10 weird British royal wedding fascinators, from Princess Beatrice’s notorious ‘toilet seat’ hat to Oprah’s bold topper at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s ceremony

Princess Beatrice

Possibly the most famous fascinator in existence was the one donned by Princess Beatrice to the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The choice of headdress, designed by royal favourite hat designer Philip Treacy, sparked fierce debate on social media almost immediately, but the general view was that her fascinator was in rather poor taste and it was quickly nicknamed the “toilet seat” hat.

Beatrice’s sister Eugenie actually said in an interview with Express that the backlash following the hat’s first outing brought Beatrice to tears. Some good came of the whole thing though when the hat was auctioned off for charity, raising over US$130,000.

Zara Tindall

Zara Tindall, the daughter of Princess Anne, also wowed with her choice of hat at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding. The large disc-shaped creation designed by Philip Treacy certainly was a statement piece!

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson

William and Kate’s wedding was an excellent occasion for overblown hats, apparently. Wearing a full head-to-toe look by designer Philip Treacy, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson – a British socialite and friend of the Prince of Wales – possibly brought the “something blue” that tradition calls for!

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey’s choice of topper by Philip Treacy was an interesting one at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The hat matched her custom-made Stella McCartney dress. Little did we know at the time, this was the first of a few shockers the trio of Oprah, Meghan and Harry would serve up!

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Sarah Ferguson

Sarah Ferguson is always a stand-out in a crowd when it comes to sartorial choices – and the green hat she sported at daughter Princess Eugenie’s wedding was no different. It was everything we’ve come to expect from the bubbly Duchess of York.

Poppy Delevingne

Also spotted at Eugenie’s wedding was Poppy Delevingne wearing a rather eye-catching electric blue feather fascinator. We’re not surprised that it was tricky to manoeuvre when she was outside in the wind.

Prince Harry

This one isn’t so much OTT as it is just plain cute. Prince Harry wore a wide-brimmed hat when he was a pageboy at his uncle, Earl Charles Spencer’s, first wedding. The whole outfit was inspired by a 1786 painting of John Charles Spencer, Viscount Althorp by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

Laura Lopes

Camilla Parker-Bowles’ daughter, Laura Lopes, opted for a rather complicated-looking metallic fascinator when she attended her mother’s wedding to Prince Charles.

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Princess Beatrice (again)

Princess Beatrice makes the list again with Philip Treacy – this time because of the butterfly-themed fascinator she sported to the wedding of Peter Phillips (the son of Princess Anne) to Autumn Kelly. Beatrice’s bold fascinator choices could probably fill a list all on their own!

Karen Spencer

Karen Spencer, the wife of Earl Charles Spencer, looked rather fetching in a purple bow disc hat designed by Rachel Trevor Morgan at Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle.