Princess Sofia of Sweden has lent a selection of her hats to a new fashion exhibition. The royal mom of four, along with King Carl XVI Gustaf's sister Princess Christina, inaugurated the new "Hat Couture" exhibition at the Royal Armoury in Stockholm. Sofia looked radiant in red, topped with a velvet headband, for the joint outing on Oct. 23. Prince Carl Philip's wife and his 82-year-old paternal aunt both lent pieces to the "Hat Couture – Royal Hat Fashion in the Royal Armoury exhibit." Among Sofia's hats on display is the yellow straw hat by Joanne Edwards that she wore to a thanksgiving service in 2023 to celebrate her father-in-law's 50th anniversary on the throne, as well as the pink fascinator she wore to the christening of Princess Madeleine's son, Prince Nicolas, in 2015.
In addition to headwear worn and still owned by Sofia and Christina, the exhibit — about hats worn by Swedish royals "from the mid-20th century, the golden age of hats, to the 2000s" — features chapeaus worn by Queen Louise, Princesses Sibylla and Princess Margaretha, and a "few elegant men's hats" like Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf’s tall grey Derby hat and a Borsalino hat.
"It is fantastic fun to show both colorful retro hats from the Livrustkammaren collection and modern creations from Princess Christina and Princess Sofia. We are very grateful for their generous donations and help in putting the fine hats and hair ornaments in their context," Malin Grundberg, museum director at the Livrustkammaren, said in a press release, translated to English.
According to the museum, "Hat Couture" marks the first time that royal hats from the Royal Armoury collection have gone on display in their own exhibition. Following the engagement on Thursday, the Prince Couple's Instagram shared a reel featuring photos from the visit, including a snapshot of Sofia trying on a hat.
"Today Princess Christina and I opened "Hat Couture - royal hat fashion in the Livrust Chamber". There, our hats and creations are displayed along with other royal hats from the museum's collections," the video was captioned, translated to English. "Everything from colorful pill jars, fancy turbans and blooming creations - all created by incredible modists! The exhibition is open until the end of 2026, welcome! @livrustkammaren."
On social media earlier this week, a previously unseen photo of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia's daughter, Princess Ines, surfaced online. The adorable picture was included in a thank-you card sent out in response to well-wishes for Ines' christening, which took place on June 13. Inside the card, a message from the royal couple read: "We would like to extend our warmest thanks for your kind wishes and thoughtfulness on the occasion of the Christening of our daughter, Princess Ines."
Sofia and Carl Philip welcomed Ines, their fourth child, in February. The Prince and Princess are also parents to sons Prince Alexander, Prince Gabriel and Prince Julian.