59 years ago back to July 7, 1963 and the awarding of the Dutch Erasmus Prize to Austrian theologian and philosopher Professor Martin Buber. I’d love to see a closeup, technicolour view of Queen Juliana’s draped turban! And the guipure lace on Princess Beatrix’s transparent hat with upturned brim looks impressive as well.
57 years ago to the January 30, 1965 funeral of Winston Churchill. Queen Elizabeth wore a black velvet tam by Aage Thaarup with tall stem and tiny rows of impeccable vertical stitching.
Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester ore a draped embroidered turban style hat while her sister-in-law Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood, wore a black toque. The Duchess of Kent and Princess Alexandra wore veiled black pillboxes.
Princess Marina of Greece wore a draped halo turban while and Queen Juliana of the Netherlands wore a large brimless fur hat. Prince Berhard starts on Queen Juliana’s right while on her left are are Charles De Gaulle and Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, all of the men in military uniform and caps.
While the hats at events such as these are not the focus, they speak to a particular moment in time, and to the importance of the event to which they were worn.
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.
59 years ago back to July 7, 1963 and the awarding of the Dutch Erasmus Prize to Austrian theologian and philosopher Professor Martin Buber. I’d love to see a closeup, technicolour view of Queen Juliana’s draped turban! And the guipure lace on Princess Beatrix’s transparent hat with upturned brim looks impressive as well.
Royal Hats 
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