Tag Archives: Queen Sonja

Norwegian Royals Host Iceland State Visit

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King Harald and Queen Sonja welcomed Icelandic President Gudni Johannesson and his wife Eliza Reid to the Royal Castle in Oslo yesterday for the start of a three-day state visit. For this welcome, Queen Sonja wore a new navy felt cloche with upturned, short Kettle brim. The underbrim of this piece is in black, giving the traditional shape a punch of contrast.

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: This piece is new

Crown Princess Mette-Marie also wore a new design in the same pale aqua silk as her coat. Half headband, half Juliette cap, this piece has an Elizabethan feel to it that meets Mette-Marit’s penchant for small millinery but leaves me scratching my own head. Widening a headband really doesn’t make it a hat.

Designer: unknown. My guess is Mona Strand
Previously Worn: This piece is new

Princess Astrid repeated her green straw fez shaped hat trimmed with blue and green flowers and leaves.  The ensemble feels better suited to a Florida vacation than a winter event in Norway but I applaud Astrid’s brave use of colour and await a better look at this hat and its interesting trim.

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: October 13, 2016

It’s always nice to see the Norwegian royal family in hats but none of these three blue designs stand out as particularly successful to me. What do you think?
Photos from Getty as indicated; Heiko Junge, NTB scanpix; Berit Roald / NTB scanpix

Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony 2016

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King Harald, Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway attended this year’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony at Oslo City Town Hall on Saturday. Queen Sonja wore a new rounded calot hat made of the same midnight blue velvet as her suit.  It’s a simple hat (there looks to be a bow or rosette of some sort on the right side) but one that lets the luxurious velvet shine.

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

While Queen Sonja’s ensemble was all about smooth lines, Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s was all about lacy texture. She topped her black lace dress (complete with bewildering hoodie) with an elaborately layered headpiece in palest pink lace. The design is clearly one meant to frame Mette-Marit’s face which, in theory is a good thing. It’s a much larger piece than we’ve seen her wear in a long while but the head-to-hem lace of her ensemble is overkill and the pale colour of the headpiece is lost against her black dress.

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Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: July 2, 2011

Princess Mette-Marit appeared at the Nobel Banquet (an event without tiaras) with a headpiece that looks to be fashioned from a Baroque pearl necklace. It’s not often we see Mette-Marit up the dress code when it comes to head wear and while we’ve all given her grief about previous headbands choices, the combination of this piece with matching earrings and a sleek chignon actually works.

What do you think of this trio of hats/headpieces in Norway over the weekend?
Photos from Getty as indicated;  Rune Hellestad/Corbis, Nigel Waldron, Nigel Waldron and Rune Hellestad/Corbis via Getty; Stella Pictures

This Week’s Extras

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Royal Hats

The Duke of Parma and Princess Annemarie presented their son, Prince Carlos Enrique of Bourbon-Parma at a Te Deum at the Monastery of Santa Ana in Barcelona last weekend. Princess Annemarie wore cream tam o’shanter style hat (Getty)

Lalla Salma of Morocco in a chic royal blue fedora on a recent trip to Paris (Noblesse & Royautés Blog)

Princess Beatrice donned a fun feline costume complete with jewelled headpiece for the annual UNICEF ball

On the last day of their state visit to Germany, King Carl Gustaf donned a dapper navy fedora hat (Swedish Royal Court)

Queen Sonja was joined by members of the Norwegian royal family for the private funeral of her brother (Svenskdam)

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel attended an event at the Grand Hôtel Stockholm. The large costume jewelled brooch in her hair makes for a fun and informal tiara alternative.

Royal Hats

Candid interview with Princess Beatrice and how she sees her dyslexia as a gift (Express)

Troubling news from Sweden that Princess Christina has withdrawn from duties to undergo treatment for chronic leukemia (Swedish Royal Court)

Lovely portrait of Prince Christian released for the occasion of his 11th birthday. It was a great counterpoint to news also from the Danish Court that Crown Prince Frederick fractured his neck in an incident involving a trampoline (something his mother had a quick response for). It appears he will make a full recovery.

Norwegian Royals Host State Visit

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Members of the Norwegian royal family gathered at the royal palace in Oslo on Monday to greet President Tony Tan of Singapore and Mrs. Mary Tan.

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Queen Sonja repeated a navy pillbox hat we saw her first debut two years ago for another Asian state visit. This week’s outing gives us a much better view of the hat and matching coat which book look to be out of navy dyed Karakul fur. I recognise that fur is a controversial material for royal fashion (particularly for something relatively new) and while this hat and coat look like faux fur to me, it is impossible to tell from photos. Controversy aside, the simple hat is a lovely colour on Sonja. I’m just not wowed by it.

   Queen Sonja, Oct 10, 2016 | Royal Hats

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: October 13, 2014

Princess Mette-Marit repeated her purple wool calot hat. We have seen this piece numerous times before and I’m afraid, this outing ranks among my least favourite. Reaching into one’s royal closet, selecting all the purple items then wearing them together is not likely to create harmonious ensemble….. and as we see here, it did not.

 

Princess Astrid topped her vibrant blue and green suit with a coordinating hat. In what looks like jade straw, the brimless design follows a modified Fez shape trimmed with blue straw flowers and leaves on the side. The colour is magnificent on Astrid and while I’m not partial to the suit, the hat certainly coordinates well. Hopefully, we’ll see her wear it again soon so we can have a closer peek.

Designer: unknown
Previously Worn: I believe this hat is new
What do you think of this trio of autumnal Norwegian royal hats?
Photos from Getty as indicated; Jamie Koh/The Straights Times and NTB Scanpix

This Week’s Extras

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Royal Hats

King Carl Gustaf in his trusty fedora cheering on his son at the racetrack last weekend (Svenskdam)

A pair of nautical and rain hats for the Norwegian monarchs last weekend as they closed the 2016 royal yacht tour

Queen Silvia in a simple black hat for the funeral of Countess Gunnila Bernadotte on Thursday (Swedish Royal Court)

Great article about the designer and story behind the hat worn by Sophie Gregoire Trudeau for last weekend’s royal welcome (Ottawa Citizen)

Even the royals do standard ‘baby in pumpkin patch with cozy hat’ poses. Here is adorable Prince Oscar.

Wonderful conclusion last weekend to the Countess of Wessex’s cycle from Edinburgh to London in support of the Duke of Edinburgh Award (Daily Mail)

Interesting interview with Crown Prince Leka of Albania (who was raised in exile in South Africa) as lead up to his October 8 wedding, Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here and Part 5 here (Noblesse et Royautes blog)

Speaking of weddings- huge thanks to our friends at Luxarazzi for translating RTL’s interview this week with Prince Louis and Princess Tessy of Luxembourg on the occasion of their tenth wedding anniversary.

Sculptures made by Prince Henrik of Denmark are featured in a Spanish exhibition (El Diario)

Great interview with Queen Margrethe released yesterday, sharing the story behind an embroidered tapestry she designed and will be presenting to Schlosskirche in Wittenberg next week. Her stance on Danish succession and smoking is also made rather clear (Der Spiegel)

While we will always shy away from politics here at Royal Hats, this interview with King Abdullah of Jordan is insightful (60 Minutes)

Princess Beatrice became the first member of the British Royal Family to complete a triathlon this week, all in support of charity (Daily Mail)

And to close out the week with something to warm your heart-  wonderful moments captured on Thursday (all by British photographer extraordinaire Chris Jackson) when a number of Canadian military families joined the Cambridges in Victoria for an outdoor children’s party. Charlotte’s hair bow is by Amaia Kids. So sweet

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