Not only has Princess Anne always been one of the most laid-back royals,
she has also tended to be pretty subversive when it comes to fashion. We're here to take
a look at some of the more controversial outfits Princess Anne has worn over her years of service.
As eagle-eyed royal fans may know, Princess Anne has a very unconventional fashion habit
when it comes to funerals or national memorial services. It is traditional for royals to wear
military uniforms to state events — as Hello! reported, they've been doing it since the 19th
century. While it may be normal for men to don their uniforms, Anne is the only female royal
in recent history to ever wear a military uniform. Before Anne appeared on the scene,
the last woman to wear military attire was in 1588 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Anne first got people talking when she wore Rear Admiral trousers to the funeral of her
grandmother, the Queen Mother, in 2002. Many traditionalists found it a little bizarre,
especially since Anne has never actually served in the military. However, her funeral outfit
wasn't just a strange fashion choice. According to Hello!, Anne is an honorary Rear Admiral.
When Anne's father, Prince Philip, died in 2021,
the Daily Mail reported a controversy surrounding her outfit for the funeral.
Apparently, her brothers weren't too keen on her wearing a uniform, as it may have distracted from
their own uniforms. In the end, the queen decided that none of the royals would wear uniforms.
Princess Anne certainly doesn't mind breaking with tradition. One
royal tradition that Anne has broken numerous times is that of rewearing her outfits.
Most royals follow the rules and wear their outfits only once. In fact,
according to The Telegraph, the queen even has measures in place to avoid this practice.
"You can only wear something once, can't you? Otherwise they start
saying 'Oh look, she's in the same frock again!'”
It's probably safe to say that Anne has reworn her outfits more than any other royal. And,
not only does she recycle her outfits, she sometimes pulls out clothes from
decades ago. Depending on who you ask, it's either retro or a double fashion faux pas.
As the Daily Mail reported, Anne once wore the exact same outfit — an off-white coat
ensemble — eight times over the course of 35 years. First, she wore it at Ascot in
1980. Since then, she's worn it at numerous other events. It's clear that Anne has no
qualms about breaking with royal tradition and getting good use out of her clothes.
As any fashionista knows, 2021 has been the year of the matching face mask. For instance,
when President Biden's granddaughters arrived at his inauguration, they all
sported matching face masks, which Elle called a "major fashion moment."
It seems like Princess Anne could take a page from their book. In 2021,
she arrived at Ascot with the complete opposite of a matching face mask — instead,
she paired her stunning purple outfit with a multicolored face mask, featuring the logos
of various jockeys in support of The Injured Jockeys Fund, as noted by Gloucestershire Live.
While we definitely love that Anne was supporting an important cause, it's safe to say that the
mismatched mask was a low fashion point for the royal. As Gloucestershire Live noted,
the mask, quote, "jarred with her large hat and feminine outfit." And, apparently,
Anne was one of the only guests at the event to wear a mask that didn't match her outfit.
As always, Anne forged ahead with her own sense of style!
In 2021, Princess Anne showed up at Ascot in a stunning formal emerald
dress — along with a pair of futuristic sporty sunglasses. As Gloucestershire
Live reported, the look is certainly unusual for a royal. In fact, one royal fan even tweeted:
"Princess Anne at Royal Ascot today. Love her,
hardest working royal but [...] what is with those sunglasses? Looks like Robocop."
We're pretty sure that Robocop-inspired
accessories are not exactly part of the royal dress code.
Of course, Anne has been breaking tradition and wearing her sporty shades for years. According
to Hello! magazine, her Adidas sunglasses are one of her favorite accessories for outdoor events.
And, while they're definitely bizarre with formalwear, Vogue has given her glasses their
stamp of approval, calling Anne a, quote, "ray of light" for her bold, modern eyewear choices,
even if they are "unorthodox." While Anne's sunglasses may be intended for a casual walk to
the gym or a hike in the woods, we have to admit, she's pretty brave to wear them to formal events.
Even though Princess Anne usually looks pretty sharp, she sometimes completely misses the mark
with her outfits. The royal wedding in 2018 was one of those times. For the high-profile event,
she chose a knee-length burgundy coat-dress and matching clutch. The problem? Her dress
looked more like a dressing gown than something a royal princess would want to wear to a wedding.
As The Sun reported, many royal fans took to Twitter to mock her inappropriate outfit.
Several users compared her to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who famously wore a red dressing
gown. Another Twitter user even compared her to the 1920s playwright Noel Coward.
It's pretty clear that Anne's outfit for the wedding wasn't quite right. After all,
no royal — even a daring one — wants to be mocked for their fashion on Twitter!
One of Princess Anne's most inappropriate outfits came early in her life. When she was young,
her grandmother, the Queen Mother, was reportedly appalled by her penchant for mini dresses.
Of course, mini skirts and dresses were the height of fashion in the 1970s when Anne was growing up.
However, as a royal, she was expected to wear more modest hemlines.
As royal expert Ingrid Seward wrote in an article for the Daily Mail,
Anne, quote, "enjoyed dressing daringly, choosing to wear very short skirts, much to the chagrin
of her Grand Mother," who thought knees were "so ugly". Yikes, being a young royal can't be easy!
It's pretty clear that Anne has been blazing the way forward for new fashion rules at Buckingham
Palace. Even though some of her outfits were deemed inappropriate at the time,
she's definitely paved the way for bolder royal fashion in the
future — something many of her female royal family members are undoubtedly thankful for.
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