Tag Archives: Princess Victoria

Imperial Enthronement: Foreign Royal Guests

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Tuesday’s enthronement ceremony was attended by a number of royal events adorned in either national costume or traditional century court dress, giving the wonderfully formal gown-and-hat combination we don’t often see.

Queen Máxima donned a familiar slate blue gown in transparent silk brocade printed with large roses  but paired it with a different hat than we’ve seen with it before- her grey silk floral and dotted net tulle statement headpiece. The scale and bold design of the headpiece pairs wonderfully with the gown, elevating the sense of drama and gravitas of the overall ensemble.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. Gown by Natan.
Previously Worn: Nov 4, 2014; November 19, 2005

Queen Mathilde was wonderfully elegant in a an exquisite gown, cape and pillbox trio in pale pink silk crepe. The clean, sleek lines of each piece make them balance perfectly together and create a serene and quietly regal look. It’s a fashion philosophy we often see used with the Imperial royal ladies- perhaps the inspiration or influence for this ensemble?

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Designer: unknown. Gown by Armani Prive. 
Previously Worn: This hat is new. It is not the same as the felt calot worn February 6, 2014 as some blogs are reporting. 

Queen Letizia paired her bright, floral gown with a divided bandeau headpiece in pale, dusky pink silk. The scale is great on her and the solid colour is a great choice against her patterned dress, although I thought the bandeau’s construction, with many visible stitches, wasn’t quite up to snuff.

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Designer: Nana Golmar. It is a bespoke silk version of the velvet “Iria Headband“. Gown by Matilde Cano.
Previously Worn: this headpiece is new

Crown Princess Mary’s muted lilac-grey caped dress was brightened with mulberry purple straw hat. The modified saucer  is worn at a steep incline and trimmed with two huge silk flowers on the underside of the raised brim, the one at the front in mixed shades of purple. Supremely elegant on its own, I think this gown is again, elevated with the statement hat – not to mention those rubies!

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Designer: Jane Taylor. Gown by Valentino
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Crown Princess Victoria wore a straw saucer hat in the same deep inky purple shade as her gown. The piece, also designed to sit at a sharply tilted angle on the head, is lavishly trimmed with silk roses and straw twists beneath the raised brim, a touch that gives such textural contrast to the opposite, very smooth upper side of the saucer.

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Designer: Philip Treacy. Gown by Escada.
Previously Worn: This hat is new

Seated next to Crown Princess Victoria was a face new to Royal Hats, Swazi King Mswati III’s newest wife, Inkhosikati LaMashwama. She topped her white suit with a vibrant blue straw hat with disc base trimmed with rolled straw rosettes and large bow loops, blue tulle, purple cut feathers and pearls, scattered over the base.

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I know some readers have been waiting days to discuss the hats in this post (my apologies for the delay) so I turn it over to you- what millinery looks here were your favourites?

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Photos from Getty as indicated 

Swedish Royals Attend Opening Of Parliament

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The Swedish Royal Family arrived at the Swedish Parliament House in Stockholm this morning to take part in the opening of the new parliamentary session

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The family, led by the king and queen, dressed in the black and white dress code traditionally associated with this event (well, most of them did but we’ll get to that, shortly!). Queen Silvia repeated her white straw calot hat with back bow and net tulle veil. The beehive shaped hat is wrapped in stripes of straw, giving the design texture and dimension in addition to a distinctive shape. It’s not my favourite hat in Silvia’s wardrobe but integrates very well with her hairstyle.

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Designer: Mode Rosa
Previously Worn: Sep 4, 2017; Apr 24, 2016; Jun 6, 2014; Sep 8, 2013; May 10, 2013; Apr 16, 2013

Crown Princess Victoria wore an interesting headpiece put together from two previously worn separate designs. The white triple ringed bandeau previously had a large white bloom that was removed today and in its place, Victoria’s headpiece of black and white layered butterfly bows.  I’m all for mixing millinery pieces whenever possible but there’s something incongruous about this combination, which, I’m afraid, looks like a bit of a mash-up. I wish the ringed bandeau had been repeated in its original, flower trimmed form.

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Designer of the ringed headpiece: unknown (Philip Treacy made its pink twin)
Previously Worn: April 16, 2015
Designer of the Butterfly bow headpiece: Malinda Damgaard 
Previously Worn: September 13, 2016; October 19, 2015; September 15, 2015

Princess Sofia veered away from the black and white dress code with a two-piece headpiece – face framing bandeau and a separate bow worn at the base of her neck- in luxe wine velvet.  As far as bandeaus go, it’s a good one and frames Sofia’s face beautifully. The colour, however, has me scratching my own head here- yes, it’s a beautiful, painterly fall colour that looks fantastic in velvet but… I can’t believe I’m stating the obvious here… it’s not black or white. Is this the start of coloured accessories for this event? I hope so!

