Royal Mad Hatters!

The pomp! The pageantry! See the parade of head-turning toppers fit for the Queen and her royal court
By Julia Wang
Updated February 17, 2011 02:00 PM

1 of 9

QUEEN ELIZABETH II

Credit: Chris Jackson-Pool/Getty (2)

Long live the Queen and her coordinating hats! Her Royal Majesty turned her 2010 tour of Canada into one heady occasion, first debuting a hot pink-and-chartreuse number on July 3, before gathering a few feathers in her mauve-and-burgundy cap – deftly topped off with a pair of 3D glasses – two days later.

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 9

THE COUNTESS OF WESSEX

Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage

All eyes are on Prince Edward's wife Sophie – and her bouquet of roses (and circles and maple leaves) – as she takes in the races at Royal Ascot in June 2008.

3 of 9

PRINCESS BEATRICE

Credit: Rex USA (2)

When it comes to hats this young royal aims high, sky high. The 22-year-old daughter of Prince Andrew and Fergie shows off her love of gravity-defying headpieces, from the riotous butterfly colony by Philip Treacy she donned in May 2008 to the fanciful two-tone hat she wore at Ascot a month later.

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 9

PRINCESS EUGENIE

Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage

The British press dubbed Beatrice's younger sister Eugenie, 21, "the princess and the green pea hat" for the Day-Glo green topper she donned at Royal Ascot in 2009 in celebration of Ladies' Day, which traditionally gives Britons a chance to show off their most, yes, outlandish hats.

Advertisement

5 of 9

THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL

Credit: Rex USA; Indigo/Getty

It's the rose bowler parade! Prince Charles's wife Camilla puts her English garden on display in a floral wreath hat during the Queen's annual birthday parade at the Trooping the Colour in June 2008. A year later, she topped herself in something pretty in pink for a day at the races at Royal Ascot.

6 of 9

LADY ROSE & LADY DAVINA

Credit: Marc Germain/Camera Press/Retna

The siblings may share royal family ties, but when it comes to hats it's every sister for herself. The more unconventional Lady Davina (left) made a pleating appearance alongside her little sister Rose, who donned her namesake flower, during the wedding of fellow royal Peter Phillips in May 2008.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 9

LADY GABRIELLA

Credit: Rex USA

The 29-year-old daughter of Prince Michael of Kent tipped her feathered, wide-brimmed hat to her father's cousin, Queen Elizabeth, and Prince Philip in celebration of the couple's diamond wedding anniversary at Westminster Abbey in November 2007.

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 9

PRINCESS ANNE

Credit: Rex USA

The Queen's daughter gives new meaning to the term royal mint in a pale green, lace-trimmed hat paired with an elegant, color-coordinated jacket as she made her grand arrival in a horse-drawn carriage at Ascot in 2009.

Advertisement

9 of 9

ZARA PHILLIPS

Credit: Anwar Hussein/WireImage; Tim Rooke/Rex USA

While mum Anne takes a low-key approach to headpieces, that's not the case for her equestrian daughter, who puts on a best in show on and off the field. After flaunting her wild side at Ascot in 2007, the 29-year-old proved she can be an equally demure English rose the following year at the races.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Up Next

By Julia Wang