Tag Archives: Queen Máxima

This Week’s Extras

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On Wednesday, October 23, Swazi King Mswati III and his newest wife, Inkhosikati LaMashwama arrived in Sochi to take part in the 2019 Russia-Africa Summit. Inkhosikati LaMashwama wore a magenta straw disc percher hat trimmed with straw twists, rosettes, feathers and sparkle crin bows
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On Thursday, October 24, Princess Yoko wore a sunny, tall-crowned cloche to open the 46th Tokyo Motor Show. The same day, Princess Kiko wore a beige silk covered bumper hat with smocked side panel to open the Meiji Jingu Museum
Also on October 26, Queen Margrethe repeated her tan, caramel, chocolate and burgundy checked hat with short  brim and stacked hatbands for military awards and parades at Fredericia. Crown Prince Frederick wore a Tyrolean hat to host a hunt on the Gludsted Plantation in central Jutland on Monday, October 28.
The Imperial Princesses in hats on Monday for the 3rd court enthronement banquet. Last Sunday, a memorial for the Prince of Mikasa (Takahito) was held on the third anniversary of his death. Crown Princes Kiko, Princess Mako, Princess Kako, Princess Yuriko of Mikasa, Princess Akiko, Princess Yoko and Princes Tsuguko were all in attendance in demure black hats.


On Thursday, Queen Maxima repeated her warm brown straw picture hat with high upswept brim.
The following new millinery designs caught my eye this week:
And from British milliner, millinery instructor and millinery flower maker Ann Tomlin, this whimsically wonderful green button percher trimmed with a handmade wildflower garden. It’s just so charming.

Lovely new portraits of the Belgian royal family (see here, here and here) released last weekend for the celebration of Princess Elisabeth’s 18th birthday
The Norwegian and Greek royals shared inspiration for their Halloween costumes this year

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Knask eller knep ? ❤️

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The Greece’s as Royal Tenenbaums

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The Imperial royal ladies in beautiful kimonos on October 31 for the 4th court enthronement banquet

Photos from social media as indicated

Dutch Royals Welcome Polish President

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King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima welcomed President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda for a visit to Holland today. For an official welcome ceremony held at Palace Noordeinde in The Hague, Mrs. Duda wore a black felt beret percher with looping buff pink bow while Queen Máxima repeated burgundy velvet calot with black net veil.

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The colour is great on Queen Máxima and the dotted veil overlay gives a surprising amount of depth and texture to the design. I’m not even that bothered by the hat’s pairing with Máxima’s red coat, a combination I’m not usually fond of but that surprisingly works here. Somehow the coat brings out a cherry undertone in the hat, brightening it up.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne
Previously Worn: Oct 17, 2018; March 7, 2018;  Nov 29, 2016

What do you think of this hat today on its fourth outing?

Photos from Getty as indicated 

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 

Dutch Monarchs Conclude State Visit to India

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On Wednesday, King Willem Alexander and Queen Máxima spent the third day of their state visit to India in Mumbai. Queen Máxima began the day in a repeated pale aqua straw picture hat with rounded crown and wide, sidesweeping brim with raw, unfinished edges.

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The design is completed with what appears to be a slim hatband in either burnt feathers or dyed raffia, tied at the back of the hat in a bow with tails left to swirl in a circle around the brim. This detail gives such lovely movement to the design and the colour is both lovely on Máxima and a great fit for a tropical climate.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. Dress by Natan
Previously Worn: July 2, 2018

Later that day, Queen Máxima changed into another blue ensemble, this one topped with a fascinator of rolled blue sinamay ribbons and darker blue cut and burnt feathers.

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Designer: unknown. Dress by Sandro Paris
Previously Worn: this headpiece is new

Thursday saw the royal couple visit Kochi, where Queen Máxima wore an orange straw hat with tall crown and wide, sidesweeping brim. The lower side of the brim has a stepped fold and a wide straw hatband completes the design.

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It’s a hat that hasn’t seen the light of day in over a decade and its outing struck me as unusual until I saw this:

It’s another fantastic take on diplomatic dressing. The scale of the hat and its colour link so well the dress.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. Dress by Jan Taminiau 
Previously Worn: April 30, 2006; September 20, 2005

The final day of the visit saw the king and queen in Alleppey where Queen Máxima made another diplomatic statement, this time flying a sartorial flag for the House of Orange. She topped her orange lace dress with a wrapped straw calot trimmed with a pair of large, layered half bows and feather quill.

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I’ve long thought the dress lets this ensemble down but my lace quibbles aside, the hat makes a punchy statement despite its small size. The ensemble also made a lovely diplomatic counterpoint to Máxima’s nod to the Indian flag the day before

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. Dress by Natan
Previously Worn: Nov 2, 2016; Nov 2, 2011

These four millinery designs join the two worn during the first two days of this state visit bringing Queen Máxima’s total to six for the week- an admirable total to be sure. I think the hats this week finished stronger than they started- what is your millinery evaluation of this Indian state visit?