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Designer: Headpieces by M (Matthias Lavesson)
Previously Worn: this headpiece is new

This is one of very few annual hatted events in Sweden and leaves me curious, dearest readers- what do you think of this trio of off-the-face millinery designs?

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Photos from Getty as indicated 

This Week’s Extras

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On Thursday, Queen Beatrix opened the opening of the 79th session of the Institut de Droit international (IDI) in the Hague. She topped her black floral dress with a black straw hat with tall, pleated Breton style brim.
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Princess Ingrid’s confirmation took place yesterday in the Chapel of the Royal Palace in Oslo. For this milestone, she, Crown Princess Mette Marit, Queen Sonja and Princess Märtha Louise, all  wore traditional Norwegian bunads with the folk costume’s wreath-style rolled headpiece .

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Ingrid’s new bunad was a gift from her grandparents, King Harald and Queen Sonja. In a wonderfully personal touch, Queen Sonja, who was a trained dressmaker before beginning her royal life, helped create the traditional folk dress.
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Ingrid’s godmother, Crown Princess Victoria, attended the event in a lilac silk chiffon dress with matching headpiece. of  lilac silk ribbon pleated flowers with hand beaded centers from Parant Parant Couture Headpieces by Örjan Jackobsson. Crown Princess Mary, who attended with Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Christian, wore a new folded headpiece in plum straw that wrapped around her head with a side rosette.
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Today, Princess Kako attended a memorial service for victims of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake at the Metropolitan Memorial Hall in Tokyo. She wore a sedate black silk covered hat with wide hatband and short kettle brim.

Also today, Queen Elizabeth was joined by Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence for Sunday service at Crathie Kirk in Scotland. The Queen repeated a raspberry Rachel Trevor Morgan hat with sidesweeping short brim and felt feather trim. Princess Anne wore a new brown felt trilby with extended brim and what looks like a spray of feathers on the side, different from  the very similar brown trilby with side bow she wore for the first time LAST Sunday.

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The following new millinery designs caught my eye this week:
Sleek olive green felt cloche with metallic gold hatband from Melbourne brand Contempromental Millinery
White straw boater hat with lace overlaid brim by German brand MATAdesign
Pale blue straw capulet with lime hatband and navy honeycomb veil from Dutch milliner Wies Mauduit
Exquisitely dramatic black lace headpiece by UK-based Italian milliner Guilia Mio
Pink buntal button with delightful ruffled swoosh from Australian milliner Rachel Henry
Rust felt pillbox with black pleated ombre trim by British milliner Jane Taylor
White percher with swirling black feathers from British milliner George Durdy
Copper straw hat with relaxed crown, wide brim and feathers by German milliner Nicky Marquardt
Purple silk abaca turban with magenta leather orchids by Australian brand Murley and Co.
Emerald silk covered button percher with crin ovelay and gold feather by Czech milliner Jolanta Kotabova
Cream and poppy red straw hat with marvelous side sweeping brim by Dutch milliner Myra van de Korput
Fantastic black straw hat with rainbow tipped ostrich feathers by Anthony Peto Chapelier

And from Australian hat shop The Essential Hat and milliner Catherine Ellen, this sunny yellow straw picture hat with cut-out brim.

The Danish monarchy released a trio of portraits to mark Prince Nikolai’s 20th birthday
Lovely portrait of the Norwegian king, queen and crown princely family taken before the formal dinner following Princess Ingrid’s confirmation
Pierre Casiraghi was part of the sailing team for Greta Thunberg’s landmark voyage and navigated some rather rough seas.
Empress Masako and the Imperial princesses donned traditional kimonos on Friday for a palace tea party hosted for African leaders.

