Belgian Royal Wedding: Family Members

Princess Maria Laura’s wedding to William Isvy on September 10 was attended by her Belgian, Austrian, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein relations, many of whom wore hats or headpieces.

Princess Astrid employed a “more is more” approach to her mother-of-the-bride ensemble, in a brimless hat covered in the same the green ostrich feathers as on the cuffs of her teal lace jacket… with a few more teal ones studded in. 

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Lace, feathers, ribbon embroidery, crystal collar, purple, teal, green… it’s a lot of elements that together, put this look well over the top for me. ‘Nuff said.

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Designer: The entire ensemble is Gucci
Previously Worn: This hat is new

The bride’s sisters Princess Luisa and Princess Laetitia and sister-in-law Princess Elisabetta wore vibrant yellow, emerald and ruby ​​bandeau headpieces.

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Queen Paola wore a headpiece in biscuit pleated abacca that encircled her head. It’s lovely from front view, the arc of the piece creating a halo framing Paola’s face with a ruffle on one side .

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Designer: “Chamira” design by Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: This design is new

The groom’s mother Lisa wore an ecru sinamay disc percher trimmed with ivory sinamay twists and ivory and ecru feather flowers.

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His sister wore a wide blush sinamay saucer trimmed with multiple twists, feathers and curled quills in a slightly darker shade of pink.

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Queen Mathilde surprised with the repeat of a hat not seen for nearly 20 years. In pink sinamay woven with metallic fibers, the wide-brimmed design follows a sweeping pyramid shape with sharp, dropped vertical edge.

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It’s a dramatic statement hat softened by its color and pairing with Mathilde’s lovely floral frock. When she first wore this hat for Prince Laurent and Princess Claire’s wedding in 2003 , I think it overwhelmed her a little but this time, thanks to a more jaunty angle, a patterned dress and the confidence that simply comes with maturity, she carried it off fantastically.

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Designer: Maison van den Borne. Dress by Nathan.
Previously Worn: Apr 12, 2003

Princess Elisabeth was head to toe in red, topping a fringed dress with a brimmed straw hat. The design, with a gently waved brim, is simply trimmed with a slim hatband.

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Designer: “Laurany” design by Fabienne Delvigne. Dress by Caroline Herrera. 
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Princess Claire paired her leaf printed dress with a loden green straw picture hat with extended brim In this era where smaller bandeaux and perchers have reigned in popularity, it’s fun to see a design of such scale!

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Princess Louise wore a vibrant headpiece headpiece of silk flowers. It’s such a youthful design that paired beautifully with her fuchsia dress.

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Designer: “Eden” design by Fabienne Delvigne. Dress by Rotate.
Previously Worn: This headpiece is new

Princess Delphine wore a fedora hat covered in “The Bubble” silk print from her newly released wearable art collection. It’s a bold design that was well balanced against her solid red dress. 

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Designer: unknown. Dress by Cilem Tunc Van Trier. 
Previously Worn: at this photoshoot

Princess Marie-Esméralda wore a dark blue straw cloche with extended brim. The hat is trimmed with a wide royal blue Petersham hatband and white silk rose on the side. Princess Léa wore a blue silk bow headpiece with veil. 

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Princess Margaretha of Liechenstein wore a tall blush pillbox wrapped in a wide band of caramel abaca with a knotted bow at the back. Princess Maria Anunciata, shown beside her mother below, wore a bandeau headpiece of pink silk petals. Princess Margaretha’s other daughter, Princess Marie-Astrid, attended the bride and was shown in the prior post in a plaited pink bandeau headpiece

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Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg wore a fuchsia straw saucer percher trimmed with orange silk abaca twists.

