Only one Yorkie on parade today - my personal favorite of the pair, plucky Princess Eugenie. I guess Bea must have jetted off on holiday with her ever-smiling beau, Dave Clark (not of the Five). But Eug stayed to provide us with our token Yorkie Hattery moment, and for that we must be grateful.

If you can tear your gaze away from her be-bearded cousin for a moment, let's focus on the beret. I LOVE IT. It may be my favorite beret of the many that have been worn out by the royal ladies this Christmas. I am almost certain it's the same one she wore on Christmas Day last year...

...but I like it much better the way she's worn it this year, with her hair all tucked up inside it and a patterned coat. It looks fresh, young, adorable, and perfectly chic enough for the granddaughter of a queen.

Ah, Lady Wessex is back in her favorite millinery silhouette: the flying saucer stuck to the side of her head. But, although I have been quite critical of this look on her in past months, and although I cannot see the front of the hat, and it may be adorned with feathers and bows and trinkets galore, I have to give this one a begrudging thumbs up. I think it's quite fashionable.

You win this saucer round, Sophie. But the second you swan out in a giant flying saucer again a la Garter Day, we'll have to have words.

ETA: Spoke too soon! Loyal (and eagle-eyed!) reader Alison pointed out that this hat is the same one HRH wore on Remembrance Sunday. Thanks, Alison!

...and the close-up front view from pics of that day shows it to be made of the sort of material that my last computer was shipped in. (I guessed straw on the Remembrance Day post, and I don't know if that would have been better or worse.) Meh. I have to admit, my glowing praise from earlier is entirely less glowing. But still, better than the UFO hat, so I suppose there's progress being made...

I just -- let's take a moment just to let this sink in, shall we?

...okay. Now that we've got our giggles out, let's talk hat. I like that there's a policewoman stationed right behind Princess Anne here, because I'm pretty sure that Anne could blend in with a bevy of bobbies in this hat. Though the trailing ribbon might tip people off that something's up.

And ... the sunglasses. How much do you want to bet that Zara Phillips is behind this particular pair of shades?

Looks like HM is continuing her Christmas-season hat trend of bold colors paired with muted, heathery accents. Instead of red and gray, this time we've got bright yellow and what looks like a greeny-browny-mossy color. And, once again, it's a case of hattery where I love the shape, and I even like the little embellishment, but I just hate the color combo. It's a preference thing, I guess.

And don't think I don't see you peeking around the corner there, Sophie. We'll get to you later.

And now ... the piece de Christmas resistance....

There's the Zara Phillips we all know and love!

First off, before addressing the big purple elephant in that photo, I must say that the royal granddaughter is looking lovely and well after suffering a broken collarbone earlier this fall. Good to see her out and about again.

On to millinery matters, I am conflicted. This hat is, on the one hand, obviously a bit ridiculous. It is purple, it is large, and it looks like the little chapeau of Eugenie's from Peter's wedding, but in complete reverse, with an emphasis on the flying nun wings. It's also not the most flattering thing I've ever seen her wear.

On the other hand, it is modern, sculptural, and certainly interesting, though it did seem a little unstable on her head:

My ultimate conclusion? I'm not a huge fan, but I am so very glad she decided to wear it. Crazy hats are the bread and butter of this blog, obviously.

Looks like we've got a recycled-but-refashioned hat on display from Camilla this Christmas: it seems she's taken the hat she wore on two earlier occasions and replaced the veil with a rather befuddling curlique bit. I like it overall, but the flower looks a little silly all strapped and seat-belted in, no?

The York princesses really hit a home run this Christmas. Part of me was a little afraid that Bea would pop up wearing that woolly monstrosity that she sported out in London earlier this fall, but she came through with a trendy and jaunty little Christmas beret instead. Well done, Bea!

I have a sneaking suspicion that The Countess of Wessex is as big a fan of Mad Men as I am. This is so Betty Draper, it kills me! I think I like the pill-box style hat on Sophie, but hats like these always teeter on the edge between looking either totally chic or like you're going as Jackie Kennedy to a Halloween party. I'll give this one a "chic."

Yorkie alert!

No shenanigans today, though. I think this is adorable. I love the robin's egg blue color on Eugenie, and the simple dark beret is lovely with the outfit. Very nice, Your Royal Highness!

Okay, peer past the new Mr. and Mrs. Phillips and take a look at the lady in blue behind them: Princess Anne. The poor woman apparently didn't have any photographer friends at Sandringham today, as none of the pictures I found included close-ups of her.

Or, perhaps, they didn't bother with new close-ups because they knew I could just swap in this picture from Christmas Day 2006?

The Queen (or at least Princess Royal) of recycling strikes again! At least I like this hat better than her usual recycled fare, though I think it would look better if it rested higher up on her head.

Regardless, the re-use of this wintry ensemble gives me an excuse to post my favorite royal Christmas picture of all time: my two favorite Windsor grandsons indulging the whims of their adorable little Lindley cousin, Margarita Armstrong-Jones:

I'm sure that was Anne's goal all along, aren't you? She's there in the background if you squint, but why look past all the ovary-aching adorableness in the foreground?