The Princess Royal already had the title of ultimate royal
fashion recycler and she just confirmed that by wearing a suit
that’s over half a century old on her latest big visit.
As Princess Anne toured Singapore with her husband, Sir Tim
Laurence, she pulled the ultimate style surprise by choosing an
outfit that she first wore 52 years ago.
The pale beige safari suit made an appearance as the Princess
visited the Rolls-Royce Seletar Campus during her stay in
Singapore. The two piece was a favourite of hers back in the early
1970s and is still on royal duty right here in 2025.
We’re used to seeing Anne fall back on long standing favourites
and her passion for recycling has now grown to include using items
she inherited from her mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
In 2023, a year after the death of the late Queen, Anne made a
very personal tribute to her by wearing the admiral’s cloak that
Elizabeth II had used so famously in portraits of her by Cecil
Beaton. In February 2024, the Princess wore a purple coat that had
been another favourite of her mother.
And it’s made royal fashion followers wonder if this retro trend
could be expanded just a little more.
It’s not unheard of for royals to share wardrobes. The heir to
the Dutch throne recently made headlines by wearing a green dress
that had first belonged to her grandmother. Princess Amalia wore
the gown which had first been used by Princess Beatrix who was
Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013.
Amalia’s mother, Queen Maxima, has also worn the dress.
In Spain, a famous photo of Queen Letizia with her husband’s
family showed her using a red striped dress first seen on her
mother-in-law, Queen Sofia.
And Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden has also worn clothes that
were first seen on her mother, Queen Silvia.
In fact, given the amazing collection of outfits that most royal
houses have, it’s a shame that we don’t see more of this cross
generational recycling going on.
Being totally basic about it, this season is all about retro
with a big focus on the 70s and there are some amazing royal looks
from the decade they used to say style forgot that would tick all
the fashion boxes this winter.
Raiding the royal wardrobes would bolster those green
credentials while bringing out some of the looks that have actually
inspired the trends everyone is chasing.
Royal fashion from times gone by is already big – there are
plenty of Instagram and Pinterest accounts charting previous
stylish moments while the Royal Collection Trust chose to mark the
centenary of the birth of Queen Elizabeth II by putting on one of
its biggest ever style exhibitions which will feature hundreds of
items from the royal wardrobe including a good dose of 70s
chic.
It’s just one more reason to hope that the royals all make more
like Anne and start dressing, quite literally, from the 1970s.
She’s always been the Princess to keep up with and she just proved
that point once more. With style.