We end this week with an August 27 performance”The Swan” by Saint-Saëns by Empress Emerita Michiko and flutist Karl-Heinz Schütz (jump to 0:30 to start)

Photos from social media 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 

This Week’s Extras

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On Tuesday, the Prince of Wales visited the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles at Sir John Moore Barracks in Folkestone to celebrate the Battailion’s 25th anniversary and present operational medals for their recent deployment to Afghanistan. His uniform and cap reflect his ranking of Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment.
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Princess Mako in a white silk covered bowler hat with blue stitched hatband on Wednesday for her arrival in Peru. The finishing on this hat is impeccable- not a pucker or stray stitch in sight
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Queen Silvia and Crown Princess Victoria in traditional folk head scarves on Thursday to present the Öland Inhabitant of the Year Award at Solliden Palace.
On Thursday, Princess Alexandra wore her new-ish hat to the Thrive Flower Show in Reading. In almond textured straw, the classic design features a cartwheel brim and twisted bow at the side. It’s nice to see Alexandra in a hat without an elevated crown!
Also on Thursday, Crown Princess Kiko attended the 55th Blood Donation Promotion National Convention in Kanazawa in a pale blue silk jacquard covered hat with layered hatband and kettle brim.
The final hat on Thursday (busy day!) was on Princess Hisako. She attended the annual Innovation Awards for Advanced Technology ceremony in a pale lime textured suit with hat covered in the same fabric and a stitched white kettle brim with trilby-style higher upturn around the back.
You might have noticed this week that Royal Hats is now found on Instagram here. Don’t worry- there’s nothing there that isn’t already here on the blog!
The following new millinery designs caught my eye this week:
Incredible statement hat with ombre hand dyed feather stars by Australian milliner Kate Ghedina
Stunning colour gradients on this sinamay hugger with handpainted lotus flower by Dutch milliner Mirjam de Rijke 
Natural straw boater with wonderful black vintage lace printed with stars by UK brand Mind Your Bonce
Charming Wimbledon-inspired strawberries and cream swirled design by British milliner Anne Tomlin
Such interesting colour pattern on this teal straw boater by Australian milliner Stephanie Spencer
Fascinatingly organic (and rustic!) texture on this hat by Parisienne milliner Veronica Marucci
Lovely movement on this raspberry pink headpiece by Italian millinery brand Gallia and Peter
Gold beaded ivory silk cap with pleated crin soaring swirl by French milliner Sylvia Martinez
Navy kokoshnik bandeau with geometric cutouts by Australian milliner Lauren Ritchie
Such interesting texture on this gold braided straw and leather percher by British milliner Karen Henriksen
Pink straw bandeau wrapped in diamond veil with lavish floral trim by Australian brand Locopa Designs
Another 3D carved wonder, this time in brilliant red, gold and purple, from Australian brand Taboo Millinery
Dutch milliner Wies Mauduit keeps knocking it out of the park with new designs, including this beautiful pink straw picture hat with a fantastic brim shape, beautiful trimming and impeccably finished silk binding. Utter perfection.

Wonderful family shot of the Belgian royal family, taken to celebrate King Albert and Queen Paola’s diamond wedding anniversary
Relaxed shots of Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Ingrid and Prince Sverre who are enjoying their annual summer vacation on the Norwegian island of Dvergsøya
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Photos from Getty and social media 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

This Week’s Extras

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Last Sunday, the Swedish royal family donned warm winter hats to unveil the statue of King Carl XIV Johan (the first Bernadotte King of Sweden) in its new location on the Slottsbacken “Castle Slope” in Stockholm
Prince Alexander of Sweden in a festive hat with his father on Monday to receive this year’s royal Christmas trees


Princess Rym Ali of Jordan in a fetching deep aubergine felt cloche on Tuesday with her children at a tree lighting ceremony.
Queen Elizabeth arrived in Norfolk on the train on Thursday, in one of her characteristic head scarves.
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The following new millinery designs caught my eye this week:
Garnet felt sidesweep with floral ruffles and curling quills from British milliner Bundle McLaren
Navy fur felt cloche with beautifully raised brim from Czech milliner Jolanta Kotabova
Luxe black cherry beaver felt fedora with silver silk hatband from Danish brand Hornskov Copenhagan
A very festively trimmed electric blue veiled button percher from Rachel Trevor Morgan
Dark green fedora with stunning navy and gold brocade hatband from Philip Treacy
Star trimmed red bandeau from British milliner Harvy Santos
Mesmerizing unraveling straw top hat from the insanely creative mind of British milliner Stephen Jones
Scarlet wide-brimmed fedora from Belgian milliner Fabienne Delvigne
And this floral helmet, made by Philip Treacy for a nature exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Glorious!

Lovely holiday greeting portraits from the royal families of Jordan, The Netherlands, Belgium and Greece




And to wrap up this week, charming video greetings from Haga Palace and Amalienborg Palace


Photos from Getty and social media