Tag Archives: Queen Elizabeth

British Royals Celebrate Easter

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As in years past, members of the British Royal Family attended Easter Sunday service together this morning at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. The Queen led her family in a repeated sky blue wool hat with feathered chrysanthemum trim. While this Easter-y hue of blue is so pretty on Her Majesty, the finishing on this hat (bubble at middle top of the crown, awkward back seam etc.) just isn’t up to snuff in my books. I’m afraid that even the feathered flower, which is a nice touch on this hat, pales in comparison to the amazing feathered flowers Rachel Trevor Morgan has created for some of the Queen’s other hats.

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Designer: Angela Kelly, made by Stella McLaren. Coat designed by Stewart Parvin  
Previously Worn: October 24, 2014; April 8, 2014; October 23, 2013

Princess Beatrice topped her blue dress and navy jacket with a repeated blue cocktail hat. While the hat was clearly intended to coordinate with the multiple shades of blue in Beatrice’s lovely patterned dress, the voluminous mass of feathers unfortunately looked like a feather duster plonked on her head. I adore the colour of this hat on Princess Beatrice and would love to see it reworked – a feather haircut and placement further off center, down over Bea’s right eyebrow.

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Designer: Philip Treacy. Dress desgined by Markus Lupfer.
Previously Worn: August 28, 2010; June 12, 2010

The millinery surprise of the day was the Countess of Wessex, who repeated the same feather covered beret cocktail hat she wore for Easter last year. The photos today show more detailed view on this hat than we have seen before – the painterly effect of the layered feathers is truly exquisite. It’s a great hat for Sophie and I thought its pairing with her elegant pale grey coat made for a very sophisticated ensemble.

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Designer: unknown. Coat designed by Armani
Previously Worn: December 28, 2014;  April 20, 2014

Princess Anne repeated a pale blue hat with split crown detail. The hat is trimmed in a beige straw ruched band around the base of the crown and several flat rosettes ceretered with pale blue faux pearls. My favourite part of this piece is the brim shape which jauntily folds up on one side, giving a sense of diagonal movement to the hat. It’s not my favourite of royal hats but its pairing with the streamlined blue dress and coat made for one of the best looks we have seen on Princess Anne in a long time.

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Designer: unknown. The split crown is an Angela Kelly signature shape. 
Previously Worn: June 20, 2013; June 19, 2007

My favourite hat of the day was worn by Autumn Philips. Described by the designer as a “neutral-toned beret hat, hand-blocked in rich peach bloom felt and trimmed with taupe silk flowers”, this hat was all about the oversize cabbage rose trim. It is such a pretty Easter hat on Autumn and paired with her floral print skit and navy cape, made for a chic, modern and very feminine ensemble.

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Designer: Emily London. It is the “Oving” design.
Previously Worn: This hat is new

On first glance, it appeared that Lady Sarah Chatto (left below, beside Prince Edward) had repeated her black straw saucer hat.On a closer look, Sarah has ordered another saucer hat to go with her existing trio. This version follows the same shape as the others but varies in its use of two materials- black velvet felt on the crown and piping, and dark grey straw on the brim. While I like the contrast in texture that results, the summery light brim feels at odds with the wintry crown and piping. Perhaps with a different frock or coat, the question of season could be resolved. With this coat, however, the ensemble is regrettably off balance.

Lady Sarah Chatto, April 5, 2015 in Stephen Jones | Royal Hats  Lady Sarah Chatto, April 5, 2015 in Stephen Jones | Royal Hats

Designer: Stephen Jones
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new

Aside from a certain feather duster, I thought today’s British Royal Easter hats were a fairly elegant bunch. Which hat stood out most to you?

