Belgian Royal Wedding

Posted on October 4, 2022 by Royal Hats

On September 10, Princess Maria Laura of Belgium was married to William Isvy.

For the civil ceremony at Brussels town hall, the bride wore a 1960s-inspired ecru mini dress with pleated empire waist by Gucci.

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Princess Maria Laura paired the dress with modern diamond and pearl drop earrings (the same ones worn by her sister-in-law Princess Elisabetta at her wedding in 2014) and ecru chunky heeled Gucci pumps.

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That afternoon, the couple’s marriage was celebrated at a religious ceremony in the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula before 500 guests.

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The bride turned to British designer Vivienne Westwood for her custom silk gown. Westwood utilized both her corset mastery and inspiration from 18th century women’s fashion for the gown’s beautifully draped bodice. The open neckline is anchored with cap sleeves and the gown “falls from the hip is reminiscent of ancient Greek statues.”

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It’s a gown that relies entirely on construction and drape for its statement. Couture royal gowns are not a new thing – we’ve seen many! – but sometimes they overwhelm the wearer. This one does not.

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Less successful, I think, is the 4 meter (13 foot) long train which attaches by a belt at the waist, “especially created for Maria Laura, to create the drama and presence needed for the cathedral.” Maybe it was the wind on this very blustery, rainy day, but something about the belt attachment doesn’t quite work from all angles.

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The unembellished dress creates a stunning background for the lace veil. Made of exquisite Brussels lace, the floral patterned veil with scalloped edge is a family heirloom originally worn by Queen Paola’s Belgian grandmother, Laura Mosselman du Chenoy, in 1877. After Queen Paola wore it for her 1959 wedding, it has became a tradition for Belgian royal brides- we’ve seen worn previously by Princess Astrid, Queen Mathilde and Princess Claire.

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Princess Maria Laura anchored the veil with the Savoy-Aosta Diamond Tiara, an heirloom piece from her father’s Austrian royal family. It makes for an overall bridal look that’s a lovely mix of modernity and tradition, the dress, veil and tiara pairing so beautifully together while incorporating pieces from both sides of her family. The ensemble was completed with diamond drop earrings.

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Young pages and bridesmaids, including Princess Maria Laura’s niece Anna and nephew Maximillian, were in mustard yellow silk ensembles, the bridesmaids with wreaths of fresh flowers in their hair. Princess Laeticia corralled the group in an ivory blouse and yellow floral skirt topped with an emerald silk ruched bandeau headpiece.

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Princess Maria Laura was further attended by her other sister Princess Luisa, sister-in-law Princess Elisabetta and cousins Princess Marie-Astrid of Liechtenstein and Princess Olympia Napoleon. Luisa, Elisabetta and Marie-Astrid wore bandeau headpieces in yellow, red and pink while Olympia wore a bandeau of gold flowers.

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Wind and rain did not keep radiant smiles off the bride and groom’s faces!

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See hats worn by family members from the Belgian, Austrian, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein royal families

Images from Getty as indicated

Austro-French Royal Wedding Part 2

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Royal Hats

The wedding of Prince Jean Christophe Napoléon and Countess Olympia von Arco-Zinneberg on Saturday saw many royal faces with numerous extended family members and guests in Paris to celebrate with the couple.

The bride’s mother, Maria Beatrice of Arco-Zinneberg, was born an Archduchess of Austria-Este, the elder sister of Prince Lorenz of Belgium (Archduke of Austria-Este before gaining the title of prince when he married Princess Astrid). As uncle and aunt of the bride, they were in attendance, Princess Astrid in a brimless hat of spiky dark green feathers. Their daughter, Princess Maria Laura, who acted as a witness for her cousin, wore a sparkling bandeau headpiece. Princesses Luisa Maria, Laetitia Maria and Elisabetta (Amadeo’s wife) were also on the guest list but so far, elude photos.

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Archdukes Rudolph, Carl Christian and Simeon of Austria are also Habsburg relatives of the bride through her mother. Archduke Rudoplph’s wife, Archduchess Marie-Helene wore a white saucer trimmed with veil and a figure-8 bow in the same raspberry pink stripe as her silk coat. Archduchess Marie-Astrid topped her royal blue and gold dress with a navy straw saucer based cocktail hat trimmed with a multi-looped silk abaca bow and a swath of dotted navy tulle.

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Archduke Simeon’s wife, Archduchess Maria (née Princess Maria of Bourbon-Two Sicilies) wore a navy straw brimmed hat with voluminous straw overlay on the brim that wrapped around the design as a draped scarf of sorts. They are pictured here with Princess Margaretha and Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein; Margaretha topped her orange suit in a repeated russet brown straw hat with mushroom brim, trimmed on the side with a straw bow and pouf of dotted tulle.

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Princess Margaretha and Prince Nikolaus’ elder daughter, Princess Maria Anunciata, wore a high halo bandeau headpiece in brilliant emerald green, lavishly trimmed with silk roses and a ruffle of rough-edged straw studded with tiny beads. Her younger sister wore a deep burgundy velvet bandeau (photo below). Their aunt, Princess Isabelle of Liechtenstein, wore a picture hat in champagne straw with wide mushroom brim. The hat’s sheen is spectacular and the repeated use of the wide brim binding also on the hatband gives great balance to the design.