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Princess Dianne of Nassau wore a pink silk abaca draped calot with large bows. Prince Jean’s daughter, Princess Marie Gabrielle of Nassau, wore a pale green silk halo headband headpiece

Archduke Lorenz’s sister Countess Beatrice of Arco-Zinneberg attended along with all of six of her daughters Countess Anna Teresa, Countess Margherita, Countess Olympia, Countess Maximiliana, Countess Marie Gabrielle and Countess Giorgiana. Countess Margherita is pictured below in a black straw pyramid shaped hat with bow (see the back here). Countess Marie Gabrielle repeated the wore a in a deep navy straw vertical Philip Treacy saucer rimmed in midnight blue velvet trimmed with purple butterflies and silk orchids that her mother wore to her sister Olympia’s wedding in 2019.

ss Dianne of Nassau wore a pink silk abaca draped calot with large bows. 

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Also spotted in hats were Archduchess Anna-Gabriele of Austria with her daughter Catherina, Princess Therese of Liechtenstein, Princess Xenia of Croÿ and Princess Eleonora de Ligne.

That wraps up Princess Maria Laura’s wedding! What hats or headpieces stood out most to you?

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Images from Getty as indicated  

Belgian National Day

The Belgian royal family celebrated their country’s national holiday today with a Te Deum mass at The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula followed by a military parade outside the Royal Palace.

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Queen Mathilde wore a new bandeau headpiece covered in a textured striped fabric in the palest beigey-pink.

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The caped floral dress requires a light millinery touch and the scale and subtle texture of this design works well. It’s nicely finished, with bias placement of the stripe and not a pucker or underside structure to be seen. While it lets the dress be the focus, which I suppose was its aim, I’m afraid I find it a bit underwhelming

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: This headpiece is new

Princess Elisabeth also wore a new hat, in textured deep orange (or tomato red?!) straw. The pillbox design is simply trimmed with a knotted sash on the side.

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It’s a great scale on Elisabeth, the weave of the hat providing textural contrast to the floral pattern on her dress. We’ve not seen her in many hats and this one is a good ‘beginner.’

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Designer:  Fabienne Delvigne’s “Kennedy” design. Dress by Natan
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Enrolled in this year’s course at the Belgian Military Academy, Princess Elisabeth marched in the military parade in full uniform.

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Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent also attended in military uniform, Princess Astrid in a green hat with smart curved brim and Prince Laurent in a traditional cap (Princess Claire did not attend).

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Today’s celebration officially included Princess Delphine and her partner, Jim O’Hare, for the first time. She wore a vibrant patterned dress and matching beret from Belgian ethical fashion brand Erratum, whose work is inspired by Africa.

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It’s a bold look but one that seems authentic for the artist, whose work is described as vibrant, playful and quirky. The same words describe this ensemble and that’s exactly what makes me love it. Yes, it’s lot of pattern and the hat could really use some structure (there’s a reason fabric hats are blocked over sinamay bases!) but its a confident statement that I wish we saw more in royal fashion.

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Designer: Erratum
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Princess Marie-Esméralda attended the Te Deum in a very pretty pink pleated bandeau headpiece.

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this is new

It’s wonderful to see larger events opening up, especially with they include the debut of a new princess! What do you think of this group of hats today in Brussels?

Images from Getty as indicated  

Belgian Royals Attend Memorial Mass

Members of the Belgian Royal family gathered at Notre Dame Church in Laeken yesterday to attended a mass held annually in memory of deceased family members. For this event, Queen Mathilde wore a new rounded headpiece covered in the same charcoal fabric as her high collared blouse. The textured fabric works surprisingly well on the design (and is well made- there’s not a pucker to be spotted here) but oh, how I wish it had a covered crown. I can’t get behind these doughnut designs.



Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: This headpiece is new
Princess Marie-Esméralda, (younger half-sister of King Albert) wore a navy straw based headpiece trimmed with navy and cream feathers, placed on the back of her head. Her sister-in-law, Princess Léa, wore a simple navy bow, also placed on the back of her head (see the video clip below).

Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein (King Philippe’s first cousin) wore a sequinned calot hat wrapped in a a swath of dotted tulle. She also placed the design WAAAY back on her head… perhaps to downplay its disco vibe? I thought it was a strange choice for a memorial event such as this.
Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
Let’s face it- this isn’t the strongest group of hats we’ve reviewed. What elements here do you like?
Photos from Getty as indicated; Photonews, Photonews, Photonews and Photonews via Getty

Belgian Royals Attend Annual Memorial Mass

Members of Belgium’s royal family attended an annual mass to commemorate deceased relatives and ancestors yesterday at the Church of Our Lady in Brussels. Queen Mathilde used the occasion to debut a new black calot hat trimmed in overlaid stripes and a large twisted circle of textured black roughly woven fabric.

