Tag Archives: Princess Marie-Chantal

Royal Ascot 2017 Day 4: Wrap Up

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Royal Ascot | Royal Hats Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece attended Day 4 of Ascot today with friends. She wore a new cocktail hat by Philip Treacy with button base, trimmed with two straw and crin twists.

John and Lady Carolyn Warren were part of the royal carriage procession today, accompanied by horse breeder, The Hon. Peter Stanley,  and his wife, Frances. Lady Carolyn wore a beautiful icy grey-blue disk hat with button crown, trimmed with  a silk bow and spray of feathers in the same hue. Frances Stanley wore a large Philip Treacy hat with off centered crown, trimmed with a gold silk signature Treacy bow and spray of feathers.

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Baroness Floella Benjamin presented several awards today in a strikingly avant garde black felt top hat with blue floral trim.

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My “Nod To Milliners” pick today it is Rosie Olivia in an exuberant red, ruffled cocktail hat with grey floral trim.

Finally, I sign off today with this charming photo share by millinery suppliers, Petershams. When it’s hot at Ascot, the tops and tails come off!

See you all here tomorrow for the final day of this year’s races
Photos from Getty as indicated

This Week’s Extras

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Royal Hats

Princess Yuriko of Mikasa ceremonially commemorated 50 days since her late husband’s entombment (Getty)

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel arrived in Milan yesterday with Prince Oscar who looked cosy in a cap from Geggamoja

Prince Oscar, December 16, 2016 | Royal Hats

Queen Margrethe has been hand picking images to share during each day of Advent on the Danish Monarchy’s social media- one of the pictures this week included this one of herself and a young Princess Benedikte celebrating Santa Lucia.

Danish millinery Susanne Juul (who makes many of the hats worn by Crown Princess Mary and Princess Benedikte) celebrated her 25th anniversary this week. Congratulations!

Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece in a warm knit hat for an outing to the Natural History Museum with her youngest son.

British milliner Rachel Trevor Morgan experimented with some innovative hat storage in her workshop…

 

 Royal Hats

While her parents and brother were in Italy, Princess Estelle partied it up with her cousins and grandparents at a Christmas lunch. Adorable! (Princess Madeleine Facebook)

The Danish royal family all gathered at Christiansborg Palace for a Christmas party for their staff. Prince Henrik attended in a most memorable tie (Danish Monarchy)

Lovely to see Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella attend the annual palace Children’s Christmas Festival. Their mum was recently in India where this beautiful shot of her was captured.

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Christening of Prince Christian: Royal Guests

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Royal Hats When Prince Christian of Denmark was christened ten years ago, the event was attended by numerous royal relatives and close friends. After looking at the hats worn by his mother, grandparents and godparents, we now turn our attention to those worn by royal guests.

Queen Margrethe’s sisters, Queen Anne-Marie and Princess Benedikte, both wore vibrant hats. In bright red felt, Queen Anne-Marie’s hat featured an unusually tall crown, a short, upturned brim; the piece was boldly embellished with a large knotted bow and curling black feather spines. Princess Benedikte topped her grey fur coat with a large beret-style design in raspberry felt. We have seen Princess Benedikte in numerous hats in this hue and the colour is fantastic on her.

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Princess Marie-Chantal wore a Philip Treacy designed fascinator of straw twists and several different varieties of gold feathers. While some might argue that the spiky design gave some textural contrast to her tweed coat and dress, I have always found the combination of classic clothing and modern headpiece to be jarring and disharmonious.

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Princess Alexia of Greece topped her grey fur jacket with a burgundy felt hat. With an indented crown and fluted, upturned brim, this hat is all about shape. I adore the grey and burgundy colour scheme of her ensemble but I’m afraid the stylised brim and crown shapes on her hat look rather dated today. Tatiana Blatnik (who would become Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark in 2010) wore a simple fascinator of navy feathers. The lightness of the piece, which feels better suited to a summer wedding or garden party, feels off balance against her winter coat

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Princess Theodora wore an interesting loden green beret variation with high peaked side trimmed with a felt rose in the same colour. Princess Benedikte’s daughter, Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg topped her gold bouclé coat with a purple fascinator. The headpiece, consisting of a purple silk rose and feathers that swept around the top of her head, provided a spot of colour and textural contrast to her ensemble.

Princess Theodora, January 21, 2006 | Royal Hats   Princess Alexandra of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, January 21, 2006 | Royal Hats

The Countess of Frederiksborg, who arrived with her young sons Prince Nikolai and Prince Felix, wore in an ecru felt hat with asymmetrical upfolded brim. The hat was trimmed in a pleated sash of the same fabric as her coat, drawing the two pieces together in a unified winter white ensemble. Some of you might recognize the hat as the same one worn for Prince Felix’s christening (the last christening to have taken place in the Danish royal family at the time) in 2002- an interesting choice but a hat that Alexandra wore very well.

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Princess Mathilde (as was her title in 2006) topped her beautiful red coat dress and cape with a large matching hat. With a squared crown and upfolded brim, the hat was simply trimmed with a wide ribbon around the base of the crown. It’s a strong look for Mathilde but she carried it well. It’s a classic piece that I would love to see trotted out again.

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Dutch Princess Laurentien also wore an exaggerated hat- made of the same brown plaid as her tailored jacket, the piece featured a tall, indented crown and oval shaped brim. Unfortunately, the stylised fedora overwhelmed Laurentien and looked to be swallowing her up.

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Princess Märtha Louise of Norway wore a 1940s inspired hat by Anja Irgens. With a close fitting crown and diamond brooch detail, the star of this hat was its upfolded brim that swept around the hat in fluted waves. Märtha Louise has long been known for her quirky style and while this hat fits that style brief, the colour and shape are exquisite. Ten years later, it is still one of my favourite hats in her wardrobe.

