Princess Anne Is a Modern Fashion Icon Hiding in Plain Sight
To this day, the words “royal style icon” remain inextricably linked to the name Princess Diana. And while the late royal deserves that legacy and then some, it’s high time that another in the family joins her in getting their sartorial due. Princess Anne has been quietly serving up looks since the 1970s—even though all eyes were on her at the time. The decade saw her both serve a cake exactly as tall as she was at her wedding to a commoner and valiantly thwart an attempted kidnapping. (“Not bloody likely” was reportedly her response to the attacker holding her at gunpoint.) In fact, there was so much going on for Anne, it was easy to miss how ahead of the game she was wardrobe-wise. She was one of the very first prominent women in the royal family to dabble in conventionally masculine style, and the past two decades have seen her predict so many trends that we wouldn’t be surprised if she was a fixture of Demna Gvasalia’s mood boards circa Vetements or present-day at Balenciaga. From capes to color-blocking to oversized trench coats to statement sporty sunglasses, celebrate her 72nd birthday with a look back at her unexpected and unsung stylistic prowess over the years.
Horse Trials in the U.K. with members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 1968.
Fall wardrobe inspiration, courtesy of Anne’s getup for a stroll across the grounds of Sandringham House in 1970.
As evidenced by this ‘70s-tastic look worn to a Sandhurst Military Academy parade in 1973, she’s never shied from a bold hue.
Whereas Anne’s then-fiancé Captain Mark Phillips (seen on the right) preferred to play it safe, the royal never shied from standing out at events such as the ‘73 premiere of Jesus Christ Superstar.
She had major flight attendant vibes on a trip to Kiev a a month later.
And didn’t let an arm sling cramp her style after falling off a horse on that same trip.
Anne (seen here on her way to a theater in London) was one of the first women in the royal family to experiment with a hint of menswear in the public eye.
By the time her son Peter’s christening rolled around, Queen Elizabeth II (left) knew she had nothing on Anne when it came to personal style.
Like Diana, Anne was a master at maternity style when pregnant with her two children.
She’s proven equally open to getting dirty on the horse racing track and looking elegant in the stands.
Still considered a rather daring choice today, Anne was regularly wearing capes in early thirties.
Peter and Zara—seen here at the 1984 Royal Windsor Horse Show—had no idea how lucky they were to have their mum as their stylist.
Queen Elizabeth II, is that you? Anne was a dead ringer for her mum at the Windsor Horse Trials in 1984.
She brought a taste of the ‘80s with her when traveling to Russia at the start of the next decade.
Did you even know what color blocking was back in 2004? Anne sure did, as evidenced by this photo taken on the grounds of the Windsor International Horse Trials.
And so begins Anne and her Adidas sunglasses’s love affair.
Bucket hats became royal dress code appropriate when Anne attended the opening day of the 2012 Olympic Games.
Take out the cane and walkie-talkie, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see something like this on Bella Hadid in the months to come.
Maybe just marvel this look from afar. Anne may just be the only person on Earth who could pull off pairing that hat with those sunnies.
Anne’s last pre-lockdown appearance has us mourning the looks we missed while she was sticking indoors.
And now that she’s back in the public eye, the royal has yet to disappoint.
