Swedish Royals Welcome New Prince

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Royal Hats

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden welcomed a healthy baby boy yesterday. The birth of Prince Oscar Carl Olof was celebrated this morning with a traditional Te Deum mass in the chapel of the Royal Palace in Stockholm. For this event, Queen Silvia wore a royal blue suit topped with a black straw headpiece that circled round the crown of her head. While I’m not a fan of open crown pieces, this headpiece looks great on Silvia (from the front!) and was an excellent compliment to her patterned suit.

Queen Silvia, March 3, 2016 | Royal Hats

While Princess Madeleine did not wear a hat, Princess Sofia topped her grey dress with a new coordinating calot trimmed with floral lace appliqué and a birdcage veil, designed by Malinda Damgaard. The colour contrast is lovely against Sofia’s dark hair and made for a very polished ensemble.

Princess Sofia, March 3, 2016 in Malinda Damgaard | Royal Hats

Countess Maryanne Bernadotte (below, far right) wore an ecru hat with cuff brim and tulle net veil trim. This hat seems a little slouchy and informal from far away but I’ll reserve full judgement until we can get a closer look.

Swedish Royal Family, March 3, 2016 | Royal Hats

Prince Daniel’s mother and sister both wore neutral toned fascinators. I can’t imagine it is easy for non-royals to dress for shared-family royal occasions such as this and these pieces fit the bill.

Eva Westling, March 3, 2016 | Royal Hats Anna Westling, March 3, 2016 | Royal Hats

Undoubtedly, this was a happy celebration for the family and I’m sure you’ll all join me in extending heartfelt congratulations to Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel and big sister Princess Estelle on the safe arrival of the wee prince.

Swedish Royal Family, March 3, 2016 | Royal Hats

Photos from All Over Press/IBL and Stella Pictures

Norwegian Silver Jubilee Part 2

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Royal Hats

Celebrations for King Harald’s Silver Jubilee on Sunday continued after the worship service with an afternoon of winter activities for all ages held in the Palace Square. The event, which was at the King and Queen’s specific request, featured cross-country ski trails, hills for snowboarding and ski jumping, an ice slide, biathlon laser rifle targets and areas for ski play. The entire Norwegian royal family changed into sporting clothes and joined in the fun.

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25 years on the throne of Norway - Celebrations

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25 years on the throne of Norway - Celebrations

25th anniversary of the ascension to the Norwegian throne of Thei

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After a quick change, the family walked from the Palace Square to the Aula of the University of Oslo where they were met by Prime Minister Erna Solberg and enjoyed a gala concert featuring a wide array of Norwegian artists. Queen Sonja wore a beautiful royal blue cape edged in black fur with a matching fur hat. Controversy about fur aside, the simple shape of the hat was a perfect compliment to the glorious cape and the two pieces looked fantastic on the queen.

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new.

Crown Princess Mette Marit and her three children all bundled up in warm knit winter hats.

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Princess Märtha Louise wore a simple navy headpiece with large multi-leafed flower at the side. As far as fascinators go, it’s an attractive piece that she wore well.

UPDATE: Eagle eyed reader Royalwatcher227 recognized this piece as one previously worn by Princess Mette-Marit. I’m not sure why but knowing that the piece is shared between these sister-in-laws makes me like it a little more.

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn by Princess Mette-Marit: May 9, 2014; May 30, 2011; March 4, 2006

Queen Margrethe and Queen Silvia wore the same hats they wore in the morning while King Carl Gustaf added a dapper black fedora.

Royal Jubilee in Noway 25th anniversary of the ascension to the Norwegian throne of Thei

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The day’s festivities completed with a formal dinner held at the Royal Castle in Oslo that yielded these wonderful photos.

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I admire the sense of fun and family that was included in this anniversary. The informality of the event did not lend itself to a parade of fantastic hats but it seems that the King and Queen celebrated and were celebrated in a way that was characteristically them. My favourite hat of the day was Queen Sonja’s fur hat and cape combination- which one did you like most?

Photos from Getty as indicated; Patrick van Katwijk/dpa/Corbis; Patrick van Katwijk/dpa/Corbis; Albert Nieboer/dpa/Corbis; Albert Nieboer/dpa/Corbis; Albert Nieboer/dpa/Corbis; Splash News/Splash News/Corbis; Albert Nieboer/dpa/Corbis;

Norwegian Silver Jubilee Part 1

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Royal Hats

Scandinavian royals gathered in Oslo over the weekend to celebrate King Harald’s Silver Jubilee. After a dinner hosted by the Crown Prince and Princess at their home on Saturday night (see a group photo here), the commemoration continued on Sunday morning with a worship service held in the Palace Chapel (watch the complete service here).

Queen Sonja looked to be repeating the black calot hat she wore for the Nobel Peace Prize in December but the hats are different- this one has more straight sides and the veil on this design is dotted with a more open weave and affixed with a diamante anchor. It’s a simple hat that allows her luscious purple velvet Pucci jacket to shine and works especially well with Sonja’s hairstyle. I also think the dotted net tulle veil adds a note of formality that was needed at this milestone event.