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Much of Luxembourg’s Nassau royal family members were also in attendance. Princess Stephanié, Hereditary Grand Duchess, repeated a circular wrapped headpiece made from overlapping layers of red banana fibre, trimmed with a multi-looped side bow. Princess Claire wore a classic black bandeau trimmed with faux pearls.

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Countess Diane (wife of Prince Jean), wore a tall slice hat of black crin with crown covered in curling pink and black feathers. Jean’s daughter, Princess Marie-Gabrielle, wore a bandeau headpiece covered in varied shades of dusky pink feathers topped with a pink birdcage veil sprinkled with copper sequins.

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Princess Sibilla repeated a wonderful red hat made by Dillon Wallwork. The design features a squared crown covered in the silk crepe, a sidesweeping windowpane straw brim with wide brim edge also in silk crepe, and a wide grey silk hatband with side bow. Also in a British made hat was Princess Beatrice of York in a Julian Garner design described by the milliner as a boater “made out of a fine parasisel straw and is trimmed with hand cut dyed feathers embellished with Preciosa crystals”

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The Greek royal family was represented by Crown Prince Pavlos, Princess Olympia, Prince Michael and Princess Marina. Princess Olympia wore an angular grey-olive bandeau headpiece while Princess Marina donned a black felt fedora with ribbon hatband and kicky upturned brim on one side.

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The Royal House of Hanover was represented by Prince Christian and Princess Alessandra who wore a dark purple bandeau veiled headpiece. The Olympe design from Spanish brand Mimoki features an overlapping double bandeau wrapped in cotton raffia. The Duchess of Bragança topped her blue silk dress and coat with a navy straw arc headpiece trimmed with feathers.

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Princess Tatiana Radziwill wore a red circle headpiece of silk abaca studded with read beads with flying bow tails at the back. Duchess Sophie of Wurtenberg wore a fascinator of bright pink feathers.

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Princess Maria Pia of Savoy wore a pink and grey floral headpiece set on a circle of gathered net tulle veil. Princess Edouard De Lobkowicz (née Princess Marie Francoise of Bourbon-Parma) wore wonderful throw-back voluminous pillbox covered in curving mint, grey and peach straw leaves.

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The groom’s maternal aunt, Princess Anne Marie of Bourbon Two Sicilies, wore a braided black picture hat with upswept brim on one side, trimmed with a black organdie multi-looped bow and net veil. Her daughter, Dorothée de Bourbon-Siciles, wore a fascinator of neon pink crin, dotted crin and feathers while her daughter-in-law wore a chic black veiled pillbox with bow on the side.

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Finally, the groom’s maternal uncle, Prince Charles of Bourbon Two Sicilies, attended with his glamorous wife and daughters. Princess Camilla’s navy blue straw vertical disc hat is lavishly trimmed with different varieties of feathers in navy and black, large loops of navy crin and crystal-studded windowpane crin on the exposed underside of the raised brim. Princess Maria Carolina, who served as a witness, topped her orchid purple suit with a magenta straw hat. With a sharply curved ‘slice’ shape, the design is trimmed with pink and black feathers on the lower side of the brim. Princess Maria Chiara wore a tan silk abaca draped hat with pleated crescent, net tulle veil and dark blue organza leaves and lighter blue flowers.

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Numerous more royal guests attended the wedding who, I’m afraid, were not caught by photographer’s lenses. Even so, we do have record of 33 hats and headpieces from this event which we are able to admire. This leads me to ask, dearest readers- which ones stand out to you, most?

Photos from Getty as indicated

Funeral of Queen Fabiola

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Royal Hats

The Belgian Royal Family gathered today in the Cathedral Saints Michel et Gudule to bid farewell to Queen Fabiola. For this funeral, Queen Mathilde wore a new black fabric-covered headpiece that circled her head.

Queen Mathilde, December 12, 2014 in Fabienne Delvigne | Royal Hats

Queen Paola wore a delicate veil in black Brussels lace.

Queen Paola, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats

Princess Astrid wore a headband trimmed with a stacked, double silk bow topped with a swath of dotted net tulle.

Princess Astrid, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats

Princess Maria Laura wre a wide black felt headband while archduchess Elisabetta, wife of Prince Amadeo, wore a small black pillbox hat with rounded crown and grosgrain ribbon trim around the hat. Princess Luisa Maria was the only grandchild of King Albert and Queen Paola who did not attend the funeral (presumably, she was not able to leave her studies in England).

Princess Maria Laura, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats Princess Elisabetta, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats

Princess Claire wore a charcoal grey hat which was simply trimmed with a wide ribbon around the crown. The flat brim of this hat was slightly upturned around the edge and the straight sided crown was gently domed at the top.

Princess Claire, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats

Princess Louise wore her first hat for this important family event. Her mottled grey felt cloche was trimmed with a petite bow at the back.

