Are the bear skin hats worn by soldiers at Buckingham Palace really made of bear skin?

Question

Is it one of those things where they were traditionally made of bear skin or are they really?

Answer 1

the bear skin hats are not synthetic.  thy are real and it really ought to be stopped.  but the monarchy are selfish, spoilt people who think so called blood sports are fun.  I doubt they have a conscience about such things

Answer 2

They were all traditionally made from Bearskin, then for a time they went totally synthetic. Nowadays I believe there's a mix and it's up to the individual whether or not they want a synthetic or a real bearskin one.

Answer 3

Maybe they were once but not anymore. They are made of a synthetic material

Answer 4

When Lady Di died, a TV Newsman

said that the Queens Soldiers Bear skin

hats are really made from Bear skin,

but no Bears were killed for that purpose.

Answer 5

yes they are . most bears are in canada. so i hear about this from time to time. anyway the hats and the mitts are made of real black bear fur.

what they are doing now to aviod killing bears is to recycle bear skin. the old hats and such are repaired. when new ones are needed they buy used bear skins . no more bears are killed to make the uniforms.  i know this all to be fact.

Answer 6

I would doubt it very much. Originally they definitely were but now almost certainly not - can you imagine the animal rights enthusiasts standing for that?

Answer 7

I live in Canada and I can tell you no bears are being killed for the bearskin hats. Yes, the hats are real bearskins, but most are older. These things last for decades when cared for. I assume that if new skins are needed that they are quietly provided from bears that have died naturally or had to be put down because they were a threat to people.

And I hope people realize that GW was pulling your leg. Bears in North America still have teeth and claws and are remain lethal. Do not attempt to pat them or offer them treats. They are killers.

Answer 8

They are still made from bear skins. I watched a program a few weeks ago where they said that they are made from the skins of bears. They tried making them from synthetic fabric but it didn't work out.  GW are you totally nuts?

Answer 9

They are still made of bearskin.  Apparently no suitable alternative has been found :(

Answer 10

yes but dont worry they are not still killing bears for hats. the hats are handed from one troop to another. this is the truth.

Answer 11

yes, though they are trying to find synthetic alternatives.

Answer 12

I'm sure the bearskins are made from Canadian Black Bear skin. They looked into man made materials but they look terrible in the rain, which happens a lot. Each bearskin is worth about £650 at least. A staff seargent was in the paper yesterday for pinching bearskins from army stores and selling them on Ebay.

Some of the Scottish regimental hats look very similar to bearskins from the distance but are black ostrich feathers when viewed close up.

Answer 13

Yes they are but there is a vote out at the moment asking the public to tell the queen to shed the skin and use faux. Thnik it was on www.unbearealistic.com or something. Did you also know that due to certain campers in Yosemite Campgrounds the majority of the wild bears now have become so domesticated and used to leaving off scraps that they have no teeth, no claws and an average age of 8 years. I was informed that there are only about 6 real wild beras left in Yosemite. On asking someone on my visit last month the best way to see a bear, he said go to a campground cover yourself in peanut butter and have your camera ready. Apparently this is now become top sport in Yosemit for certain idiots. As the bears have no claws or teeth they cannot apparently hurt you. Come on wild bears my votes with you

Answer 14

Yes, originally it was real bear skin from Canada when it was acceptable and fashionable.  Now it wouldn't do of course.  I know the Monarchy is slow to change with the times - but not that slow.

Answer 15

For every hat,theres a bear freezing it`s bollocks off somewhere!

Answer 16

Originaly I suppose that they were made from bearskin, but for years now they have been made from synthetics.

Answer 17

Sadly yes. In todays world you think they could find an acceptable synthetic alternative but no!!. They would rather go kill a bear just to stick it dead on some guys head than think of a future world without live bears!!!

Answer 18

Yes they are, but as soldiers leave, bearskins are passed on so bears are not being killed for the hats.  Saw it on telly afew weeks ago.

Answer 19

Originally I suppose they were made of actual bearskin bit nowadays they are synthetic.

Answer 20

There real not synthetic.

Answer 21

No there made of old mops.