BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Queen's Speech: Is the Queen wearing an EU hat?

  • Published
    21 June 2017
Share page
About sharing
pic of queen and pic of EU flagImage source, @youngvulgarian/Twitter
Rozina Sini
BBC News

The Queen has opened parliament to lay out the government's plans for the next two years.

At the top of the agenda was Brexit, and as the monarch proposed new laws to prepare the UK for its departure from the European Union (EU), some social users couldn't help noticing the Queen's choice of headwear.

Not to be facetious but the Queen's hat looks like the European Union flagImage source, Federicacocco/Twitter

As the Queen continued to announce the government's legislative programme #QueensSpeech began trending on Twitter with over 80,000 tweets so far.

Some used the hashtag to compare the Queen's floral blue hat to the EU flag.

One Twitter user posted:, external "Nice to see queenie dressed as the EU flag."

pic of queen and pic of EU flagImage source, @youngvulgarian/Twitter

And the Queen's hat did not go unnoticed in Europe either. Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's lead negotiator on Brexit, tweeted, external: "Clearly the EU still inspires some in the UK #QueensSpeech."

Screengrab of Guy Verhofstadt's tweetImage source, Twitter

It's the first time since 1974 that the State Opening of Parliament has been a less formal affair because of the snap election.

Usually the reigning monarch would arrive in a horse drawn carriage. This time the Queen arrived in a car.

line

You might also like:

  • Queen's Speech: Who's really behind the #DayOfRage hashtag?

  • Marco Rubio and Ivanka Trump respond to failed hug gags

  • Peter Crouch jokes about giraffe genes in holiday snap

line

There was also no royal procession into the House of Lords chamber and the Queen wore a dress rather than her crown and ceremonial robes.

Perhaps if she had worn her regal finery there wouldn't have been quite so much interest in her choice of attire.

One user on Twitter argued, external: "All her clothes are carefully considered with optics and message in mind. Absolutely not coincidental."

Another stated:, external "Can't be a coincidence. The Queen's too astute for that. She can always point out that it's true blue, with golden bits on hat for a crown."

By the BBC's UGC and Social News team

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

More on this story

  • 'Dementia tax' ready to hit the rocks

    • Published
      21 June 2017
    Older person
  • Queen's Speech: New data protection law

    • Published
      21 June 2017
    Her Majesty The Queen

Top stories

  • Police make three arrests during Epping protest

    • Published
      44 minutes ago
  • US court rules many of Trump's global tariffs are illegal

    • Published
      1 hour ago
  • Brothers set new record for 9,000-mile Pacific row

    • Published
      23 minutes ago

More to explore

  • Harry set for UK visit but will he see his father?

    A split image showing the faces of Prince Harry and King Charles. Both wear blue blazers and light shirts.
  • 'Inn-justice' for Epping and 'Rayner faces sleaze inquiry'

    The front pages of the Sun and the Daily Telegraph.
  • How coffee chains like Costa lost the matcha generation

    Two young women one with long brown hair and a grey hoodie and one with blonde hair in a slick back bun and a black leather bomber both holding green iced matcha drinks with straws on a street outside a Blank Street Coffee shop in London
  • Manhunt in Australian bush brings long-dismissed conspiracy theorists to the fore

    A man stands on a bus stop holding a sign saying "freedom" in bold capital letters. A line of police officers backs can be seen at the bottom of the picture, all in high vis tops. The street they are on is lined with trees which have lost their leaves
  • I asked a bus passenger to turn his phone down - he called me miserable

    A man in a white t-shirt and blue denim jacket sits on a bus next to the window and uses his phone. His face is out of the camera shot. Another passenger sat next to him also uses their phone.
  • What Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding could look like

    A screenshot taken from Instagram showing Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift hug each other
  • Meet the three-year-olds helping anxious teens spend more time in school

    A teenage girl and a toddler smiling and talking to each other
  • 'Gringos out!': Mexicans protest against tourists and gentrification

    A man shouts into a loudhailer on a recent anti-gentrification march in Mexico City
  • Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch's secrets to successful marriages

    Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch attend "The Roses" UK Premiere at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on August 28, 2025 in London, England.
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    US court rules many of Trump's global tariffs are illegal

  2. 2

    'Inn-justice' for Epping and 'Rayner faces sleaze inquiry'

  3. 3

    Harry set for UK visit but will he see his father?

  4. 4

    How coffee chains like Costa lost the matcha generation

  5. 5

    Police make three arrests during Epping protest

  6. 6

    BBC Proms performance interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters

  7. 7

    US blocks Palestinian leader from attending UN meeting in New York

  8. 8

    White House defends Robert F Kennedy Jr amid CDC turmoil

  9. 9

    'Our baby was robbed of dignity after she died'

  10. 10

    Barrier being built around besieged Sudan city, satellite images show

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Rolf Larsen investigates the case of a missing child

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    DNA
  • Comedian Bob Mortimer chooses his desert island tracks

    • Attribution
      Sounds
    Desert Island Discs: Bob Mortimer
  • Freddie Mercury: from iconic shots to private snaps

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    A Life in Ten Pictures: Freddie Mercury
  • When an Olympic badminton match caused controversy

    • Attribution
      Sounds
    Sporting Witness: Shuttlecock scandal
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.