I really feel like hats like this should be reserved only for a few select events. Reggae concerts, mostly. And Bea knows it, too, apparently, because later the same day...

She apparently told paparazzi photographers not to take her picture with the hat on. See the poor wooly mess, all crumpled up in her hand with her mobile? Think she knew she'd make it on Mad Hattery?

I didn't even notice the puff ball on the top until now. Good lord.

There's really not much to say about this hat, is there? It's not of an overly ridiculous size. It has a couple of feathers, but they're not dangling off the brim or sprouting from the top like an out-of-control plant. It apparently fits nicely over her trademark modified-Farrah hairstyle.

It's just kind of ... meh. No color. No excitement. No panache. Totally non-offensive, but also totally boring. It almost makes me long for earlier this summer, when she wore that country-crafts-potpourri explosion to Trooping the Colour...

...but only almost. I'm not suggesting that you should pull an Anne and recycle that one, your highness, unless you're refashioning it as some sort of wacky wreath for the door of your fancy new house in Wales.

Normally, Zara, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

It's a baseball cap -- fine. You're outside. You're walking your dogs through a humongous puddle of water for indeterminate reasons. You're all in athletic gear, and I can't stress it enough: you're outside. But then...

Then, for some reason, when you went inside, and not just to pop to the loo or something and then head back out, but to sign books for Land Rover, and you kept the cap on! I mean, I understand the basic problem with baseball caps: hat hair. But for goodness' sakes, didn't you have a hair tie around so that you could sweep those blond locks back into a ponytail?

I mean, the only acceptable time to wear a baseball cap indoors, in my opinion, is if you're a professional poker player, and even then, it's questionable. For a book signing? This seems like it would have been a good time to ask the ultimate behavior decision question: what would Granny do? (I'll give you a hint: it would involve not wearing a baseball cap at all, let alone inside!)

Just a poll: erm, am I the only one afraid that she's accidentally gone through a magical wardrobe and ended up in Narnia?

This is just so ... snowy. And white. And while I'd never want to link the beloved and stalwart Queen of England with certain White Witches who shall not be named, if she offered me any divinity right now, I'm afraid I'd have to run in the other direction...

So, as far as I can tell, this whole Braemar Highland Games extravaganza is possibly one of the most fun things the royal family gets to watch all year long. I mean, I like Trooping the Colour as much as the best of them (how do they get the horses to stand so still so long?), and of course, Garter Day is always an explosion of feathery fun, but when else do these people get to sit around watching this:

or this:

Hmm? Let's face it, potato-sack races totally outrank slow marches on the fun scale. And it definitely shows on HM's face, too!

The lady in charge looks exceptionally pleased, and why not? She got to watch a day of Scottish fun, and she's wearing a cute little hat. I mean, on any other member of the royal family, I'd probably cry foul about this one, because the black/primary color combo is a little '80s. But for the Queen, I'll give it a pass. For a lady of mature age and style, it's whimsical, it has cute buttons, and it doesn't have any unnecessary junk hanging off of it. Well done, Your Majesty!