After Monday night’s brave, if not entirely successful, attempts at dressing down, the Royal Family was back in its comfort zone yesterday morning, neatly installed at St Paul’s Cathedral. Shoulder to structured shoulder they stood, the Queen, as always, managing to stand out from the crowd, this time by deploying a subtle mint green hue.
Designed by Angela Kelly, as was the white coat worn on Sunday’s flotilla, this coat was subtly embellished, embroidered with tiny green star-shaped flowers tipped with silver thread. To this she had added a mint chiffon drape, which swept over her shoulders and was fastened with a diamond brooch. Her co-ordinating hat was covered in tulle and studded with Swarovski crystals.
There will certainly be champagne corks popping in Sarah Burton’s house. The Duchess of Cambridge’s dress meant that the designer scored a hat-trick over the Jubilee weekend: this was the third time Kate had reached for Alexander McQueen, having worn a red pleated dress on Sunday and a black McQueen jacket at the concert.
Yesterday’s champagne-coloured lace dress was fitted, the ribbon detail accentuating her tiny waist, and it fell to the knee, with a scalloped hem and neckline that looked soft and feminine. This she teamed with a sculpted floral hat in a matching colour by Jane Taylor.
At this point, a more daring dresser might have been tempted to break up all the subtle beige tones by adding coloured shoes. However, not for Kate a wanton splash of red or purple. She stuck with what must surely be the most overworked heels in England, her nude L.K. Bennett “Sledge” shoes.
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Princess Beatrice avoided any further hat mishaps with a tasteful, retro-looking beret courtesy of Stephen Jones, worn with a cornflower blue double-breasted coat dress by Kinder. More ambitiously, Princess Eugenie chose a purple silk dress with a draped cowl neck by Susannah, and she also wore a beret-style Stephen Jones hat.
The Duchess of Cornwall stayed loyal to Philip Treacy with a wide-brimmed hat that must surely have infuriated those in the row behind her. This she wore with a metallic coat featuring a brushstroke print by Anna Valentine, her favourite designer.
Possibly mindful of the criticism she attracted for failing to wear a hat at last year’s royal wedding, Samantha Cameron was formally attired on this occasion, in a dainty black 1940s-style hat covered in a layer of netting. It was as discreet as a hat could be, sitting far back on her head as if to say “I’m wearing this because I have to, not because I want to”. You are either a hat-lover or you’re not, and it is safe to say that Mrs Cameron falls into the latter camp.