Princess Anne narrowly avoids faux-pas as she supports King Charles

The Princess Royal is famously renowned for her unflappable nature and stoicism.

But the King's sister suffered a rare misstep as she attended the state banquet for the Emir of Qatar at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.

Princess Anne, 74, was given a prominent seat next to the Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the top table in the ballroom.

After the King delivered his speech, he raised a toast to the Emir and his wife, Sheikha Jawaher, and Anne almost took a sip of her drink before clinking her glass with Sheikh Tamim.

Cameras captured the moment the Princess Royal appeared to realise her faux pas, as she quickly corrected herself and turned to the Emir to raise a toast.

Anne looked beautiful in a vintage cream gown with puffed sleeves and embroidery detailing across the skirt.

She teamed the dress with a pearl and aquamarine necklace, diamond earrings and the Aquamarine Pineflower tiara, which was a wedding present from her late grandmother, the Queen Mother.

And for the first time, the Princess Royal and the Duchess of Edinburgh wore their Royal Family Orders from King Charles, as well as Queen Elizabeth II.

The diamond-encased miniature portraits of the monarchs are set on coloured silk bows and worn on the left shoulder, with pale blue for Charles and yellow for Elizabeth.

© Getty

Queen Camilla debuted another one of Queen Elizabeth II's tiaras - the Diamond Kokoshnik Tiara – while Sophie opted for her aquamarine and diamond tiara.

Earlier in the day, Anne joined the senior royals at a lunch for the Emir and his wife at Buckingham Palace.

© PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

She was absent from the state banquet for the Emperor and Empress of Japan in June, after suffering injuries in a horse-related incident on her Gatcombe Park estate.

Anne was hospitalised for five days with a mild concussion and head injuries, but soon returned to her royal duties the following month as she supported Team GB at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The Princess Royal often tops the hardest working royal list, carrying out hundreds of engagements around the UK and overseas every year.