Crown Princess Mette-Marit was barely six months into royal life at this point and her ensemble reflects some of this inexperience. Her navy silk cloche hat was embellished by a wide, ruched hatband and the same matchstick cream stitching around the outside of the brim edge as on the neckline of her dress and, in reverse, on her cream coat. All in all, it was rather bland.
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From bland and boring we move to brilliantly bizarre with Princess Märtha Louise’s hat. A fantastical design that combines a tall, olive green felt square-edged hourglass crown, a wide purple felt brim, purple roses and cobalt, orange and red feathers, the hat is unexpected, whimsical and… well, it’s just bonkers. Pairing this embellished purple suit with this hat was a gutsy move I’ve always admired and makes me smile, still.
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Well- there’s much to discuss here! Which hats stand out to you, most? Which hats have weathered the passage of time, best?
Photos from Getty as indicated

Christening of Princess Adrienne

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Princess Madeleine of Sweden and her husband Chris O’Neill, were joined by family and friends today at Drottningholm Palace Chapel for the christening of their daughter, Princess Adrienne.

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For the event, held on the couple’s fifth anniversary, Princess Madeleine topped her cream silk floral dress with a bandeau headpiece of silk flowers in the same pink and coral shades as the flowers on her dress.

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It’s a pretty headpiece that has the feel of a folk floral headdress. Madeleine has worn headpieces for each of her children’s christenings (most of those in attendance wore small headpieces) so it’s not surprising she went this route today. I can’t help wondering, however, if a small, embellished straw percher hat might have coordinated better with the dress and felt less ‘twee’ than this headpiece.

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Designer: unknown. Dress by Giambattista Valli
Previously Worn: this headpiece is new

Princess Leonore wore a small white flower trimmed barrette in her hair.

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: this is new
What do you think of Princess Madeleine’s floral headpiece? Jump over to the following posts for: 
Photos from Getty as indicated; SVT; Stella Pictures / TT

Christening of Prince Gabriel

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Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia were joined by family and friends today in the chapel at Drottningholm Palace for the christening of their second son, Prince Gabriel.

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Princess Sofia broke with tradition and wore traditional folk dress. Her costume is from Dalarna, the area where she was raised and the duchy of which Prince Gabriel was named Duke at the time of his birth, making the sartorial choice a personal and sentimental one. Her vibrant ensemble included a traditional hand painted/embroidered red cap edged in cotton lace.

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Dec 1, 2017 | Royal Hats Dec 1, 2017 | Royal Hats

Queen Silvia topped a slate blue silk dress and coat with a veiled lace headpiece. The texture and sheen of the headpiece is a beautiful compliment to the streamlined coat and the colour, while muted, looks wonderful on her.

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Dec 1, 2017 | Royal Hats

Designer: Philip Treacy. It is a bespoke version of OC 384 from AW 2017
Previously Worn: this headpiece is new

Princess Madeleine, who was named one of Prince Gabriel’s godparents, also made a sentimental touch with her millinery. Her lilac grey twisted silk headpiece with pink silk rose at the back is a clear nod to a similar peach design that Queen Silvia wore on August 31, 1970 for Prince Carl Philip’s baptism (and that Crown Princess Victoria had reinvented in June 2014 for Princess Leonore’s christening). We didn’t get to see the headpiece directly against Madeleine’s printed silk Valentino dress but it looks like it would balance really well.

Dec 1, 2017 in Philip Treacy | Royal Hats    Dec 1, 2017 in Philip Treacy | Royal Hats

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Designer: Philip Treacy. Flowers made by Anfisa Korelova
Previously Worn: thisheadpiece is new

Crown Princess Victoria topped a stunning red suit with a leather hair bow. At an event where small headpieces reigned, I see the rationale in this choice but I’m not a fan of the twee shape or mismatch of shades between the bow and the suit. My reservations about the hairbow aside, the red suit is divine on Victoria and I adore her brave use of deep maroon accessories with it. And Princess Estelle’s matching maroon Mary Janes? SO adorable.

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Dec 1, 2017 in Corinne Henriksson | Royal Hats Dec 1, 2017 in Corinne Henriksson | Royal Hats

Designer: Corinne Hair Accessories Leather Bowtie
Previously Worn: this bow is new
Princess Estelle topped her red boiled wool jacket and grey dress with a sweet red velvet hairbow.
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There have now been six Swedish royal Christenings in the past five years, all of which have seen mostly small headpieces instead of hats. Today followed this trend- what do you think of these designs?

Photos from Getty as indicated; Jonas Ekstrommer/TT;  Frederik Sandberg/TT; Anna-Karin Nilsson; Jonas Ekstrommer via Getty