"GASP!  Ladies, have you SEEN the amount of plumage in this castle today???"

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At first I thought that we'd gotten a repe-hat from Princess Alexandra today -- such a rarity! -- but on second glance, I think it's just another variation on her standard: slightly exaggerated crown, normal-sized brim, and a little netting for the road.

As for Birgitte: she should just be glad that I ended my black beret moratorium a while back, because this velvety pillbox (which we first saw on Remembrance Sunday '09) is verging on jaunty at that angle.

PHOTO CREDITS: Indigo/Getty Images

Once again, Princess Alexandra shows us all how it's done.  How fab is this hat -- and those emeralds -- and that puppy???

Of course, she's also demonstrating the British upper-class tradition of wearing whatever accessories you happen to find around the house, whether they match or not.  Love her!

(Thanks to the many hatters who sent along info about this event!)

PHOTO CREDITS: BBC

Little tough to see from a distance, but I think I give a thumbs up to both of these hats.  Especially love Princess A in purple!

(Also, bit o' trivia: the man across from Birgitte Gloucester is her hubs, the Duke, and the other man is Christopher Rhys-Jones, Sophie Wessex's father.  Aw!  Love that the Queen welcomes in her in-laws' families.)

PHOTO CREDITS: BBC/YouTube

Let's kick off our Garter Day 2011 coverage with some Kents, shall we?  Specifically: Alex and Eddie.  Of course, I love the hats -- but I love the expressions on their faces even more.  Clearly they've just seen Carol Thatcher emerging from St. George's Chapel:

Egads!

ETA: Okay, the photo agency dated the pictures wrong -- Carol wasn't there today in this spectacular get-up, unfortunately.  Still funny, though.  Anyway, any guesses as to what else the Kent sibs may have spied?

PHOTO CREDITS: Arthur Edwards - WPA Pool/Getty Images, Richard Pohle - WPA Pool/Getty Images

We don't have a great look at Princess Alexandra's hat here, unfortunately -- she took a bit of a back-row seat on the balcony -- but from what I can see, it looks like typical Alexandra fare: fairly wide brim, muted color, fluffy stuff on the front.  Not too bad at all.

I was hoping to see her a little closer to Ms. Cambridge on the balcony, though -- Alexandra is, after all, pretty much the ideal Windsor princess mentor.  Oh, well ... getting between Princess Michael and Kate looks like it might have been a bit difficult anyway, LOL.

PHOTO CREDITS: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

One of the only crimes committed at this wedding was the lack of photographs taken of the women of the Windsor family -- I mean, we've got plenty of pics of HM, Camilla, Bea (more on that later), etc., but none of the minor royals.

ETA: Clearer photos here and here.

(Originally posted at the Annex - click here for more comments.)

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

Another great hattery outing for Princess Alexandra!  She's really embracing her inner glamorous royal here rather than her inner mumsy gran, and I love it.  This silvery hat is just wonderful -- it has just enough embellishment to be interesting.  Bravo!

Hey, everybody, it's a carriage full of Kents!  While the duke is giving us some sort of strange senior picture pose, I'm happy to see Princess Alex back in top form.  That's the regal daughter of a British prince and a Greek princess!

Thanks to lovely reader Maggie for sending in the photo!