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It’s difficult to weigh in on this hat without a better look. At close range, the overlay on the hat looked a bit messy to me but from further away, it gives great textural contrast to Mathilde’s smoothly tailored flared coat.

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Designer: likely Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Princess Marie-Esméralda, King Albert’s half sister, wore an oversize chocolate felt fedora with relaxed brim piped in lighter cafe-au-lait hued ribbon. A patterned hatband in the same two shades finished the piece with a sharp bit of contrast that made the relaxed design look a bit more formal.

Feb 20, 2018 | Royal Hats

Feb 20, 2018 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I suspect this hat is new
Princess Léa, widow of King Albert’s late half brother Prince Alexandre, repeated a chic navy fedora with Petersham ribbon hatband and side bow (not visible here). Worn at a slight angle, the hat is wonderfully chic
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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: Feb 19, 2013

Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg, who is cousin-in-law to King Philippe and his siblings, wore a simple black pillbox hat on the back of her head. It’s a classic millinery choice very fitting for such an event as this.

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: Dec 12, 2014 and likely others
This annual event always brings us a number of sedately styled hats- any thoughts about the ones worn yesterday?

Photos from Getty as indicated; Place Royal TV and The Belgian Monarchy

Belgian Royals Attend Annual Memorial Mass

Members of the Belgian Royal Ramily attend the annual celebration of the Eucharist in memory of the family`s deceased members at Our Lady Church in Laken today. Queen Mathilde used this occasion to début a new cloche hat. With a grey felt crown and beige felt brim, this hat was trimmed with a simple double band in beige fabric, wrapped around the bottom of the crown. We have not seen Mathilde in many cloche hats and while it is not my favourite millinery style on her, this particular hat brings and air of innocence and beauty that works well for her. Don`t you think Queen Mathilde looks incredibly young in this hat!?

Queen Mathilde, February 12, 2015 in Fabienne Delvigne | Royal Hats Queen Mathilde, February 12, 2015 in Fabienne Delvigne | Royal Hats

Queen Mathilde, February 12, 2015 in Fabienne Delvigne | Royal Hats  Queen Mathilde, February 12, 2015 in Fabienne Delvigne | Royal Hats

Designer: Fabienne Delvigne

While Queen Paola did not wear a hat, Princess Astrid and Princess Claire also wore new pieces of millinery. Princess Astrid’s black felt hat featured a flat crown and wide, cartwheel brim. The brim was trimmed in the same black silk ribbon that was wrapped around the crown and while this embellishment was simple, I thought it was wonderfully effective and emphasized the graphic lines of the hat. Princess Claire wore a navy fedora with oversize brim. Trimmed with a triple band  around the crown that twirled into bow loops on the side, this hat was an excellent colour and scale for Claire. We have seen Princess Claire successfully wear several fedoras in the past and this hat further solidifies this style as one very well suited to her.

Princess Astrid, February 12, 2015  | Royal Hats Princess Claire, February 12, 2015  | Royal Hats

Designers of these hats: unknown

In a photo released later yesterday, we could see that Princess Marie-Esméralda wore a black feathered fascinator (below, right). Princess Margaretha and Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein were also in attendance; Princess Margaretha wore a simple black pillbox hat.

Belgian Royal Family, February 12, 2015 | Royal Hats

It is not often that we see the simultaneous début of three new Belgian royal hats so today is special indeed! What did you think of this trio of new millinery?

Photos from Robin Utrecht/Hollandse HoogteRobin Utrecht/Hollandse HoogteRobin Utrecht/Hollandse HoogteRobin Utrecht/Hollandse HoogteRobin Utrecht/Hollandse Hoogte, and Robin Utrecht/Hollandse Hoogte via Corbis; and Getty as indicated