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It is only once in a generation that a royal house christens a future king or queen and the scale of this event reflects its importance. Looking back, I’m surprised at how many hats withstand the test of time and could successfully (and stylishly) be repeated today. Which hats stand out most here to you?
Photo from Getty as indicated; CHRISTIAN CHARISIUS/Reuters/Corbis; CHRISTIAN CHARISIUS/Reuters/Corbis; Birger Storm / Billed Bladet;   

Best New Royal Hat of 2015: Monaco, Greece, Dubai and Qatar

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While many of you are eagerly awaiting this year’s new millinery from the British royal family, we must first peek at hats from Monaco, Greece, Dubai and Qatar. Some of this year’s most luxurious hats were worn by princesses and sheikhas from these countries- click on any of the photos to jump back to original posts to see additional description and detail of the hats.

The hats with the most votes across this semifinal will move forward to a final poll. If you don’t think any of these hats are worthy of the title of Best of 2015, save your vote (or jump back to vote again for hats from Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands or Luxembourg and Norway). You can vote for multiple hats up to four times per day so please, get voting!

Princess Charlene of Monaco and Princess Caroline of Hanover and Monaco

1.Princess Charlene, May 10, 2015 | Royal Hats  2.Princess Charlene, November 19, 2015 in Akris | Royal Hats  3.Princess Caroline, May 10, 2015 in The Madagascar Hat Company | Royal Hats  4.Princess Caroline, August 1, 2015 | Royal Hats

Beatrice Borromeo and Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece

5.Beatrice Boromeo, May 10, 2015 | Royal Hats  6.Beatrice Borromeo, November 19, 2015 | Royal Hats  7.Princess Marie-Chantal, June 18, 2015 in Philip Treacy | Royal Hats

Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan, Sheikha of Dubai and Sheikha Mozah of Qatar

8.Princess Haya in Philip Treacy, June 16, 2015 | Royal Hats  9.Princess Haya, June 16, 2015 in Philip Treacy. Suit by Chanel | Royal Hats  10.Sheikha Mozah, August 8, 2015 | Royal Hats

Do you think any of these hats deserve to be named best royal hat of the year? Cast your vote below. Voting will remain open until January 1, 2016.

Greek Royals Celebrate 20th Anniversary

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Prince Pavlors and Marie-Chantal Miller, July 1, 1995 | Royal HatsRoyal Hats

On July 1, 1995, Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, Prince of Denmark married Hong Kong raised British-American socialite Marie-Chantal Miller at a lavish ceremony at St. Sophia’s Cathedral in London. Attended by one of the largest assembled groups of royals this generation, the 20th anniversary of this happy day is a wonderful opportunity to look back at it.

One might think that a royal family in exile might celebrate passages of life on a more modest scale but such was not the case with this event. With 1400 guests, a reported budget of eight million US dollars, a reception at Hampton Court Palace, and 62 pieces of Valentino couture worn by the bridal party and guests, this wedding was as extravagant and grand-scale as they come. I suppose when the bride is the daughter of a billionaire entrepreneur and the groom (who was born crown prince of a reigning monarchy) counts the Queens of Spain and Denmark as his aunts, modest is not an option.

Crown Prince Pavlos and Marie-Chantal Miller, July 1, 1995 | Royal Hats  Crown Prince Pavlos and Marie-Chantal Miller, July 1, 1995 | Royal Hats

It was therefore, no surprise that Marie-Chantal went to Valentino for her wedding dress. Made of ivory silk, the gown featured a four and a half metre train and was trimmed with twelve different varieties of handmade lace. The high-necked lace bodice with long sleeves was encrusted with pearls, forming a garden of flowers against a delicate lattice background. My favourite detail on the dress was the bottom of the skirt, which was appliquéd with silk roses in a medallion motif.

Crown Prince Pavlos and Marie-Chantal Miller, July 1, 1995 | Royal Hats

Crown Prince Pavlos and Marie-Chantal Miller, July 1, 1995 | Royal Hats

Marie-Chantal’s veil, made of handmade Chantilly lace, was woven and embroidered with motifs of flowers and butterflies. The wide border of intricate scallops wrapped around the piece, framing both Marie-Chantal’s face and the train of her gown. The veil was anchored by the Greek Antique Corsage Tiara, on loan from Queen Anne-Marie.

Crown Prince Pavlos and Marie-Chantal Miller, July 1, 1995 | Royal Hats  Crown Prince Pavlos and Marie-Chantal Miller, July 1, 1995 | Royal Hats

This tiara was a wonderful pairing for this ensemble- the lightness and delicacy of the design was perfect for Marie-Chantal’s inaugural tiara while the height and heft of the piece stood up to her elaborately patterned veil.

I think this is one of the royal dresses and veils that requires a close-up look to appreciate its immense and intricate detail (detail that required twenty-five Valentino seamstresses four months to create at an estimated quarter of a million US dollars at the time it was made). Unfortunately, this detail is lost on many photos and the petite Marie-Chantal is left looking swamped by a dress that overwhelms her. While the ensemble is incredibly royal and is undeniably, a couture masterpiece, I think it was simply too much for this young bride.

Crown Prince Pavlos and Marie-Chantal Miller, July 1, 1995 | Royal Hats

Crown Prince Pavlos and Marie-Chantal Miller, July 1, 1995 | Royal Hats

I’m curious to hear your thoughts about this royal bridal ensemble, 20 years after it was worn. Do you think it has transcended time? You can also watch the full ceremony below.

Jump over to this post to see hats worn by family members of the couple and to this post for hats worn by other royal guests.

Photos from  AFP, Lord Lichfield, Peter Macdiarmid, Lord Lichfield, and Lord Lichfield via Getty; David Seidner; The Royal Forums; and Getty as indicated