Leonor and Sofía still don't wear hats or tiaras, while the Dutch princesses are already experimenting: why the Spanish court is waiting

A tiara, a wide-brimmed hat, a small fascinator with a veil - in European monarchies this isn't just a fashion choice. It's protocol, age and a sign that a young princess is becoming an institution. That's why it stands out that Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía have so far almost never worn either wide or small formal hats, and nobody has seen them in a tiara.

Their peers at other courts have been experimenting for a long time. Amalia, Alexia and Ariane of the Netherlands, Elisabeth of Belgium, Ingrid Alexandra of Norway and Alexandra of Hanover have worn everything - from discreet diadems to big hats and lace veils.

The difference isn't about who likes fashion more. It's about a stage in institutional life, about each country's protocol and about the image each court wants to build for its heirs. As an adult, Leonor has not yet attended a major state dinner at the Royal Palace or an evening gala with the jewellery and dress that usually come before a tiara. Sofía's role is smaller still. Both dress by restrained rules: simple lines, recognisable colours, Spanish designers, discreet accessories. For them, fashion isn't there to attract attention.

Fashion and protocol expert María G. Gómez says headwear instantly changes how an outfit is read - it adds ceremony, rank and personality. She believes the Spanish court may want the two to first build their own, simple image. A big sculptural hat easily makes a young woman look older, and not wearing one, according to Gómez, also sends a message: naturalness, closeness and a refusal to overplay the role of princess.

The Dutch sisters show how much a single piece can say. On Prinsjesdag, 15 September 2026, the day the Dutch king opens the parliamentary year, Amalia wore a gold diadem with an olive-green Rachel Gilbert dress. Alexia chose a burgundy Maison Michel fedora from her mother Máxima's wardrobe, with a dark green Reiss dress. Ariane wore half of an old hat of Máxima's, reworked so that it looked like a wide diadem. The year before, she had worn a Philip Treacy hat, also from her mother's closet, with a blue Victoria Beckham dress and sapphire-and-diamond jewellery.

Amalia started in 2022, at her first Prinsjesdag, with a small pink Fabienne Delvigne hat from Máxima's wardrobe, decorated with two diamond brooches her mother had already worn. She wore a similar piece, but black, in September at the funeral of Norway's King Harald V. There, Ingrid Alexandra, whose role grew after her grandfather's death, also wore a discreet black piece with a small mesh veil. Headwear there was a sign of respect, not style.

For Belgium's National Day in 2026, Elisabeth chose a white outfit and a classic wide-brimmed hat by Maison Fabienne Delvigne, the house closely tied to the Belgian court. Alexandra of Hanover, granddaughter of Grace Kelly, wore a black Prada dress and a small brimless Maison Krasnova hat on Monaco's National Day in November 2025 - the cut associated with Jackie Kennedy and with her grandmother.

Spain has no British tradition of Ascot and royal weddings, where a hat is a mandatory part of women's dress. So the real question isn't why Leonor doesn't wear a hat, but when it will make sense for her to start. The most likely answer: the first big piece - and, even more symbolically, the first tiara - will come with a new stage: a royal wedding, a state ceremony, a major reception. Until then, the absence of a hat is a message in itself. Is it modesty - or a carefully calculated image?