The
Balmoral
is a traditional
Scottish bonnet or cap that can be worn with Scottish Highland
Dress. It is named after Balmoral Castle, a Royal residence in
Scotland.
Dating back to at least the 16th century, it
takes the form of a soft, knitted wool cap, originally with a
voluminous, flat crown, traditionally blue in color, sometimes
with a diced band (usually red-and-white check) around the lower
edge and with a colored
toorie
(pompom) set in the middle of the crown.
Today the crown of
the bonnet is smaller, made of finer cloth and tends to be blue
or Lovat green. Tapes in the band originally used to secure the
bonnet tightly are sometimes worn hanging from the back of the
cap. A black bow (originally a field sign symbolizing the
wearer's loyalty to the House of Hanover) or a regimental or
clan badge is worn on the left hand side with the bonnet usually
worn tilted to the right to display these emblems.
As worn by Scottish Highland regiments the
blue bonnet gradually developed into a stiffened felt cylinder,
often decorated with ostrich plumes sweeping over the crown from
left to right (as well as flashes of bearskin or painted turkey
hackles). In the 19th century this tall cap evolved into the
extravagant full dress 'feather bonnet' while, as an undress
cap, the plainer form continued in use until the mid-19th
century. By then known as the 'Kilmarnock' bonnet, it was
officially replaced by the Glengarry bonnet, which had been in
use unofficially since the late eighteenth century and was
essentially a folding version of the cylindrical military cap.
The name 'Balmoral' as applied to this
traditional headress appears to date from the late 19th century
and in 1903 a blue bonnet in traditional style but with a
stiffened crown was adopted briefly by some Lowland regiments as
full dress headgear. After the Second World War, while all other
Scottish regiments chose the Glengarry, a soft blue Balmoral was
adopted as full dress headgear by the Black Watch (Royal
Highland Regiment) and was worn with the green No.1 Dress jacket
and with khaki No.2 or 'Service' Dress. As part of the
amalgamation of the Scottish Regiments in 2006, the military
Balmoral was done away with and all battalions of the Royal
Regiment of Scotland now wear the Glengarry.
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