You know, I think this little topper is growing on me.

I didn't like it at all when she trotted it out for Christmas Day '08 (wow, this blog's been running for a while, hasn't it?), but I'm warming to it here.  The coat looks like cubicle upholstery, but the gray fuzziness on the hat is nice and seasonal.  What do the rest of you think about this one?

PHOTO CREDITS: Geoff Pugh - WPA Pool/Getty Images

No tiara at the state banquet for Mozah -- I don't think she ever wears them, though some savvy poster may be able to prove me wrong on that one.  Love the scarlet outfit and matching headwrap, though -- very flattering.

We do have a sparkler from Lil out tonight, though -- and a new one to the blog at that!  This is the Vladimir Tiara, bought in the 1920s by Queen Mary from Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia (who had to sell off many of her valuables after the Russian Revolution).  Queen Mary later gifted it to her granddaughter, the current queen.

It's quite the show-stopper, with its circular motifs and drop pearls (it can also be worn with a set of the Cambridge emeralds in place of the pearls).  I have to say, though, it's not my favorite look on HM -- I really think this tiara would better suit the Duchess of Cornwall, to be honest.  What do the rest of you think?

(Also really not loving the necklace -- HM's really Queen-Mary-ing it up tonight, isn't she?)

PHOTO CREDITS: Kieran Doherty – WPA Wire/Getty Images

We've got tiaras a'plenty tonight at Windsor Castle, hatters!  (Unfortunately, as is tradition with British state banquets, we've only got squinty, long-distance pictures.  But no matter -- on with the bling!)

Princess Anne is sitting to HM's left -- it's a little tough to see in this picture, but she's wearing Princess Andrew's Meander Tiara, the Greek key piece once owned by Prince Philip's mother (and a new tiara to the blog!).  It was given to HM in 1947 by Princess Andrew as a wedding gift, but in 1972 it was passed on to Princess Anne.

We haven't got any decent photos of Camilla's tiara, but it's clear from the back view here (she's on HM's right, sitting beside David Cameron) that it's the old (magnificent) standby, the Boucheron Honeycomb Tiara.  Same old, same old ... can't another be pulled out of the vaults for Cams?

PHOTO CREDITS: Kieran Doherty - WPA Wire/Getty Images

Sheikha Mozah is one seriously chic royal lady, isn't she?  Love the dove gray color choice for today's welcome ceremony.  And paired with the gray fur -- now, I'll admit, fur is not my thing, but it does make her look like a '40s movie goddess, doesn't it?

And the full-length view was outstanding as well:

Gorgeous!

PHOTO CREDITS: REUTERS/Steve Parsons/POOL; KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/AFP/Getty Images

Still quite liking Camilla's purple topper, but I think HRH might want to perhaps re-think the way she's recycling her hattery wardrobe.  It's exactly the same hat she wore at the welcoming ceremony during last October's state visit (from the president of India), worn one year ago tomorrow.  It's okay to repeat a hat, but at the same annual event?

PHOTO CREDITS: AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth

I'm not sure if it's the lighting or my own fickle, fickle hatting ways, but I'm really quite liking the Christmas sea anemone hat even more on this outing, at the welcome ceremony for the Emir of Qatar.  The color looks much deeper and richer here -- it looked orange-y on its first outing.  This is more flattering.

Also, ha, look who was super excited to be having a visitor at Windsor today:

LOL!  Adorable.

PHOTO CREDITS: REUTERS/Dan Kitwood/POOL

I'm peeking briefly out of my mini hattery hiatus to share one of my favorite royals-in-waiting wearing a sophisticated little topper:

Love this look on Miss Middleton -- the hat's just big enough to be a bit cheeky, but it's traditional enough to be appropriate for a wedding in the English countryside.  Like the splash of electric blue as contrast, too.

And, bless 'em, they look so happy here, don't they?  This is one of the rare times I've seen them together in front of photographers looking relaxed and contented.  Good for them!

ETA: Here's another angle -- I even like the stripped-down feathers!  Clearly my short bit away from hattery has restored significant goodwill on my part!  (That's good -- no one likes a curmudgeonly hatter, I think!)

Lovely!

PHOTO CREDITS: Bauer Griffin

HM's out at the Coca-Cola HQ in Northern Ireland today, wearing my favorite of her bright color/black accent hats:

Love it -- great shape, great color.  Now that Lil's budget has been cut by the government, I imagine we'll be seeing even more repeated hats than usual, but if they're as good as this one, I don't really mind!

PHOTO CREDITS: PETER MUHLY/AFP/Getty Images

Not in love with this canary yellow on Sonja -- yellow is just such a hard color to pull off, isn't it? -- but am full-on in love with her tiara!  It's actually the same tiara she wore to last year's Stortinget gala -- Queen Josephine's Diamond Tiara.  It's so light and yet so regal at the same time!

PHOTO CREDITS: Vidar Ruud/ANB

Tiara Alert!

It's been a while since we've had some good bling around here, hasn't it?  We've got two lovely tiaras on the heads of the Norwegian royal ladies here: MM is wearing the Diamond Daisy Tiara that she first wore on her wedding day, and Princess Astrid is wearing a tiara that's new to the blog!

It's the Vasa Tiara, an heirloom that came into the Norwegian collection when it was given in 1929 to Astrid's mother, Crown Princess Märtha, as a wedding gift from the City of Stockholm.  Astrid herself owns the tiara now -- it was part of the legacy left to her after her mother's death -- but it will apparently be returned to the Norwegian royal vaults after her death.  It's a beautiful piece, with intricate swirls and circles of diamonds.  Lovely!

PHOTO CREDITS: Vidar Ruud/ANB