I could have sworn that I've seen HM wearing this had fairly recently, but my jaunts through the Mad Hattery archives (like a crazy hat fashion show!  I highly recommend it) produced nothing.  It's not the hat that made me think of the White Witch in Scotland last December, and it's not the hat that more recently had me puzzled about whether it was yellow or cream.

So I'll send it out to my readers: is this a brand-spanking new hat busted out just for the visit to RAF Cranwell, or is it a repeat, as I suspected?  Let me know in the comments on this post -- let's get this mad hattering chatter rolling!

Either way, I like it -- although the white/textured fabric combo does feel a tad wintery for May.

(ETA: Alison from The Royal Forums blog points out that the hat is a Rachel Trevor Morgan creation.  Here's a link to her blog entry on the hat designer.  Thanks, Alison!)

Well, if you're going to doze off during an official engagement, you might as well do it in a really adorable pink hat...

We have an adorable new addition to our Mad Hattery lineup today -- the daughter of TRH The Earl and Countess of Wessex, The Lady Louise Windsor, made a rare appearance in front of the cameras today at the Royal Windsor Horse Show!  Welcome, Lady Louise!

And she's dressed appropriately casually for the occasion, with her baseball cap coordinating nicely with her green wellies.  Don't be a stranger, Louise!  Here's hoping for hattery moments from you for a long time to come.

Second verse, same as the first, only this time in candy-cane colors.  Maybe this is the official uniform of the Horse Show?

Hm.  Well, I think Hermes was one of the sponsors for the event, so that helps to explain this.  And really, if I try to imagine a hat to replace this scarf, I can't figure out what I'd substitute.

Okay, then, Your Maj.  I like the blue.  You win this one -- even if you are smiling like I did in my kindergarten school picture...

This outfit still amazes me, a whole year later.  Purple mesh!  On the Queen of England!

In this photo, weirdly, the coat and the hat don't seem to match, though.  Lighting, perhaps?

Hey hey, the whole gang's out watching Zara doing fancy dressage moves today!

And Princess Anne has the perfect hat on in case they need to knock over a bank on the way home...

HM wraps up her jaunt up to Northern Ireland with this little springy chapeau -- I like it quite a lot.  I think I've seen it on her before, but I can't quite place it.  (Enterprising readers?  The comment function is on if you can remember...)

Regardless, the purpley-pink hat and the green feather complement each other nicely.  Well done, Your Maj!

(Though I hope you got away quickly from whatever that bad smell was...)

EDITED: As expected, one of our sharpest-eyed readers, Alison, has found the hat for us!

Read the rest of this entry »

This is more like it, Your Royal Highness!  After that Epsom Downs blah blah beige, here's a hat that fits well with the naval theme of the day -- a service honoring a century of Royal Navy aviation -- has a great, striking color combination, and fits nicely on her royal crown.  Way to go, Camilla!

...just try not to lose it before you get back to Clarence House!  I'd like to see this one repeated.

Okay, here's the deal, Lilibet: I would really, really like this hat-and-coat ensemble if it were light blue, pink, or green.  The gray is just too drab for a May afternoon!