Either the Yorks forgot they were going to Fergie’s little sister’s wedding and not a fancy dress party, or they’re actually planning on starting some sort of Girls Aloud-style girl group:

Let’s see here … Bea’s wearing her Trooping the Colour ’10 plant sprouter; Eugenie’s sporting some foliage in her favorite color, hot pink; and Sarah’s wearing (among other things) a fascinator that looks suspiciously like the one Bea wore to Charles and Camilla’s wedding.

Just … may I have a word, Sarah?  You are fifty years old.  That’s 50, not 20 or 30 or even 40.  You look like you’re trying to be 23 again, and it’s just no good.  Now, I know you’ve had issues with decision making in the past, but for the love of God, get something age appropriate and stop sneaking into your daughter’s closets!  It just makes you look older and sadder, not younger and more vibrant.  Say it with me: elegant and chic!

I mean, even Eugenie and Beatrice look terrified in this picture.  I’m going to assume it’s because someone just popped up a mirror.  Oy vey.

PHOTO CREDITS: Craig Hibbert/Mail Online

Someone‘s clearly protesting the fact that she wasn’t invited to the big Swedish wedding:

A bridal white fascinator for Ascot … with cabbage flowers that clearly read “powder puffs” in the wider view:

Definitely not my favorite Yorkie topper of Ascot — the big pink number far surpassed this cotton-ball-looking business!

Also: Bea brought along Smiley Boyfriend DAVE, the Ascot Edition!  Love the top hat, DAVE, but you need a hair cut.

I just love this.  It’s structural, bright, bold, modern, and just silly enough for Ladies’ Day.  Eugenie’s like her gran — really saturated colors do look best on her, and this bright fuschia pink is so flattering.  Perfection!

HRH The Prince of Wales and Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles
April 9, 2005

We’ve reached the finish line, kids: it’s our last hattery flashback post for the month!  Which also means that Crown Princess Victoria’s wedding is only three days away — hooray!!!

Our most recent crown princely wedding in Europe was also easily the most controversial: in 2005, Prince Charles married his longtime partner, Camilla Parker Bowles, with whom he had admitted committing adultery during his marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales.  Both parties were divorced (though Charles, in the wake of Diana’s death, was considered a widower), and so a religious wedding in the Church of England was impossible. 

However, it had become clear by 2005 that Camilla’s place in Charles’s life was non-negotiable, and so the Queen and the Archbishop of Canterbury decided that marriage was the best option.  The solution?  A civil wedding ceremony at the Guildhall in Windsor, followed by a Church of England blessing at St. George’s Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle.  There was one more unforeseen obstacle to overcome, however: the wedding had to be postponed by one day when Pope John Paul II died, and Charles had to represent the Queen at his funeral.

But on the day of the wedding itself, things went off largely without a hitch.  Camilla went from being Mrs. Parker Bowles to being HRH The Duchess of Cornwall (she doesn’t use the Princess of Wales title because of lingering associations with Diana).  All of Charles and Camilla’s children were present for the celebration, as were all of the senior royals — and Camilla’s ex-husband, too!  The two celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary this year.

(For those hoping this wedding hattery flashback might be about Charles and Diana’s wedding, never fear: I’m planning to do a flashback post about that event in the future!)

Wedding Hatters

Great Britain
Elizabeth · Camilla · Beatrice · Eugenie · Sophie · Anne · Zara
Serena · Sarah · Birgitte · Katharine · Alexandra · Marie-Christine

Foreign Royals
Anne-Marie · Mette-Marit · Laurentien

I know, I know … it’s definitely edging into forehead-monster territory — but I really think I like this!  The scarlet color is super flattering on Eug, and it’s interesting without being overwhelming.  Plus, the embellishments make her almost as tall as Prince William (who is like Andre the Giant in the world of royalty, really)!

It wouldn’t be a British family gathering without Yorkies it hats, would it?  Thankfully, we’ve got two today!  First up: Eugenie…

Eugenie’s wearing a repeated hat today — she wore it during last Christmas season at Sandringham — and I actually liked it better the way she wore it last time, with her hair all artfully tucked up inside of it.  But either way, it’s so much better than a technicolor fedora or anything with polka dots!

Happy 20th birthday to one of our favorite royal hatters, Princess Eugenie of York!  And leave it to a Yorkie to make sure she’s got her crown properly adorned on her big day!

I’m not sure I totally understand this headwear choice — it’s not unattractive, but I’m not sure about the tropical flower/leather jacket combo.  I don’t know, to me it just doesn’t go.  It almost makes it look like Eugenie was dreaming of a Caribbean holiday for her birthday, and when she had to spend it in dreary old London Town instead, she decided to compensate with a hair decoration…

P.S.: Smiley Boyfriend Dave sure is turning out to be handy, isn’t he?  Escorting Yorkies to functions … running in marathons … and now opening car doors.  How gallant!

P.P.S.: Hope you got some great presents, Your Royal Highness!

Thanks to lovely reader Jennifer for info on this event!

One more be-hatted skiing Yorkie today — the lovely Princess Eugenie, who has chosen a plain black helmet but jazzed up her ensemble with a bright red jacket.  I approve, Eug!

However, there’s one thing about this ski vacation I definitely don’t approve of:

1) Sarah, you showed up at a hattery event without a hat!  I can’t snark on your hattery choices if you don’t do that!  It’s almost like you don’t want to be front and center on a hat blog.  Hm.

2) Sarah, you went skiing without a helmet!  Haven’t you been watching the Vancouver Olympics?  Haven’t you seen the way they go windmilling and flailing into the big nets on the side of the course?  C’mon, now, I know you’re not royal anymore — but protect that crown properly!

Thanks to lovely reader Eliza for sending in information about this event!

Happy New Year, Mad Hatters!  While I’m sure you’re all quite busy enjoying the bubbly and kissing your sweethearts at midnight, I thought a little hattery fun might be in order tonight as well.

(Well, this is Mad Hattery — I’m sure you’re all actually lounging on cruise ships in your Sunday best, wearing construction helmets and sipping champers just like Queen Silvia up there.  You are, aren’t you?  I knew it!)

Anyway: everyone’s doing year-in-review posts right now (heck, I just did two: The Top Ten British Royal Events of the Decade and 2009′s Royal Romance Review — check ‘em out!), so I thought we’d join right in.

And so, without further adieu, I present: the Mad Hattery Awards of 2009, recognizing the wackiest, zaniest, and most completely out-of-control hattery worn this year!

And the winners are (drumroll please)…

Read the rest of this entry »

Yay — both Yorkies were out and about with the fam for Sunday church today!  I feel like I’ve seen Eugenie’s hat before, but this is a terrible angle, and it’s tough to be sure.  I can’t find anything similar in our hattery archives here — any other hatters able to place this one?

At any rate, it’s certainly better than the hot pink Christmas fedora…