Princess Royal pictured in dress she wore aged 27 – 45 years later

It’s no secret the princess likes to repeat outfits.

Princess Anne is known for repeating outfits (Alamy/PA)

The Princess Royal has proven it’s OK to repeat an outfit – even one you wore 45 years ago.

While attending day two of Royal Ascot – which has been going on all week – she was spotted in a dress first worn in 1978, when she was 27 years old.

The former equestrian took a trip down memory lane in a collared turquoise A-line pleated midi dress with button detailing down the middle. She layered it with a cream boxy jacket, and accessorised with a large blue bowler hat, pearl drop earrings and a pearl necklace.

She also wore a sparkling brooch of aquamarine and diamonds, repurposed from a tiara given to her as a wedding present by the Queen Mother. She completed the outfit with white gloves, a beige clutch bag and ballerina court kitten heels.

The 72-year-old is a true champion for sustainable fashion. She first wore the dress while attending an engagement at Buckingham Palace with her late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, to welcome the President and First Lady of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama and Lady Khama, in 1978.

For Ladies Day at Royal Ascot on Thursday, she repeated another outfit. Anne wore a Sue Palmer dark green jacquard dress she was last seen wearing in 2017 (also at Ascot), and again in 2020 for a portrait released to mark her 70th birthday.

The princess has been known to wear the same clothes since the 1970s, when she was in her 20s, not shying away from bright colours or bold patterns.

Rarely updating her wardrobe unless there is a real need, she has some reliable staples – such as her powder blue fur-lined coat, which has seen her through many winters.

Anne was seen in the coat back in 1979 at a wedding, and has worn it multiple times since – including during the Christmas Day service in 2003.