Thanks to reader Jimbo for providing the introduction and background research for “Multiples” posts on Queen Elizabeth.
Jimbo’s Introduction: Queen Elizabeth toured Kenya in November of 1983, and while in Nairobi, wore a wonderful deep coral bowler hat, which went beautifully with her coral patterned suit. Two years later, in October of 1985, while in the Bahamas, the hat was repeated with a pale yellow patterned dress – lightweight and long sleeved, perfect for the warm tropical climate.
Look #1: With a patterned coral shirtwaist dress worn in Brisbane on October 7, 1982, in Kenya on November 10, 1983, in Mexico on February 17, 1983 and at the Royal Welsh Show on July 21, 1983
After staying privately at Craigowan Lodge in Scotland, Queen Elizabeth took up residence at Balmoral Castle today. She was met at the castle’s gates today by the 5th Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland and their mascot, Shetland Pony Lance Corporal Cruachan IV!
For this arrival, the Queen repeated her cerise straw hat with stepped crown, sidesweeping brim and double straw hatband. The design is trimmed with a trio of vibrant handmade silk flowers on the side studded with arrow trimmed feathers.
The colour is dynamite on Her Majesty and I really like how the contrasting materials between the straw hat and tweedy coat give some dimension to the overall ensemble. While the hat’s balance and shape are beautiful on their own, it’s those incredible silk flowers that are the standout, the multiple colours on the inner petals magnetically drawing the eye in while the ruffled outer petals give such texture and movement. Masterful, really.
I’m so pleased to welcome back longtime reader, hat aficionado (follow him on Instagram or Twitter) and friend of Royal Hats, Jake Short, for the fourth post in a 5-part series on the history and hats of the Ethiopian Imperial Family (see Part 3 here).
Haile Selassie visited the Netherlands in 1954 and was photographed holding a plumed ceremonial military hat while Queen Juliana wore a calot with swooping feather trim.
During this visit, these wonderful photos were captured with the Emperor in his military cap and Queen Juliana in turbans- one covered in pleated ruffles and the other, smooth.
King Paul and Queen Frederika of Greece visited Addis Ababa in 1959. Here they are seen with the Emperor and Empress, all wearing hats suited to their rank and typical for that time.
Again in his military cap, Haile Selassie is seen with other royals at a ceremony in Iran in 1971 to celebrate 2,500 years of the Persian Empire; Queen Fabiola and King Baudouin of Belgium (with Princess Anne of the UK behind them), Queen Ingrid and King Frederik of Denmark, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece (behind Emperor Haile Selassie), and Shah Reza Pahlavi and Shahbanou Farah Diba of Iran can be seen wearing hats (many more royals were also in attendance at this grand event).
Relations with the Japanese Imperial Family, another reigning imperial family, were cordial and saw multiple visits. Haile Selassie visited Japan in 1956 with his eldest daughter Princess Tenagnework (seated, wearing a veiled calot), her daughter Princess Aida Desta (wearing a feathered casque hat), and Prince Makonnen, Duke of Harar. Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen and Crown Princess Medferiashwork visited Japan in 1959; while neither wore hats during a duck hunting session, their hosts Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko did. Crown Princess Medferiashwork was seen during this same visit in a toque-like hat during a visit to a department store.
Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko visited Ethiopia in 1960, with Akihito (carrying a top hat) being formally received by Emperor Haile Selassie at the airport. Crown Princess Medferiashwork wore a calot while she and Michiko visited a girls’ school; Medferiashwork was later seen in a headscarf when she accompanied Michiko and Akihito (both in hats) on a visit to Mt. Entoto just north of Addis Ababa.
Finally, there were multiple interactions with the British Royal Family. A 1954 state visit to the UK by the Emperor and his son the Duke of Harar began at Victoria Station, where Queen Elizabeth II greeted Haile Selassie, who wore a ceremonial military hat trimmed with lion’s mane!
The Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Princess Mary, and Princess Alice, the Duchess of Gloucester, who all wore calots typical of the mid-1950s.
A 1965 visit to Ethiopia by the Queen and Prince Philip saw only military hats from the host royals (the Empress had died in 1962, and there is a lack of photos of other female royals to determine their level of participation in the visit).
Another informative post, Jake- thank you! The Ethiopian princesses’ calots and half hats during the Japanese visit (and reciprocal visit five years later) are beautiful examples of fashion of the time! It’s also a fascinating reminder how millinery styles changed (inflated!) from the 1950s to the 1960s! How well did Queen Juliana’s cream turban pair with her 1960s sunglasses?! Such a fun look!
Jake returns next week for the final post in this series.
Queen Elizabeth matched her purple and blue printed silk dress with wore an oversize rounded pillbox hat. Pleated fabric covered the hat and it was trimmed on top with similar ruffles to those on the neckline of her dress. Zara’s pateral grandmother, Anne Phillips, wore a pale green dupioni silk turban trimmed with bias stripes of the grey floral on her dress. The Queen Mother wore one of her signature veiled capulet hats covered in the same spring green floral as her caped frock and trimmed with a matching ostrich plume around the back.
True to form, Princess Anne’s finely woven yellow straw hat with curved brim, simply trimmed with a rolled silk hatband tied in a side bow (likely made by John Boyd), is still worn from time to time.
Queen Elizabeth was all smiles yesterday at the Guards Polo Club at Smith’s Lawn to attend the Royal Windsor Cup polo match and a carriage driving display by the British Driving Society.
For these events, she repeated her lime straw hat with tall crown and short, sideswept brim. The hat is trimmed with a lime crepe silk hatband in the same fabric as her coat and a handmade straw flower.
Despite its small sale, this hat’s unique crown and brim shapes, vibrant colour and oversize flower trim make a statement. The streamlined coat works so well to balance the hat and the delicate floral print on the dress sweetens ensemble’s overall impact (it’s a lot of lime!). The overall look is a lighthearted one that the queen wears well.
Thanks to reader Jimbo for providing the introduction and background research for “Multiples” posts on Queen Elizabeth.
to this day in 1981 when Zara Tindall was christened at Buckingham Palace.
Royal Hats 
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