Princess Anne’s ‘daring’ fashion choices got her in a lot of trouble with The Queen Mother when she was younger

The Princess Royal wasn't afraid to push boundaries...

Princess Anne
(Image credit: Bettmann/Getty Images)

When she was younger, Princess Anne's ‘daring’ fashion choices used to get her into trouble with The Queen Mother who believed her 'very short skirts' were 'an unflattering look.'


Princess Anne has long been a royal fashion icon. From her life-long love for pre-worn and vintage clothes making her 'way ahead of her time' with sustainable fashion, to her embroidered Garden Party coat dress that broke Queen Elizabeth’s ultimate fashion rule and her crisp striped shirt and upturned collar look that gave us all a lesson sartorial elegance, the Princess Royal's style is always impeccable. 

And it was no different when she was younger - though not everyone loved her fashion choices. 

According to one royal expert, Anne's love for short hemlines and mini-skirts, a style that dominated her wardrobe in the sixties and seventies, angered her grandmother The Queen Mother - who had her own bizarre wardrobe hack - but believed Anne's style to be 'unflattering.'

Princess Anne

(Image credit: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)

According to Ingrid Seward, royal expert and editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, The Queen Mother was not a fan of Anne's mini-skirts after the Princess became one of the first royals to favor the style. 

She wrote in The Daily Mail, "Princess Anne, as a teenager, enjoyed dressing daringly, choosing to wear very short skirts, much to the chagrin of her grandmother, the Queen Mother."

“Although she didn’t mind their scantiness, the Queen Mother was of the opinion that it was an unflattering look for a woman of any age to show too much thigh and professed knees ‘so ugly’.”

But Princess Anne wasn't the only royal to step out in shorter hemlines. Her mom, the late Queen, also often opted to reveal a bit more leg when the style became fashionable in the sixties and seventies. 

Ingrid shared, "Even the Queen, a paradigm of sartorial elegance and impeccable taste, dared to reveal a glimpse of the knee when short hemlines were fashionable in the sixties and seventies."

“She had her dresses altered by her couturier Ian Thomas when the fashion demanded. He told me he received a call from Her Majesty’s dresser, Bobo MacDonald, requesting that the hems of the royal gowns be raised to a more up-to-date length.”

Princess Anne

(Image credit: Jeremy Fletcher/Getty Images)

Princess Anne's style is still making headlines, even though she is no longer the most popular royal. From her gorgeous green outfit that screamed 'pure 50s glamour' to her recycled sparkly rainbow top, whether she's dressing up and breaking royal protocol with her favorite lipstick, or dressing down in more casual attire, the Princess Royal always draws attention.

According to Samantha Harman, a fashion expert, and personal stylist, “Princess Anne is probably one of the most underestimated royals when it comes to style."

She told The Express, “She is a good example of someone who re-wears items, buys classic shapes, but she isn't afraid to try new things too.

“Sometimes we can look back through the archive at a celebrity's wardrobe and think 'wow! Their style has changed so much.’ but Anne’s style is ‘classic Anne’. There isn't some big ‘makeover’ or ‘change’ in her style over the last 50 years. You can see this is the same woman, with a strong sense of who she is."

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse
Freelance news writer

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is royal news and entertainment writer. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with Good To, BBC Good Food and The Independent.