Princess Anne’s Wrap Dress Is One of Her Boldest Looks Ever

The Princess Royal is in a bit of a style renaissance lately, from daring looks to new hairstyles.

The Gist

• Princess Anne—long known as the hardest working member of the royal family—has had a tried-and-true wardrobe and hairstyle for decades.
• Lately, though, as she approaches her milestone 75th birthday in August, the Princess Royal has been taking fashion risks, from a dress with teardrop-shaped cutouts earlier this year to a July 16 cobalt blue wrap dress.
• The daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip also stunned when she switched up her bouffant hairstyle for the first time in nearly 40 years while attending a state banquet at Windsor Castle earlier this month.

Just over a week after switching up her signature hairstyle, Princess Anne stepped out in one of her boldest looks yet—a cobalt blue wrap dress.

The Princess Royal wore the look to the Household Division Musical Spectacular 2025 on July 16 at Horse Guards Parade in London, which she paired with three-strand pearls, a sapphire and diamond cluster brooch, and gloves that matched her blue ensemble. While Anne—the only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip—typically has a no fuss approach to fashion, the Princess Royal has been taking fashion and beauty risks lately, including wearing a dress with daring teardrop-shaped cutouts to a dinner at Windsor Castle earlier this year. That look, interestingly, was also cobalt blue—showing that the longtime hardest working royal has an apparent affinity for the shade.

Anne has long been regarded as the hardest working member of the royal family, likely leaving her little time to think too much about fashion. Even yesterday, Anne’s schedule was jam-packed: in addition to the musical spectacular, Anne also accepted an honorary doctorate at the University of Huddersfield, among other engagements—and her “packed schedule reinforces her reputation as one of the most active members of the royal family,” according to GB News, which added that Anne, 74, “regularly undertakes multiple engagements in a single day, maintaining a demanding program of official duties across the U.K.”

When it comes to style, Anne rarely deviates “from her tried and tested trademark looks,” typically wearing “smart, fitted skirt suits for royal engagements, occasionally dabbling in smart cigarette trousers and tailored jackets,” according to Hello!. But as Anne approaches her milestone 75th birthday in August, it seems the Princess Royal is keen for a style shakeup—and that goes for a hair transformation, too, in addition to wearing bold wardrobe choices.

While attending the state banquet for France’s President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron at Windsor Castle on July 8, Anne wore a new hairstyle for the first time in nearly 40 years, eschewing her normal bouffant updo in favor of a chic low bun, showing off her diamond Festoon tiara—which she received three months before her 23rd birthday in May 1973. Anne paired the Festoon tiara with a white gown with lace trim, a bolero jacket, and elbow-high gloves for the state banquet.

Speaking about her tried-and-true hairstyle, Anne said in the 2020 documentary Princess Royal: Anne at 70 that it takes little time to do her hair each day. Referencing actress Erin Doherty—who played Anne in Netflix’s The Crown—and how it was said it would take hours to recreate her bouffant, Anne said, “Actually, I read an article the other day about the—I don’t watch Netflix and The Crown, but the actress was talking about how long it took them to do their hair like I did. And I’m thinking, ‘How could you possibly take that long?’ I mean, it takes me 10 or 15 minutes.”

Rosie Harte, a royal fashion commentator and the author of The Royal Wardrobe, told The Telegraph of the Princess Royal, “I think the interest in Anne’s style is rooted in a quest for authenticity. As we’ve come to think more critically about our clothes and how we interact with fashion as consumers, there’s been a real push to find your ‘personal style,’ something that, like Anne’s wardrobe, is lived in, not curated. Her no-nonsense approach to fashion is no doubt genuine, but probably emphasized to complement her role as the hardest working royal in the family.”

“That’s a lot of time and effort, and she’s keen to send the message that she spends that time focusing on the details of the visit and not just optics, shifting the focus away from her as an individual and towards the cause,” Harte added.