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Photos from Getty as indicated 

Dutch State Visit to India

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King Willem Alexander and Queen Máxima arrived in India late Sunday (with the king co-piloting their plane!) for a state visit that officially kicked off yesterday.

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For the first day of events, Queen Máxima wore a new dress and matching calot hat, overlaid in pale blue widely woven mesh on which is affixed a darker blue cotton lace. A large square aquamarine and diamond brooch was pinned to left side of the hat.

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It’s a brave and interesting look but one I think is compromised by fabric choice- the rough edges of the lace’s blue mesh base give the ensemble (particularly the dress) a messy, unpolished look. The draped collar/sleeve also gives considerable volume to the top of the dress which inevitably, competes with the hat. On its own, I think the hat could work as the lace and mesh have some nice movement and lightness that is completely lost against the dress. Next outing, I’d like to see the hat paired with a solid, streamlined dress to see how it works.

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Designer: unknown. Dress by Natan
Previously Worn: this hat is new

We don’t usually discuss evening looks here but I’m going to bend the rules to include a magnificent gown Queen Máxima wore for last night’s state banquet. Made by Jan Taminau from an embroidered silk sari Máxima bought in Jaipur (known as the ‘pink city’) during her and the king’s 2007 visit, I thought it was diplomatic dressing perfection.

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For the second day of engagements today, Queen Máxima repeated a hat some of us have been longing to see again. The wide coral straw saucer is edged in tan straw binding and trimmed with a mass of multicoloured feathers.

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The pairing of this hat with the tawny silk dress and low ponytail is excellent and creates a less formal background for the hat to shine as the inevitable statement that it is. A few minor quibbles- I’d love to see less vertical placement of those feathers (it sill reminds me of an Obsk!) and the hat worn at a less extreme angle and tilted down over her eyebrow but overall, the design is a fun and vibrant alternative to Máxima’s go-to shapes and I was so happy to see it again.

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Designer: unknown. Dress by Natan
Previously Worn: May 20, 2015

There’s much to discuss here- what do you think of Queen Máxima’s hats so far on this Indian state visit?!

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Photos from Getty as indicated 

Dutch Queens in Burgundy Hats

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Today saw the former and current Dutch queens attend events, both in burgundy hats. To unveil a statue of Willem van Oranje (founder of the house Orange-Nassau) in Dordrecht this morning, Princess Beatrix repeated a burgundy straw bumper hat with domed crown and exterior brim covered in feathers.

The shape is a ubiquitous one in Princess Beatrix’s millinery wardrobe to the extent that most of us associate this style as her ‘signature’ look. The colour is excellent on her and the feathers, with their darker edges, give great dimension to the piece. I’m not usually a fan of feather covered hats but somehow, this one works.

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Designer: Designer: likely Suzanne Moulijn
Previously Worn: Oct 2, 2014;  Nov 21, 2013;  Nov 22, 2011

Queen Máxima was in Amersfoort today to attend national meeting of volunteer palliative caregivers and programs. She repeated the muted burgundy melusine felt fedora we saw her wear last week (a far faster repeat than we usually see from her!)

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Since we recently talked about the effortless vibe this hat gets from its relaxed brim it, let’s focus here on styling. Today’s ensemble is a fussier one than the dress we’ve seen paired with this hat so far- between the complicated neckline and trailing tie on the blouse and the skirt’s asymmetrical hem, there’s a lot going on here. We usually think of hats adding or complementing an ensemble but here, I think this hat grounds and tempers it. Imagine this ensemble without the hat – not as good, right?!

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. It is the “Borsamalia”
Previously Worn: Oct 2, 2019; Jan 31, 2019 

What do you think of these two burgundy hats in Holland today?

Photos from Getty as indicated 

Dutch Queen Atteneds Sciencemakers Awards

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Queen Máxima was at the Spoorwegmuseum in Utrecht yesterday to attend the Sciencemakers Awards given to young people who have won national or international competitions in science, technology and making/inventing during the past year. For this year’s ceremony, the Dutch queen repeated her muted burgundy melusine felt fedora with relaxed brim, trimmed with a hatband of the same fabric as on her coordinating dress.

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There’s a chic effortlessness about this hat, I think that comes from its relaxed shape and slightly fuzzy pile of the felt. On their own, the hat and dress could easily read as one note, boring or flat, but the styling here, with this fantastic necklace, works so well, especially at a less formal event such as this.

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Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. It is the “Borsamalia”
Previously Worn: Jan 31, 2019

I’ve warmed to this hat since its first outing. On its own, I’d probably it pass over in a millinery shop but today, it topped a great working royal ensemble. Are any of you warming to it as well?

Photos from Getty as indicated