When Prince William married Catherine Middleton on April 29, 2011, there was nearly as much speculation about the colour of the Queen’s ensemble as there was about the bride’s dress. While bookies predicted blue, Queen Elizabeth arrived at Westminster Abbey in a dress, coat and hat in sunshine yellow. Designed by her longtime dresser Angela Kelly and made by in-house milliner Stella McLaren, the Queen’s sailor style hat featured a round, flat crown covered in the same silk crepe as her dress and coat. The flat straw brim was edged in a wide band of the same fabric and the hat was trimmed with a side spray of yellow silk crepe rosettes and velvet leaves. The side of the crown was also sewn with the same pintucks that starburst around the neckline of Her Majesty’s coat. While the shape of the hat was rather austere (and minimally flattering), the colour was the epitome of spring.
The Duchess of Cornwall went with her usual uniform of a tailored Valentine coat and larger-than-life Philip Treacy hat. While its wide, upturned brim gave the hat dramatic shape, the gossamer ivory straw it was constructed from made the hat feel very airy and light. Interestingly, Camilla had worn this hat before and was one of a few members of the family not to choose a new chapeau for this event.
Carole Middleton had the toughest fashion challenge of the day, coming up with a hat and frock that fit in with all the other royal guests. Her pale blue Catherine Walker coat hit just the right note and gave a subtle nod to William`s mother (who wore many Catherine Walker designs). Carole topped her hat with a Jane Corbett designed saucer hat in the same pale blue as her coat. The saucer was edged in a wide stripe of pale blue silk and the underside was trimmed with a folded ruffle of silk edged straw. The same ruffle trimmed the top of the hat, anchored with one of the embroidered frogs used for the closure on Carole`s coat. These details combined to create a balanced hat that looked beautiful on Kate`s mum.
In their pale pastel hues, these hats were well suited to this spring wedding. Did any stand out in particular to you?
Photos from Getty as indicated
Royal Hats 