One of our lovely readers e-mailed me a while back and requested that some of the mad hattery sported by the late Diana, Princess of Wales be featured on the site -- and what better day to do it than today, which would have been her 49th birthday?

Here's Lady Di back in 1989 on a visit to Dubai (back when she was still HRH The Princess of Wales), wearing one of the very maddest hats she ever sported.  Is it a turban?  is it a satellite dish?  No -- it's both!  And with feathered chopstick embellishments to boot!

And, in a move that would have raised groans among all of you back in '89, she repeated the wacky chapeau only a few weeks later at that year's Royal Ascot!

Sigh.  Now I'm imagining '80s-era Mad Hattery again, with Fergie's bow explosions and Di's crazy shapes and colors.  If only!

Welcome to the inaugural edition of our Historical Hattery posts here at Mad Hattery!  Major thanks to lovely reader Hans for sending in the first sample of a ridiculous antique royal chapeau for us to enjoy!

The historical hatter is question here is Cecile, the last Crown Princess of Germany.  Cecile, born in 1886, was the daughter of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his wife, Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia.  She married German Crown Prince Wilhelm in 1905, at the tender age of 18, and was the country's crown princess until the monarchy was abolished in the wake of the First World War.  And, apparently, she loved a good hat.

This little hattery gem is from 1910, and I could not love it more.  Ribbons and bows -- check.  Giant feather plume -- ohh, check. Camilla's wilting feather plant hat could only dream of feathery-ness this major!

You know, there's a saying in certain parts of the US -- "The higher the hair, the closer to Jesus."  Somehow, I can't help but think that may have been some of the logic behind the towering topper shown here!  Let's face it ... the woman surely was a whole foot taller with hat and hair combined!