I'm pretty sure the "golden tree' branch was Laura, Camilla's daughter. Personally I thought she looked terrific in it!

Yes, that was Laura Parker Bowles. In some photos it looks like a chandelier on her head.
I thought that Zara Phillips was not quite dressed appropriately and her hat was ordinary..but maybe she wanted to be young and fun instead of dressing like everyone else~

I have only one day in London to find a hat before I attend a wedding in Wales. Where do you suggest I shop?

To give you an idea, I last bought a serious hat -- as opposed to beachwear -- for Easter, 1960.

Depends how much you want to spend but most of the department stores have them ie. John Lewis in Oxford Street, Debenhams. Selfridges and Harrods will have them up the higher side of the price scale. For cheaper and cheerful try Accessorize which is everywhere.

If you don't mind going to Richmond..Tit for Tat Hats has a wonderful selection..I love to go there and just try them on! You can even "Hire a Hat"!! My DH says I have a HatHead..i love them and look pretty darn good in most of them as opposed to him , who looks ridiculous no matter what he puts on his head!

II thought hiring a hat was hilarious but friends who live there say it is very commonly done!

If you can't, try any big store in London, they all have wonderful selections!

Oh an enjoy the wedding! Loads of people wear hats to weddings here so they aren't too hard to find, especially at this time of year.

We watched a the BBCAmerica re-broadcast of the wedding tonight and they said the young lady with the golden tree branch hat was the girlfriend of Camilla's son.


Everyone looked smashing - except Zara Philips. What was she thinking? :)

This morning on the Canadian station, they said the fabric for Camilla's green and gold gown and the hat (the ensemble she wore at St. George's Chapel) was specially made an was inspired by a brooch that belonged to Camilla's grandmother.

I have always thought that you should not wear white to a wedding unless you are the bride. The Queen wore white, as did some others guests.

For hats in London; the department stores as mentioned, and there's a wonderful small hat shop just off Sloane Street; close to Sloane Square, there's a small street just around the corner from the Jo Malone shop.

Marks and Spencer http://www.marksandspencer.com/
have quite a good collection.

Thanks for a hatbox full of fine suggestions. I'll have all summer to think about it. I love the "rent a hat" idea; no transport problems back to the U.S. But a hat would be such a lovely souvenir, I'll probably start at John Lewis and hope I don't have to work my way up.

Well, this was not a wedding so the rule about not wearing white did not apply. It was a blessing of an existing marriage. New set of rules. LOL!

The Royals changing the rules to fit their ideas for marriage didn't begin with Charles and I'm sure won't end there. I'm still waiting to see what happens when one of them "comes out" and refuses to marry the opposite sex just for the sake of the monarchy.

Scarlett: I actually loved Zara Phillips' dress because it was so differnt from the standard english wedding guest frock. Though it did make her bum look bigger than it probably is.

The hats were fabulous. It would be nice if it started a wedding hat trend here. Though I do love them I have an enormous head (runs in my family) and have had a lifelong problem with finding hats that fit. :-(

Big weddings keep Philip Treacy in business! Practically every hat was one of his creations, however, many of the guests were dressed so dreadfully, a mix of morning and lounge suits, and black/grey mixed mornings suits...what a mess!

Why, M_kingdom2, weren't YOU invited??
I'm sure you would have dressed "appropriately", even if the guests weren't (according to your standards).

Perhaps mKingdom was present but masquarading as one of the guests?

I'm from Louisville, thank God for the Derby- I love it that I live in one of the last places in America where a fabulous hat is REALLY important. This year I've got a HUGE mint-green "Mad Hatter" with a periwinkle ribbon. I can't wait.

What an embarrassment for the good people of England! I can't believe people have any interest in "kings" and "queens."

Hello? It's like an entire country believes in the tooth fairy and easter bunny. what a bunch of weirdos.

Yawn, don't tell me that you are implying that there is no Tooth fairy???
Who the hell put that money under my pillow????

People also have an interest in "presidents" and "first ladies", but if the threads on Fodors are anything to go by, the British Royals seem to excite almost as much interest in America as at home. There's a huge worldwide appetite for a media-driven circus, the more bizarre the better. Did someone mention Michael Jackson?