Princess Anne’s Style: her best 70s outfits

Princess Anne will attend London Fashion Week on 18 February to present Rosh Mahtani with the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.

While The Queen’s daughter may not be the first person that pops into your head, when you think of royal fashion, Anne was reigning queen of style in the 1970s.

Here we look back on some of her best outfits from the decade.

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Long before Keira Knightley brought the Baker boy hat back in style in 2003 in Love Actually, a 21-year-old Princess Anne rocked one with matching green lime coat dress which she wore while inspecting soldiers on parade in Warmister, Wilshitre in October 1971.

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Proving matchy-matchy can be chic and not kitsch, the Princess Royal looked stunning in a printed shirt dress with matching ribbon around her hat when she attended a garden fete in Great Somerford, WIltshre with husband Mark Phillips in June 1975.

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No look at Anne’s 70s style would be complete without taking a minute to admire the gown she wore in 1973 to wed Captain Mark Phillips.

Designed by Maureen Baker from ready-to-wear label Susan Small, the Tudor-style gown features a high collar and medieval-style bell sleeves. It was reported at the time that Anne designed many of the features of the stunning gown herself, which was considered simplistic and very much in keeping with 1970s bridal trends.

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Fashion rule number one: Black and white are always chic. Newlywed Anne putt his simple rule into practice when she left for her honeymoon looking radiant in a black coat with white fur collar and cuffs and a matching hat.

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Never afraid to stand out in a crowd, the Princess Royal mixed her bright orange and yellow dress with a yellow cardigan and hat when she attended a Passing Out Parade at Sandhurst Military academy. The thrifty princess would be seen wearing this same dress eleven years later.

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It takes a very confident fashionista to pull off a clashing, riot of prints, but the Princess does just that in this multicoloured checkered dress with bold purple jacket and hat.

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Anne knows the power the perfect hat has to pull her look together from dressed up to polished royal. While visiting troops in Berlin, Germany, in June 1975, the young princess looks glam in her white hat, with thick black ribbon trim tied in a bow, which pulls together the colours in her bold geometric dress and accessories.

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A keen horsewoman, the Princess is never more radiant than when she is in the saddle. The Olympic dressage competitor looks smart and stylish in her top hat and dark riding jacket while she competes at an event in Kyiv, Russia, in September 1973.

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With its ruffled high neck and balloon sleeves, this colourful gown Princess Anne wore to a movie premiere wouldn’t look out of place on the red carpet if it was seen today on the Duchess of Cambridge.

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Fashion rule number two: Tweed suits are always in style. The Princess adds a fur hat to her suit for warmth. She also adds a touch of glamour by adding a large brooch and earrings to the outfit.

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Anne pulls of nautical chic with ease by pairing a red Breton top with white pants as she takes a spin on a yacht with Prince Phillip in 1970. This picture also shows off Anne’s perfect 70s bouffant, while the dark shades add a touch of rock star glam.