Queen Sonja, January 17, 2016 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: this hat is new

Crown Princess Mette Marit topped her tailored cream coat with a blue silk headband decorated with jewels in a flower motif. The ribbon incorporated into her braided hairstyle and trailed down her back. While there is uncertainty if Mette-Marit’s lack of millinery over the past seven years is linked to her neck injury in 2008 (and might explain her use of headbands instead of hats), I don’t think this piece worked and wish she had gone with one of her go-to pillboxes instead. Between the messily trailing ribbons and an overkill combination of headband and lapel brooches which completely cluttered a beautifully streamlined coat, I’m left looking at this ensemble and wondering, “Why?”

Crown Princess Mette-Marit, January 17, 2016 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: The floral brooches are from Prada’s AW 2015 collection

Princess Märtha Louise followed her sister-in-law’s headband lead and wore a ribbon headpiece of stacked black silk bows. While I don’t want to disrespect whatever design process went into this piece, I have to wonder if someone took the bow off a wrapped gift, stuck it to the side of her head and called it a completed headpiece. We know that Märtha Louise has an interesting black cocktail hat or two in her millinery closet and I wish she had chosen one of them instead.

Princess Märtha Louise, January 17, 2016 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: November 15, 2014

Princess Astrid topped her royal blue suit with a cozy cream fur (or faux fur?) hat with brown stripes. It’s not my favourite hat in the world but alas, it is a hat.

2016-01-17 silver jubilee 16 2016-01-17 silver jubilee 15

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I do not believe this is new

Queen Margrethe repeated the rimmed saucer hat with white fur knotted bow from her own Ruby Jubilee. It’s a wonderful hat tailor made for grand winter Scandinavian events such as this and she wears it so very, very well.

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: April 8, 2015; November 17, 2014; March 17, 2014; April 4, 2013; February 3, 2013; January 14, 2012

Queen Silvia repeated the purpley-blue silk covered calot she first wore last summer. In a twist from its last outing, she turned the hat slightly, placing the black feather trim at the side (instead of at the back as it was for its début). I think it is a successful move, giving the smooth piece some much needed texture and contrast.

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Designer: Kerstin Carlefalk
Previously Worn: May 31, 2015

After the church service, the Norwegian royal family joined in a number of winter activities in Palace Square. We’ll look at those (along with a few more hats) later today. In the meantime, dearest readers, it’s clear that my thoughts on these hats run both hot and cold. Which pieces stood out most to you?

Photos from Getty as indicated; Berit Roald / NTB scanpix via The Norwegian Royal Court; and NRK

Best New Royal Hat of 2015: Sweden

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Royal Hats

2015 best hat small

After looking at the royal hats that premiered this year in Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg and Norway, we turn our focus to Sweden today. If any of the hats you see here are, in your opinion, among the best new royal hats of 2015, case your vote below! To streamline the poll, I have omitted a number of less memorable hats and fascinators (links are provided below). Click on any of the photos to jump back to original posts to see additional description and detail of the hats.

A note about voting- the hats with the most votes across this semifinal will move forward to the final face off. If you don’t think any of these hats are worthy of the title of Best of 2015, save your vote or take another look at hats from Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg and Norway. The next poll will be up on tomorrow.

Queen Silvia (not including calot hats in white, turquoise, red and dark teal)

1. 2. 3. 4.

Crown Princess Victoria (not including fascinators here and here)

5. 6. 7. 8.

Princess Madeleine

9. 10. 11.

Princess Sofia and Countess Marianne Bernadotte (this and this fascinator have been omitted)

12. 13. 14.

Looking at this array of hats makes me conclude it has been a good year for royal millinery in Sweden! Are any of these pieces worthy of your vote for best new royal hat of the year? Cast your vote below. Voting will remain open until January 1, 2016- you can vote for multiple hats once per day.

Swedish Royals Host State Visit

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Royal Hats

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi and his wife Saida were welcomed by the Swedish Royal Family this week for the first state visit paid by the country since 1963. For their arrival on Tuesday, Queen Silvia repeated the moulded white calot hat she first wore for the opening of Swedish parliament this year. The photo below shows a better view of the back trim on the hat which consists of a pearl studded white silk flower and several leaves made of brown feathers.

Queen Silvia, November 4, 2015 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown. My guess is Kerstin Carlefalk.
Previously Worn: September 15, 2015; June 8, 2015

Crown Princess Victoria repeated her navy ruffled flower and leaf fascinator trimmed with navy feathers. While the height and sense of movement in this piece did balance her sleek coat, I don’t think it was the right choice for this ensemble and I found myself wishing, yet again, for Victoria to invest in a cream hat or two to pull out for these kinds of events.

Crown Princess Victoria, November 4, 2014 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown:
Previously Worn: August 30, 2014

Yesterday, Princess Victoria showed her continued love for black and white hair bows with the début of a new piece (her third by my count). While this headpiece does a great job of tying together her white coat and black accessories, it’s still a little twee for my liking.

Princess Victoria, November 5, 2015 in Evelina Persson | Royal Hats