Antennas up!!!

PHOTO CREDITS: REUTERS/Stian Lysberg Solum/Scanpix

It's an explodo-repeater from Princess Astrid today!  I just love her.  How can you not love a veteran princess who's not afraid to affix a giant maribou flounce to the back of her chapeau?

PHOTO CREDITS: My Royals

Ari Behn's got two princesses on his arm at this state banquet -- his wife,  Märtha Louise, on his left, wearing the King Olav's Gift Tiara, and his aunt-in-law, Astrid, on his right, wearing the stunning Vasa Tiara which once belonged to her mother, Crown Princess Märtha.  Excellent!

PHOTO CREDITS: siste.no

God love ya, Astrid, it just wouldn't be the start of a Norwegian state visit without your appearance at the welcome ceremony!  I don't even care -- this lady can wear whatever she darn well pleases.  (And it appears that what she pleases here is the Nordic cousin of Benedikte's hot pink parliamentary explosion...)

PHOTO CREDITS: siste.no

After two fairly standard Tiara Alerts from Mette-Marit and Sonja, we've got a real sparkly surprise this evening from Princess Astrid, who is wearing a historical tiara for the first time!

This is what we'll call Crown Princess Märtha's Diamond Bandeau Tiara, worn low across Astrid's forehead in the same way it would have been worn by her mother in the 1920s.  Märtha (mother of Astrid, Harald, and Ragnhild) received this tiara as a wedding present from her aunt and uncle, King Gustav V and Queen Victoria of Sweden, when she married Crown Prince Olav in 1929.

Astrid inherited several tiaras from her mother, but she's never worn this particular one before; in fact, the tiara hasn't even been worn in public since the 1980s.  More details on the tiara are available at the blog of Norwegian royal historian Trond Norén Isaksen, who has interviewed Astrid about the rather historical piece o'bling.

As far as the tiara itself goes -- love the provenance, but not so fond of the disco headband style.  I know this is how deco tiaras were meant to be worn, but post '70s, it looks a little strange.  Thoughts?

PHOTO CREDITS: siste.no

You've got to admire a lady who wants to get just one more wear out of her fur hat and matching jacket before the season's out, but I don't know -- April seems a bit late for fur to me.

Also, American hatters: doesn't she look like Mrs. Blankenship from Mad Men here?  I think it's the glasses/hair/hat combo.

PHOTO CREDITS: siste.no

All right, hatters, you know what time it is!  Drumroll, please!

That's right -- slap on your black-tie attire, pour yourself a glass o'champers, and settle in for the Mad Hattery Awards of 2010!  (No, seriously, hurry up -- King CG is clearly waiting on you!)

We've moved the festivities inland from last year's cruise-ship do, but that just means more room for all of us and the maddest hatters of the year!  So, without further adieu, let's get the party started!

And the winners are...

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Tiara Alert!

It's been a while since we've had some good bling around here, hasn't it?  We've got two lovely tiaras on the heads of the Norwegian royal ladies here: MM is wearing the Diamond Daisy Tiara that she first wore on her wedding day, and Princess Astrid is wearing a tiara that's new to the blog!

It's the Vasa Tiara, an heirloom that came into the Norwegian collection when it was given in 1929 to Astrid's mother, Crown Princess Märtha, as a wedding gift from the City of Stockholm.  Astrid herself owns the tiara now -- it was part of the legacy left to her after her mother's death -- but it will apparently be returned to the Norwegian royal vaults after her death.  It's a beautiful piece, with intricate swirls and circles of diamonds.  Lovely!

PHOTO CREDITS: Vidar Ruud/ANB

Here's a brand-new tiara for the blog!  Princess Astrid is wearing Queen Maud's Turquoise Tiara, one of the tiaras that Astrid herself owns.  The tiara, first owned by Astrid's grandmother, Queen Maud, was apparently a wedding present to Maud when she married Prince Carl of Denmark (who, through a series of royal gymnastics, later became King Haakon VII of Norway).

You can't tell from this photo, but this tiara is one of the rare ones that actually encircles the wearer's entire head.  I quite like it -- turquoises are sometimes a tough stone to pull off in royal jewelry, but this one is delicate and fab.

Another state visit in Norway, and that means we finally get a better view of Princess Astrid's pink telephone-bow hat.  Upon closer inspection, I'm pretty sure this one was in the same closet as Princess Anne's scrambled-egg wedding hat for about three decades.

Märtha Louise, be an angel -- I know you're into those -- and take your Auntie Astrid shopping for a chapeau that was made this century?

(PS -- we've got a bonus royal in this picture: Princess Ragnhild, Harald and Astrid's big sister.  Ragnhild is, to put it mildly, one of the more controversial members of the Norwegian royal fam.  She's the one who made a big stink about Harald's children's marriages, going on record that she hoped she'd be dead before Mette-Marit became queen.  Lovely lady -- just figures she'd be ornery and wouldn't wear a hat to a hattery occasion, doesn't it? )