Lil and her firstborn are certainly having quite the tee-hee at Braemar, aren’t they?  I only wish I were quite so enthusiastic about her hat.

I think all these years of hatting about have just made me miserably picky when it comes to chapeaux, but something about the combo of the taupe and the light ivory just isn’t doing it for me.  Thoughts?

(Additionally — HM, Phil, and Charlie get fancy wicker chairs, but Anne gets a foldy deal?  Man, it’s tough being the second born!)

PHOTO CREDITS: REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

I have a feeling that Lil knew we would all miss her regular schedule of hattery while she’s up at Balmoral for her summer holiday, so she gave us this little gem on the way in:

No surprise that I got tons of e-mails from all of you about this one, LOL!  A quick survey, because I’m not sure I can top some of your cleverness (except to say that HM was looking eerily like a white-haired, British-pensioner version of Muammar Gaddafi in one of the wider shots…):

Maggie: “…has a definite Queen Mary look to it.”  (And, her brain-space sharer of the day, Sir Tom: “Slightly reminiscent of Queen Mary, I thought.”  Great minds? )

And my personal fave, from Ontarion: “It looks like HM combined brain surgery with a visit to a local basket factory.”  LOL!  (Also, kudos to Ontarion for flagging this one as a pre-blog repeat from a couple of years ago.)

I love my readers.   But I do not love this hat!

PHOTO CREDITS: Profimedia

Time to take a break from all the royal yachting!  The Brit royals made a stop in the excellently named town of Scrabster today on their way to have lunch at Castle Mey, one of the late Queen Mum’s homes.

And the Queen is still wearing — trousers.   This whole ensemble is just strange, isn’t it?  And though I have few doubts about the depths of HM’s Hèrmes collection, but this pattern just doesn’t seem like something they’d make:

I could be wrong, of course, but big sunflowers just doesn’t scream Hèrmes to me…

Photo Credits: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Attention all hatters in the Greater London area: there’s an exhibit at Buck House this summer that absolutely cannot be missed!

Check it out — it’s a display of HM’s Ascot hattery!  It’s like a numbered, centralized version of the Mad Hattery! archives.  Here’s a fun game — identify which year we’ve seen each hat on HM at the races!  (I identify five here that we’ve seen on the blog…)

The exhibit, which also features some of HM’s beautiful gowns and Prince Phil’s naval uniform, opens up on Tuesday.  Unfortunately, I’m too far away to make this particular pilgrimage — but if any of you hatters make it over there, be sure to give us a full report on how these toppers look up close!

Photo Credits: BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

I took my holiday last week — now it’s the Windsors’ turn for a vacation!  They’re loading up on a yacht called the “Hebridean Princess” for a cruise of the Scottish isles.  And, of course, HM has dipped into her Hermès collection to keep the royal coiffure under control.

The scarf’s fine and all, but there’s something else:

You might imagine it’s the lack of Yorkie hattery that’s caught my eye here, but while that is indeed tragic, I’m looking at something else: Liz is wearing PANTS.  Doesn’t that look strange???

Photo Credits: AP Photo/Andrew Milligan

Nick Griffin may have tried to pull a fast one on Her Maj at this garden party, but Lil clearly doesn’t look fussed about the whole thing — and she’s worn one of my favorites of her hats, too!  I don’t even care that she wore it a month ago at Ascot — it’s just lovely. 

(Don’t love the gold hat pin, though — even my gran had pearly hat pins; surely the palace had one laying around that would coordinate better with the earring/necklace combo?)

Photo Credits: Gareth Fuller-Pool/Getty Images

Lovely reader Maggie, who sent me photos of this hattery apperance, noted that we’ve got another Sam the Eagle on our hands here — it’s the summer garden party version!  Love it.

Photo Credits: John Stillwell – WPA Pool/Getty Images

I think this is a new hat (at least to the blog), and I love it!

Correct me if I’m wrong, kids, but I’m not finding this in our archives anywhere.  I think I’d remember it — it’s so fab!  This is absolutely the best color on HM, and the shape is just tops.  I even like the little bunch of monochromatic posies — and I’m not even bothered by the feather!  Someone, take my blood pressure!

Photo Credits: David Rose – WPA Pool/Getty Images

Nobody rocks the formal robes of a chivalric order like the Thistle better than the Windsor women, huh?  Lil looks smashing in her Thistle robes.  I give it an A plus!

Photo Credits: REUTERS/David Moir

I had officially run out of things to say about this hat last time HM wore it a month ago to the polo, and that’s still the case here.  I think it’s time to toss this one out of the rotation for a bit!  At least, though, she’s given me a new outing for my favorite accessory — the coordinated clear plastic umbrella!  Don’t you wonder how many of these she has in the hopper?

(Thanks to lovely reader Eliza for sending in this photo!)

Photo Credits: Andrew Milligan – WPA Pool/Getty Images