The Duchess of Cornwall isn't the only member of the royal family who is keen on sartorial recycling. Days after Camilla was spotted wearing the same birthday outfit for the second year running, resourceful Princess Anne caused a stir by turning up at Saturday's royal wedding in the same dress she wore at Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer's marriage ceremony 27 years ago.
The Queen's daughter, who turns 58 next month, still fitted perfectly into the size ten Maureen Barker floral-print dress. And she even opted for the same John Boyd hat at the wedding of the Duke of Gloucester's daughter Lady Rose Windsor at St James' Palace in London.
"There are not many women who could put on a dress they wore nearly 30 years ago," said a royal source. "But the Princess has clearly looked after her figure. It also shows just how carefully she must have looked after her wardrobe."
Saturday's wedding isn't the first time Anne has given outfits a repeat airing. She wore the same yellow hat picked out for her daughter Zara Phillips' christening in 1981 for a trip to the Sudanese capital Khartoum in 1985 and again at Royal Ascot three years later. Another favourite is a blue and white dress she donned for a visit to Berlin in 1973, which she wore again at the Sports Writers' Association Awards 25 years later.
Once quizzed about her tendency to wear outfits on numerous occasions, the Princess said: "A good suit goes on forever. If it is properly made and has a classic look, you can go on wearing it ad infinitum. Economy is bred into me. My parents believe that things are not to be wasted. That lesson does last."
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