Photos from Getty as indicated; FDJD/Newspix/Corbis and FDJD/Newspix/Corbis

Queen Elizabeth’s Easter Hats

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Reader Alexandra posed the following questions: “Does Queen Elizabeth always wear a new hat for Easter Sunday? Are these hats always in pastel colors like they were the past two years?”  For an answer, here is a look back at the hats the Queen has worn so far this century:

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A previously worn tweed Breton hat with green velvet brim for Easter Sunday, 2000;
New designs for 2001 and 2003 in red and green with feathers 

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Three repeats: A pale lime hat with sharply upturned brim for Easter 2004; a pale blue hat with quills in 2005; a Philip Somerville design in turquoise straw with diagonal crown in 2006

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A new burgundy textured straw hat with silk rose trim by Rachel Trevor Morgan in 2007 and pale pink felt hat with a gold embroidered crown in 2008; a repeated Rachel Trevor Morgan cloche in blue silk in 2009

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3 Repeats: Rachel Trevor Morgan hats in purple and blue in 2010 & 2011; mauve Philip Somerville with leaf in 2012

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New hats from Rachel Trevor Morgan: pink felt with feather pompom in 2013 and ice blue straw with silk flowers in 2014

UPDATE- Since this post was first published, the following hats have been worn by Her Majesty on Easter Sunday

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A repeated blue felt Angela Kelly design on April 5, 2015; a new yellow straw Rachel Trevor Morgan in 2016

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New aqua hat with pink flowers by in 2017; a repeated mulbery straw design in 2018, both by Rachel Trevor Morgan

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Repeated blue straw and silk cloque hat with pink trim by Angela Kelly in 2019

It’s a nearly even mix of new and repeated designs in a variety of colours (some pastel Easter shades and others not!) and shapes.  So to answer your question, Alexandra, I suspect the Queen dresses as many of us do on any given day- based on the weather of the day and her current mood! Thanks for your question.

Photos from Tim Graham and Wire Image via Getty; Picture Press/Camera Press/Mark Stewart;  

Queen And Duke Celebrate Maundy Thursday in Sheffield

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Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh attended Royal Maundy Service at Sheffield Cathedral this morning. For this event, the Queen, who distributed traditional Royal Maundy money, wore her turquoise wool hat with tall, hourglass shaped crown trimmed with a simple black velvet rosette.  While I am still not a fan of the sharply curved and bulbous looking crown, I love the colour on the Queen and appreciate the touch of whimsy this hat lends to this ensemble.

Designer: Angela Kelly.  Coat by Stewart Parvin.
Previously Worn: October 16, 2014

Photos from Getty as indicated

Queen Elizabeth Accepts Tea Invitation

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Queen Elizabeth accepted an invitation to tea in Warwickshire at the home of a longtime admirer who proudly served Her Majesty on Royal Doulton china with hand-painted periwinkles. In a serendipitous turn of events, the Queen and her host, Mrs. Richard Bucket (pronounced boo-KAY) attended the much anticipated event in two versions of the same Frederick Fox designed hat. The hat, with a distinctive upfolded brim and trimmed with oversize pompom and curled quills, was worn in a black, white and green version by the Queen and a hyacinth pink and purple version by Mrs. Bucket. Despite the millinery mixup, it appears an enjoyable visit was had by all and Mrs. Bucket was heard boisterously extending an invitation to “an executive candlelight supper” as the pair bid farewell at the end of the visit.

Royal Hats APRIL FOOLS!!!

After Her Majesty’s departure, Mrs. Bucket discussed the visit at length with journalists outside her home. She confirmed she had served the Queen biscuits from a tin bearing the royal warrant and went on to make multiple, curious comparisons between the monarch and her Mercedes-driving relative with a sauna and room for a pony.

 

 

Happy April Fool’s Day!

Thanks to reader Baxter for passing on this photo and instigating this silliness.

Hats From The Past

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Royal Hats Twenty years ago today, two European queens were on foreign tours. The hats they wore on March 27, 1995 give a window into royal millinery fashion two decades ago.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands greeting well wishers in Jerusalem during her tour of Israel. Her blue felt hat featured a much larger brim and substantially flatter crown than we are used to seeing her wear these days. This was likely the work of her longtime hat designer Harry Scheltens.

Queen Elizabeth in Prague, Czech Republic, in a royal blue hat with tall crown and upturned brim with stitching detail. Most of the hats we see the Queen wear have embellishment (feathers, flowers, bows, etc.) of some type and I adore the strong, clean lines of this unembellished piece. I suspect this was a Frederick Fox design.

Photos from Getty as indicated