Lhe famous hats of Elizabeth II deserved a tip of the hat: it is done with the work of Thomas Pernette which retraces 80 years of history of royal headgear (EPA editions). From the most discreet – like the one she wore from the age of seven alongside her grandfather George V –, to the most daring, like this “spaghetti hat”, made up of a multitude of small yellow ribbons cut from a piece of organza, which the Queen wore during her official visit to Berlin in 1965. A nice touch of optimism at the heart of the Iron Curtain.
Gold hat on canary coat, Elizabeth II had succeeded in her usual publicity stunt: in the absence of being able to express her opinions, to impose her power by a striking image, which will make the rounds of the media… “We need to be seen to exist”, has she used to repeat. When her son Charles was inaugurated as Prince of Wales in 1969, she made an impression by daring to wear a Tudor-inspired headdress, a distant echo of the history of the crown. When she evokes her “annus horribilis”, in 1992, this time she wears a Breton hat in green velvet which seems so dark that the sovereign seems in mourning. And for her first visit to the Republic of Ireland, in 2011, she appears in jade green from head to toe, in homage to the country and to the peace found.
READ ALSORoyal pitfalls – Elizabeth II, the annus horribilis II
Political incident
These bibis are so closely scrutinized that we sometimes come close to a political incident: thus, in June 2017, in the midst of the Brexit crisis, the queen provoked a real controversy by opening the parliamentary session with a blue headgear studded with yellow flowers curiously reminiscent of the stars of the European Union… Has Elizabeth II just subliminally revealed the substance of her thoughts? Angela Kelly, the sovereign’s dresser, denied any political message, revealing pure creative coincidence… But the hat was quickly changed afterwards, with a large reassuring bow in place of the yellow pearls.
Since the end of the 1940s, a veritable armada of milliners has taken care of royal headgear – impossible for the Queen to go out bareheaded, a matter of rank and habit, inherited from the pre-war period when women went out hatted. Her Majesty’s fascinators must meet several very strict requirements: allow the Queen to be spotted from afar – hence the bright colors associated with her outfit –, be neither too high nor too wide – so as not to hinder her in his car – and above all not hide his face, while avoiding as much as possible to come close to ridicule, that goes without saying…
Recycling
Last instruction: limit waste by recycling as much as possible your clothes, which have a life expectancy of around twenty-five years – at the Windsors, you don’t mess with small savings… “After two or three outings, a piece will have become familiar to the media and the public, explains her dresser Angela Kelly, quoted in the book by Thomas Pernette. So we’ll either be looking for ways to modify it or it will become something to be worn in private, at Balmoral or at Sandringham. »
The fittings are always done under the authority of the sovereign’s dresser, in charge of her wardrobe, who judges the desired effect and the overall harmony with the main outfit. In her private moments, the queen proves to be unfussy. “She’s the nicest customer I’ve ever known,” admits milliner Marie O’Regan, a Frenchwoman who moved to London. And I’ve seen a lot of women come in to order hats and be very picky. He’s someone I could have been friends with. During the fittings, she loved to imitate my French accent” – it is true that Elizabeth II is a fan of imitations of all kinds…
The Queen of England is no one fashion victim : she imposes her style by avoiding major oddities but prefers timeless outfits – there is no question of becoming a commercial portmanteau, serving the big brands. But his hats could not avoid the diktats of the catwalks or the new citizen consciences. Exit the use of fur for three years, as well as the feathers of certain species of endangered birds… And if Elizabeth II was once daring, with berets, turbans, hats with petals or velvet pillboxes, she got into the habit, with age, of wearing a type of hybrid hat, between the cloche hat and the boater hat, which fits perfectly on her impeccable styling. A now eternal image, as famous as that of Napoleon with his black cocked hat. So true is it, as historian Robert Lacey asserts, that the royal hat remains “a substitute for the crown”.
To read : Elizabeth II, the crown hatsby Thomas Pernette, EPA editions