Princess Anne Switches Up Her Hair for the First Time in 50 Years in New 75th Birthday Portrait

The photo features the dramatic hair transformation.

The Gist

• A new portrait has been released by Buckingham Palace in honor of Princess Anne’s upcoming milestone 75th birthday on August 15.
• In the photo, taken by royal photographer Chris Jackson, the Princess Royal stands alongside her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, in a photo taken at Windsor Castle at the French state banquet on July 8.
• In the photo, Anne swapped her signature bouffant style—a look she’s worn for 50 years—for a chignon, capturing her dramatic hair transformation in an official capacity.

Buckingham Palace has released a never-before-seen photo of Princess Anne to mark her milestone 75th birthday on August 15—and it features the Princess Royal’s first hair transformation in 50 years.

The daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip is photographed alongside her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence in the photo, taken at the French state dinner at Windsor Castle on July 8. The Princess Royal has declined to celebrate her birthday officially—including a party or an official interview to mark the occasion—and instead will go sailing with her husband, The Telegraph reported. The only celebrations the down-to-earth royal agreed to partake in was inviting members of 300 of her charity patronages to Buckingham Palace for a royal engagement, where she spoke of “the pleasure I get from visiting and finding out a bit more about what you do.”

Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Buckingham Palace Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence and Princess Anne in her official 75th birthday portrait

“I’m not here because this was my choice,” she later said at the reception. “You very kindly asked me to become patron of your organizations, so it’s an honor for me to have all of you here.”

Long known as the hardest working member of the royal family, Anne’s official birthday portrait was taken by veteran royal photographer Chris Jackson and was released on August 8, exactly one month after it was taken. At the French state banquet, where King Charles and Queen Camilla hosted President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron, Anne swapped her signature bouffant hairstyle—one she’s worn for five decades—for a chignon. Atop her head was the Festoon Tiara, which she received as a gift in 1973, the year she turned 23, People reported.

Of her signature bouffant hairstyle—which she debuted in 1973 and has kept ever since—Anne said in the 2020 documentary Princess Royal: Anne at 70 that it only “takes me 10 or 15 minutes” to do—which is perhaps why she’s kept it in her rotation for so long.