Princess Anne in white suit smiling© Getty

Princess Anne oozes glamour in unearthed tiara portrait from 21st birthday

The Princess Royal was pictured wearing a tiara for her milestone

Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
December 9, 2024

A rarely-seen portrait of the Princess Royal is set to go on display next year in Edinburgh.

The photograph was taken by Norman Parkinson in the gardens of Frogmore House in 1971 to mark Princess Anne's 21st birthday.

The young Princess, wearing a light green, long-sleeved silk dress, stands in front of a painting by Gordon Davies.

The artwork, created especially for the portrait, features a white horse bearing Anne's standard and galloping along a river bank, with a castle and bridge in the background.

The Princess also sports the diamond Meander tiara, which belonged to her paternal grandmother, Princess Alice of Battenberg – later Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark.

Princess Anne on her 21st birthday in 1971© Norman Parkinson / Iconic Images
Princess Anne on her 21st birthday in 1971

The full diamond bandeau features a Greek key pattern and honeysuckle motifs, with Anne styling the jewels into her signature updo. 

In a nod to the makeup trends at the time, the Princess also sported blue eyeshadow and blusher on her cheeks.

While the tiara was passed down to Queen Elizabeth II, she didn't wear it publicly and passed it down to her daughter Anne.

The Princess Royal's daughter, Zara, also wore the tiara on her wedding day to Mike Tindall in 2011. 

© Alan Davidson/Shutterstock
Zara wearing the Meander tiara on her wedding day

Royal Portraits: A Century Of Photography will run from 28 February until 7 September 2025 at The King's Gallery in the Palace of Holyroodhouse, after previously being exhibited at Buckingham Palace.

It chronicles the evolution of royal portrait photography from the 1920s until the coronation of the King in 2023, with more than 90 prints, proofs and documents from the Royal Collection and the Royal Archives.

Many images are being shown in Scotland for the first time, and all the photographs are vintage prints – the originals – including from the golden age of the society photographer in the 1920s and 1930s.

Iconic images of the late Queen Elizabeth II taken by Cecil Beaton and a young Princess Margaret, captured by her husband and photographer, Lord Snowdon, also form part of the display.

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© Godfrey Argent / Camera Press

King Charles

A photograph taken in 1966 to mark the 18th birthday of Charles – then the Prince of Wales – shows him dressed in a kilt in Balmoral tartan in the library of Balmoral Castle, and was taken by Godfrey Argent.

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© Yousuf Karsh / Camera Press

Queen Elizabeth II

A stunning photograph of Queen Elizabeth II as a Princess, wearing a white and gold ballgown with a tiara, was taken by Yousuf Karsh in 1951.

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© National Portrait Gallery

Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

The earliest surviving colour print of a member of the royal family was taken by Madame Yevonde, a pioneer of the craft in 1935, showing Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester – and sister-in-law to King George VI and Edward VIII – on her wedding day.

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© Dorothy Wilding

Queen Elizabeth II

Dorothy Wilding was the first woman to be appointed as the Official Royal Photographer (for the 1937 coronation) and went on to take many iconic images of the late Queen – including this one of the monarch in a strapless gown in 1952.

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© Cecil Beaton

Princess Margaret

A young Princess Margaret captured by Cecil Beaton on her 19th birthday in 1949, showing the royal wearing a beautiful butterfly-embellished ballgown.

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© Snowdon / Camera Press

Princess Margaret

An intimate portrait of Princess Margaret, showing her bare shoulders, taken by her husband, Lord Snowdon, in 1967. The pair had married seven years prior.

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© E.O. Hoppé Estate Collection / Curatorial Inc

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth

A sepia-toned portrait of the Duke of York and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (The Queen Mother) in 1923.

Alessandro Nasini, curator of the exhibition, said: "The Royal Collection holds some of the most enduring photographs ever taken of the royal family, each one captured by the most celebrated portrait photographers of the past hundred years – from Cecil Beaton and Norman Parkinson to Annie Leibovitz and Rankin.

"Alongside these beautiful vintage prints, many of which are being shown in Scotland for the first time, we are excited to share archival correspondence, photographers’ handwritten annotations, and unreleased proofs that lift the curtain on the process of commissioning, sitting for, and selecting royal portraits.

"We hope visitors will enjoy going behind the scenes to discover how these unforgettable royal images were made."

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