Princess Louise, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats

Princess Léa, widow of King Albert’s late half-brother Prince Alexander, wore a beautiful black lace veil. Princes Marie-Esméralda (younger half-sister of King Albert) wore a Victorian inspired black hat with net tulle trim. The back of the hat, which folded upward, was trimmed with several black satin bows.

Princess Léa and Princes Marie-Esméralda, December 12, 2014 | Royal Hats

You can see hats worn by royal cousins from Luxembourg and Liechtenstein at this post and hats worn by representatives of other royal houses at this post.

Photos from Patrick van Katwijk, Patrick van Katwijk, Olivier Polet, Pool/Luc Claessen, Patrick van Katwijk, Christophe Licoppe, Pool/Luc Claessen, Didier Lebrun, Albert Nieboer, Patrick van Katwijk, Didier Lebrun, Christophe Licoppe, Pieter Jan Vanstockstraeten, Didier Lebrun, Didier Lebrun, and Didier Lebrun, all via Corbis

Royal Hats this Year: Belgium

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Royal Hats

Here are all of the Belgian royal hats we saw this year (click on each photo to link its original post with larger views of each hat):

Princess Léa and Princess Marie-Esmeralda (#2 and 3)

1. 2. 3.

Princess Maria-Laura (#4 and 5), Archduchess Elisabetta (#6) and Princess Astrid

4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Queen Paola

9. 10.

Princess Claire and Princess Louise (#15)

11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Queen Mathilde

16. 17. 18. 19.

20. 21. 22. 23.

24. 25. 26. 27.

28. 29. 30. 31. 32.

Do any of these hats make your list of favourite royal hats this year? Is there one you want to nominate for your least favourite hat of 2014?

*Update: Belgian royal hats worn on December 12 and December 13 have been added to this list.

Belgian Royal Wedding: The Families

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Royal Hats

The entire Belgian Royal Family (with the exception of Queen Fabiola) attended today’s wedding of Prince Amedeo, Archduke of Austria-Este and Elisabetta Rosboch von Wolkenstein; as such, there were some marvelous royal hats. Princess Astrid, Archduchess of Austria-Este arrived at the Basilica with the groom, wearing a pale headpiece of dove grey rosettes made by Maison Michel Paris. While I was a little puzzled by the widely contrasting textures in her monochrome ensemble, the mix of rosettes in her hair, silk pleats on her dress, nubby bouclé on her jacket and pearls was such a classic Chanel combination that I have decided to love it.

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Prince Amedeo’s sister, Princess Maria-Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este, topped her teal lace Valentino frock (the same one Princess Madeleine wore for her daughter’s christening back in June) with a small headband of teal silk blooms. I thought it was odd that she chose a mini version of her mother’s headpiece- while I liked the shape and scale on young Maria-Laura, the colour variations between the headpiece, earrings and dress made the ensemble unsuccessful for me. I hope, however, she keeps this adorable headpiece and wears it again sometime with a different frock.

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Prince Amedeo’s other sister, Princess Luisa Maria, acted as chief bridesmaid and did not wear a hat (you can see her here in a white gown, helping Elisabetta with the train on her dress). Prince Amedeo’s maternal grandmother, Queen Paola, wore an unexpected pointed beanie cap in sparkle-studded navy fabric. It was a rather avant garde and modern pairing for her navy silk suit and I adored the colour contrast with her hair. I want so badly to love this very daring piece of millinery but this hat depicting the cosmos might be a little too out there even for me.

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While Queen Paola’s hat was bold, Queen Mathilde’s hat was downright bizarre. She topped her exquisite vibrant blue Natan caped dress with a roughly textured, woven leather and fabric, open-topped turban designed by Fabienne Delvigne. From a distance, it looks like she is wearing a bandage wrapped around her head. While I understand the desire to balance the very vibrant colour of her dress with neutral accessories, this heapieces falls flat.

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One of my favourite hats of the day was worn by Prince Amedeo’s other maternal aunt, Princess Claire. She topped her bright fuchsia suit with a classic pinky beige picture hat with a square crown and cartwheel brim. The clean lines of the Fabienne Delvigne designed hat were such a beautiful compliment to her textured suit and the proportion was grand, but not off balance. This is how to do neutral accessories with a bright statement suit.

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The groom’s paternal grandmother, Archduchess Margherita of Austria-Este, topped her lovely pink and white floral jacket with a cream picture hat. I thought the pleated white crin edging around the brim gave a soft and very pretty addition to this hat.

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Finally, the bride’s mother, Italian film producer Countess Lilia de Smecchia, wore a small green brimless hat in the same fabric as her beautifully layered coat. I thought it was, on all accounts, rather flat.

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The Belgian Royal Family are an entertaining bunch when it comes to millinery at major events and today was no exception. Stay tuned tomorrow, when we’ll look at hats worn by other royal guests at this wedding. Until then, which Belgian royal hat was your favourite?

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Photos from Getty as indicated

Royal Hats

The Bold, Beautiful and Bizarre World of Royal Millinery

Tag Archives: Princess Maria Laura

Belgian Royal Wedding

Austro-French Royal Wedding Part 2

Funeral of Queen Fabiola

Royal Hats this Year: Belgium

Belgian Royal Wedding: The Families