CHICAGO — The much-mocked hat that Princess Beatrice wore to the royal wedding will be auctioned off for charity, her mother, Sarah Ferguson, told Oprah Winfrey in an interview to air Wednesday.
Beatrice’s taupe creation by Philip Treacy, described as pretzel-esque in shape, has been the laughingstock of the fashion world and even inspired a Facebook page entitled “Princess Beatrice’s Ridiculous Royal Wedding Hat”– attracting nearly 140,000 fans.
“She’s putting it up on eBay to auction it for UNICEF and for children in crisis,” the Duchess of York said on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” according to People magazine.
The 22-year-old royal, whose father is Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II, wore the ridiculed accessory to match her Valentino outfit at the April nuptials of Prince William to Kate Middleton, who are now known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Despite the rampant jokes about the outlandish headpiece, Treacy has defended his work as “gorgeous and beautiful.”
“My inspiration was beauty and elegance, it’s a 21st century royal wedding,” the Irish hat designer told the Hollywood Life blog last week about his design.