Princess Anne rewore a 42-year-old dress at the the Master Mariners’ Centenary Banquet on Thursday. Getty Images
Princess Anne proved once again that the best vintage shop is her own closet.
The Princess Royal, 75, stepped out for the Honourable Company of Master Mariners’ Centenary Banquet at London’s Guildhall on Thursday in a gauzy pale yellow gown printed with pink blooms.
Royal watchers quickly clocked the dress as a repeat from a royal engagement 42 years ago.
The princess was last photographed in the dress on a 1984 trip to Gambia. Getty Images
At 75, the Princess Royal remains the family’s most committed wardrobe recycler. Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
White opera gloves and a yellow clutch finished the look both times, decades apart. Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
Video captured Princess Anne arriving at the black-tie affair and greeting her hosts on the arm of husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence. She attended as a Past Master of the centuries-old maritime guild, joined by her brother Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The princess debuted the floral frock during a 1984 trip to Gambia, where she traveled as a patron of Save the Children UK.
On both outings, decades apart, she styled the gown with white opera gloves and a coordinating yellow clutch. It’s unclear whether the gold and pearl statement necklace from the 1984 version made a return.
“Still fits it like a glove, such beauty and elegance,” one fan wrote on X. “True beauty never ages,” added another.
In March, Anne hosted the Nigerian state banquet in an ivory coat dating to 1969. Getty Images
She first wore the piece to the “Run Wild, Run Free” premiere at age 18. Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
At Royal Ascot this month, Anne revived a pink skirt suit she’d worn to the races 25 years earlier. BACKGRID
While the royal family is known to repeat outfits, none digs deeper in their closet than Anne. In March, the “Queen of Recycling” (as she’s been dubbed) rewore a 57-year-old coat for the Nigerian state banquet at Windsor Castle, a piece she first slipped on at 18.
Earlier this month, she brought a pink skirt suit to Royal Ascot that she first wore to the races in 2001.
She’s traced the thrift to a post-war childhood. “A good suit goes on forever,” Anne has said of investing in pieces built to last.
“If it is properly made and has a classic look, you can wear it ad infinitum.”
She’s also dressed to honor her late mother, wearing Queen Elizabeth II’s sapphire brooch on a 2022 tour of Uganda.
Forty-two years on, the yellow gown holds up, and so does her case for shopping your own closet.