The Queen has worn countless hats throughout her 70-year reign, but her newest one has a special meaning behind it.
On 24 August, as Ukraine celebrated its independence day, The Queen received a new hat from Ukraine as a symbol of the relationship shared between the United Kingdom and Ukraine.
Melinda Simmons, the UK Ambassador to Ukraine, tweeted a photo of her receiving the hat on behalf of The Queen alongside a photo of the cornflower blue hat with yellow flowers on it—the national colours of Ukraine.
“I was presented with this beautiful hat designed by Ruslan Baginskiy for the Queen, to mark Ukrainian Independence Day and the relationship between the UK and Ukraine,” she wrote, alongside flag emojis for the two countries.
Ruslan Baginskiy, a Ukrainian designer, designed The Queen’s new hat. According to his official website, his designs are inspired by “art, Ukrainian national costumes, archival family photos and vintage fashion shootings” and are the results of bold experiments “with traditional shapes and creates hats in the zeitgeist—comfortable, utilitarian, trendy.”
In addition to The Queen, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Kaia Gerber, Madonna, and Bella and Gigi Hadid are some of the famous names to also sport Ruslan Baginskiy hats; the brand has also been featured in The New York Times, Vogue, ELLE, and Glamour.
The Queen marked Ukraine’s independence day celebrations with a special message to President Zelenskyy and his people. In the statement, Her Majesty wrote: “It gives me great pleasure to send Your Excellency and the people of Ukraine my warmest greetings on the celebration of your Independence Day.
“In this most challenging year, I hope that today will be a time for the Ukrainian people, both in Ukraine and around the world, to celebrate their culture, history and identity.
“May we look to better times in the future. Elizabeth R”
