 It came into particular vogue among civil servants and diplomats in Whitehall and, to that extent, rather belied the stereotypical view, that lasted until well after the Second World War, of civil servants as a "bowler hat" brigade.The Homburg had initially been popularised in Britain by King Edward VII who often visited Bad Homburg in Germany.It was essentially a more rigid variant of the trilby which had been fashionable since George du Maurier's novel of that name was published in 1894.