I was hoping to see one of the fabulous Kent tiaras on M-C tonight ... but we got brooches instead.  C'est la vie.

But ... they're not just any set of daisy brooches.  These include what we'll call the Argyll Diamond Daisies, two brooches worn by Princess Louise, one of Victoria and Albert's daughters, when she married the future Duke of Argyll in 1871.  Louise was given the diamond daisies, which had been made by Garrard, by three of her siblings, Arthur, Leopold, and Beatrice.  On her wedding day, the daisies were worn in her hair to help hold her lace veil in place.

Louise had no children, and eventually the daisies were given to Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent.  On Marina's death, the daisies went to Marie-Christine, who seems to have combined them here with two other similar pieces.

So ... cool history on the pieces ... not such a cool look on the head, IMO.  What do the rest of you think?

PHOTO CREDITS: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

The stars have aligned, everybody: ZSA ZSA'S IN MONACO, wearing sleeves that you could hide snacks in and a cabbage flower sprouting from her ear.  Mahvelous, dahlink!

PHOTO CREDITS: bekia.es

Zsa Zsa in the house!

Love this shape on M-C ... very glam stuff for a very glam lady.  But the true swashbuckling glory of this hat doesn't come through until you see it from this angle:

Amazing.  You just know she nicked this from a musketeer...

PHOTO CREDITS: Chris Jackson/Getty Images, BBC/YouTube

This morning, the role of Empress Michiko of Japan will be played by Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent...

PHOTO CREDITS: Isopix

Two hats from the women of the Michaels of Kent family today -- the familiar puffy white pillbox on Princess Michael, and a gorgeous, cream-colored, wide-brimmed hat on her daughter-in-law, Sophie.  Fab!  (It was Sophie's first Trooping the Colour, too -- hooray!  Didn't see her husband around anywhere, though.)

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LOLLLLLLLLLL! Marie-Christine, this hat is doing nothing but supporting my suspicion that you are the Zsa Zsa Gabor of the royal family.

It's so over-the-top! Pity poor Viscount Linley -- he was the one who had to sit behind her during the wedding!

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

PHOTO CREDITS: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Two days ago, the fortune teller get-up -- today, a one-way ticket to scalp sunburn city.  Hope she put some sunblock on her part!  (Excellent necklace, though...)

Also, I think Prince Michael might be mad at you guys for making fun of his mock turtleneck on Wednesday...!

Princess Michael apparently decided to wash her hair right before another event -- this time the Elephant Parade Auction at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.  Or maybe she's planning on telling some fortunes right after the auction?

At least this time the headscarf looks like Hèrmes...?  Oh, who am I kidding -- even that doesn't make it better.

I've been waiting all week for the Michaels of Kent to make their big appearance at Ascot, and M-C hasn't disappointed -- this gigantic flying saucer brim with its jaunty feather says, "I'M ROYALTY, DAHLINK!" far better than that dinky white pillbox she wore at Trooping the Colour!  Love it! 

And it looks like she might be able to use that feather as a quill to write on her racing form, too -- I love a hat that pulls double duty.

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