Dowager Hatt

**Dowager Sharon Hilary Hatt** (born 1902; died 2008) is a supporting character in the Seventyverse and was the mother of Sir Bertram Topham Hatt, the grandmother of Sir Charles Topham Hatt, the great grandmother of Stephen and Bridget Hatt and Annabelle Regaby and the great-great grandmother of Alice Percival, Richard Topham, Charles Nicholas and Emily Helen Hatt.

## Backstory

Sharon Hatt was born in 1902. As a adult, she would marry Sir Percival Topham Hatt and they would have two sons: Bertram Topham Hatt and Lowham Miller Hatt. Sadly, her husband would pass away and her son, Bertram became Sir Bertram Topham Hatt. Dowager Hatt, as she was now known, would move away from Sodor for a few years until she got a dog, who would later be named "Gremlin" and she would move back to Sodor. When Bertram retired as controller of the North Western Railway, he moved in next door to his mother. Unfortunately, Dowager Hatt's memory got worse the older she got and when her grandson, Charles Topham Hatt had a bad cold, she took charge of the railway. The result was all sorts of confusion and delay; the worst cases being Duck being traumatised by Arry taking Alistair, Mirabel and Benjamin and Philip getting stuck in Ulfstead mine, which earned Edward's ire. After that, Charles banned his grandmother from ever seeing his engines and a downcast Dowager Hatt returned home where she confided to Bertram what had happened. Bertram understood her issues, recounting his experiences from Donald and Douglas' arrival and spoke to Charles about giving her another chance. Unfortunately, Dowager Hatt was old enough to have great-great-grandchildren and a few weeks later, Bertram noticed she wasn't up so he entered her house and when he got to the bedroom, she was shocked to see that Dowager Hatt had died in her sleep. The news shook everyone to the core. A few days later, Bertram and Charles would present a letter she had written apologising for her actions and whilst Edward and Duck didn't forgive her, they were willing to acknowledge she made a mistake and tried to mend things. A special memorial service was later held at Knapford station for Dowager Sharon Hilary Hatt.

## Family

### Sir Bertram Topham Hatt

When Sharon moved back to Sodor, Bertram was delighted. After retiring from the railway, he moved next door to her. After Sharon Hatt lost the trust of the engines and Charles on the day she took charge, Bertram recounted his mistakes from Donald and Douglas' first days on Sodor. Bertram would also speak to Charles about giving her another chance. Unfortunately, Bertram was shocked to discover that Sharon had died in her sleep due to old age. A few days later, he would read a letter from Sharon to the engines and her family, where she apologised for her actions that day.

### Sir Charles Topham Hatt

After Charles and the engines lost their trust in Sharon Hatt, Bertram would talk to Charles about it and ask him to give Sharon another chance. After Sharon passed away, both Bertram and Charles kept her passing quiet for a few days.

### Annabelle Regaby

Dowager Hatt is Annabelle's maternal great-grandmother. She was sceptical of Dowager Hatt's capabilities of handling the North Western Railway when her uncle Charles was sick. And she was right. Annabelle wasn't impressed, yet felt sorry for her great-grandmother after everyone lost trust with her. She was also saddened to know that she died.

## Other Relationships

### Edward

Edward was angry with Dowager Hatt for sending Philip to Ulfstead Mine as the diesel boxcab's light and the mines had gone out and he was struggled with a few trucks on rickety old tracks, which could have collapsed if he was in there for much longer. When Dowager Hatt died, Edward was shocked that she'd died before the engines had a chance to calm down. After Dowager Hatt's final letter was read out to the engines, Edward decided that while he didn't forgive her for putting Philip in danger, he was willing to acknowledge she made a mistake and tried to mend things.

### Duck

Duck was already angry with Dowager Hatt due to the chaos that she had caused whilst running the railway but learning Arry had taken Alistair, Mirabel and Benjamin really pushed him off the edge and he flat out told Dowager Hatt he was never trusting her again. Duck was shocked to learn that she'd died before the engines had a chance to calm down and after her final letter was read out to the engines, Duck decided while he was angry that she let her slip coaches end up in Arry’s buffers, he understood now that it was not out of malicious intent and whilst he didn't regret his message to her, he wished it could have been more tactful.

## Personality

Dowager Hatt was a bit of a thrill-seeker, a big opera singer and hated going slow and resting. She loved her son, Sir Bertram, and her grandson, Sir Charles, and much like them, she did not stand any nonsense and was shown to be stern with them when they did not do what she told him to do just as they are stern with his engines, even though they are adults.

## Attire

Dowager Hatt usually wears a green dress and a green hat, with a gold band and a red flower on it. During the winter she wears a purple dress and purple hat with a lighter purple flower on it.

In Dowager Hatt's Busy Day, she wears a dark pink dress with cream buttons and pockets and a cream hat with a dark pink flower on it.

## Differences between the episodes and the series

* In the model era of the show, Dowager Hatt was a visitor from the Mainland but became a permanent resident of Sodor in the CGI era. In this series, Dowager Hatt moved back to Sodor during the Series 5 Redux.
* By the time of Dowager Hatt's Busy Day, it's implied that the reason she mixed up the engines' names and assigned Arry to the Slippies is because she's going senile.