The Princess Royal has taken her love of recycling her wardrobe to its most extreme limit yet by rewearing a dress she first used as an 18 year old.
Princess Anne wore the gown, now almost 60 years old, to the State Banquet held in honour of the President of Nigeria at the start of his State Visit to the UK.
The outfit was first seen on Anne in 1969 and it’s barely changed in the almost six decades since.
The dress has plenty of 60s flair and the Princess had kept the distinctive print decoration on the wide cuffs of the sleeves. The only major alteration was a new collar – this time round, Princess Anne chose a discreet low collar without the print that had adorned it in 1969.
As this was a white tie event, the Princess wore a tiara, choosing the Meander diadem that has become one of her favourite pieces and which was given to her by her parents in 1972, several years after she first wore the dress it accompanied at the State Banquet.
It was a notably sensible outfit choice from Anne although it looked stunning on a night full of royal suprises.
The Princess of Wales chose a very modern gala gown, from Andrew Gn, in bright bottle green which she matched with the pearl and diamond Lover’s Knot tiara. The colour scheme of green and white matched the Nigerian flag to perfection and was seen as a real soft power move from the Princess.
Queen Camilla, meanwhile, chose a cream coat dress from one of her favourite couturiers, Fiona Clare, and crowned it with the sapphire and diamond tiara created for the royal collection by Queen Elizabeth II in the early years of her reign.
This diadem is a go to for Queen Camilla now – it was the first tiara she wore in the reign of her husband, King Charles III, and it’s been a favourite at State Banquets making an appearance at several, including that given for the US President, Donald Trump, during his second State Visit in September 2025.
The Duchess of Gloucester echoed the colours chosen by Queen Camilla in her outfit. She chose a navy evening gown and wore the all diamond Iveagh tiara for the State Banquet.
Earlier in the day, King Charles and Queen Camilla had led the official welcome for the President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, and his wife, Remi, as they arrived for the historic State Visit. It’s the first time in 37 years that a President of Nigeria has made a State Visit to the UK.
A carriage procession through Windsor was followed by a full military display at the castle. King Charles changed the usual lunch for an afternoon audience as President Tinubu is observing Ramadan.
The State Banquet was exclusively vegetarian and a mocktail was served beforehand.
