We finish our look back 20 years at the May 2001 wedding of Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien today with hats worn by royal guests and extended members of the Dutch royal family to the couple’s religious ceremony.
Princess Mathilde wore a white parasisal straw hat with slightly flared, flat-top crown and generous mushroom brim. The classic black and white scheme always works and I really like how the black stitching on her coat was reversed in white on the hat’s black hatband.
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Crown Princess Victoria took a more neutral path with a tan and cream subtle plaid coat and dress topped with a picture hat in beige straw. It was not a dynamic look (it’s all rather biscuit!!), not helped by the low curve of the hat’s gently sidesweeping brim that sat awkwardly low over Victoria’s face.
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Mette-Marit Tjenssem, who would become Crown Princess of Norway three months later, wore a blush coat with sequin detail repeated on the hatband of her cream picture hat. It was another quiet ensemble (despite the sequins) but nice, from today’s vantage point, to see Mette-Marit in a brimmed design.
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We can usually count on Princess Märtha Louise to bring some colour and she did not disappoint at this event, pairing her lilac shantung silk suit with a deep orange statement hat. Between the hat’s vibrant shade, extended brim with point ends, fuchsia brim binding and brim stitching and hatband of cut orange and fuchsia silk leaves, it was a memorable design.
Princess Kiko was in head to hem pale butter yellow. Her hat was a most interesting shape with a bumper style overtop a downward facing visor- it really defies description. Can you remember seeing her in another design of this shape? It feels unique.
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Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg topped her red suit with a natural straw woven hat with rounded crown and fluted brim bound with chocolate binding and topped with a layer of silk petal studded crin… or a large patterned lace? The hat was finished with a large flower on the left side.
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The Countess of Wessex wore two toned hat with green fluted crown and palest seafoam parasisal straw with very interesting, inverted brim and trimmed with peacock feathers. We don’t see many two toned hats and while this one reflects millinery styles of the time, still was a well balanced and interesting (in a good way!) design.
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Princess Alexandra De Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berlebourg (Princess Benedikte’s eldest daughter) contrasted her pale blue ensemble with a copper straw picture hat. The unexpected scheme worked, as did the hat’s scale on Alexandra’s tall frame. I really like the proportion between the hat’s crown and wide brim and the textural contrast provided by the stitched silk bow.
Princess Miriam of Bulgaria wore a folded black sinamay design with black and white feathers and a black veil.
Princess Margriet wore a wide brimmed hat in red sinamay with long sinamay sash folded over the hat. That folded sash was unique, as hat trimmings go, but seemed at odds with the rest of the design.
Princess Marilène (back row behind Prince Constantijn) wore a dark hued, wide brimmed hat. Princess Irene (front row on right, beside Maxima) wore a lime green straw boater with extended brim. Princess Christina (second row, in between Prince Constantijn and Queen Beatrix) looked to be in a hat with black brim and royal blue crown.
It’s always interesting, looking back at past events, which hats seem timeless and which ones reflect specific styles of the time. Looking back 20 years at this event, which hats stand out most to you?
You can see hats worn by immediate family (and the bride’s attire) at the religious ceremony here and hats at the civil ceremony here.
Images from Getty as indicated
