This little head-scarf reminds me of the plastic hood-scarf that my grandmother used to wear to protect her permanents from the rain when the weather got bad. Obviously not as glam as a crown, but certainly more functional.

I can't decide if Ella looks awesome or like she's stolen a hat worn by the Phantom of the Opera during the "Don Juan Triumphant" scene.

True fact: I think that those curtains around the plaque are both the silliest and the most awesome thing about most official royal engagements. Watching royals keep a straight face while they pull the little cord to draw the curtains is priceless.

And I love how the Queen's cute little red hat is reflected in the shiny plaque behind those curtains. She looks fab. Reds really do suit her.

Somebody get this monarch a coat!

HM looks like she's freezing, but she also looks fab. Love the color combination and the small yet interesting decorations on the hat. Very appropriate to wear out on a royal engagement to see ... a giant inflatable rugby ball promoting New Zealand tourism? I guess so...

The Daily Mail this week features an article about a collection of royal photos set to hit the auction block in Colchester tomorrow. Among them is the following snap of the Queen, reportedly from a 1970s-era family vacation in Scotland:

How very groovy, Your Maj! Now I'm imagining how delicious and delightful this blog would have been back in the '70s and '80s. Between holiday fashions like these and the hey-day of the Waleses and Yorks, I'd never be able to keep up!

Yikes. Looks like Princess Anne's Paddington Bear Syndrome is catching.

The hat's a recent repeat, from the Eastern European state visits - still love it. Even better, HM's managing to look interested while the mobile phone salesman goes on and on, so bully for her.

Trivia: every time I hear the name "Vodafone," I start singing Paul Simon's "Kodachrome" in my head. Dare you not to have the same experience from here on out...

I LOVE THIS HAT. I an unabashed in my joyful reaction - HM is so cute in it! And she looks like she got a good 8-10 hours between yesterday's engagement and today's service at St. Paul's!

(Or maybe it's the fact that the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor likely includes lots and lots of old dudes, and she's feeling young and sprightly in comparison?)

I've got to admit that I was pretty ambivalent about this hat in the long-range pictures - the pale yellow's nice and all, but it just says "Easter" to me in such a major way. But up close, when you can see that it's all textured like the jacket, I kind of like it.

What I'm really concerned about - HM looks like she needs a long weekend off again. Maybe she and the Duke could hop up to Balmoral for a little mini-break? A good long nap would do her good, I think. Where in the world are all of her miscellaneous adult grandchildren to start picking up the slack?

This hat was lovely when the Duchess of Cornwall wore it to Gerald Ward's memorial service, and it's still lovely for a trip to France to mark the 90th anniversary of the WWI armistice.

Glad she saved this one for the trip and sported the wilted plant on Remembrance Sunday - she did have Carla Bruni-Sarkozy to compete with in the fashion stakes on this trip, after all...