Princess Anne's red lipstick is royal rebel's shade of choice - despite it breaking the rules

Princess Anne's red lipstick is one of her makeup must-haves, or so it appears. The Princess Royal is regularly seen sporting the bold shade, which one may not expect of the hardworking royal.

• Princess Anne's red lipstick is proof - as if we needed it - that the Queen's only daughter chooses to go her own way in all respects, including beauty.
• The Princess Royal's bold choice screams vampish glamour and breaks royal protocol in the process.
• In other royal news, The secret way Lady Louise features in the Wessex Christmas card.

Just when you thought Sophie Wessex's red lipstick was a daring choice, it turns out she's far from the first royal to sport the vibrant color. Princess Anne's red lipstick has been on a regular rotation throughout the years and appears to be among her most favored hues.

This is despite the fact that, per Vogue India (opens in new tab), bright lip colors being frowned upon under royal protocol. Instead, during formal events the female members of The Firm are expected to wheel out various shades of nude and pale pink over more bold choices. 

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Choosing the best red lipstick is always the right idea as it looks chic and stylish and never goes out of fashion. It's old Hollywood glam with a vampish edge and goes with absolutely everything. This could be the reason that the Princess Royal favors it over others. After all, choosing style over fashion is a lesson that she learned from her late mother. Princess Anne shared the Queen's secret to style during an interview with Australian Women's Weekly, earlier this year.

“The Queen and I had a discussion the other day about the difference between fashion and style," she told the magazine, "and I think maybe that’s relevant in the sense that she didn’t do fashion but she certainly does style, and style tends to last longer.”

It seems that the lasting effects of rouge smackers has kept the royal coming back for more, as evidenced by her use of the ubiquitous shade. From royal banquets to solemn events, Olympian dinners, and even feeding actual penguins - Princess Anne's red lipstick choice shows the kind of versatility we'd expect from the hardworking royal. 

Interestingly enough, for the second year in a row, the Queen's only daughter has been officially dubbed the most hardworking member of the Royal Family - so it's not just Princess Anne's red lipstick that just won't quit.

According to data gathered by Reboot SEO Company (opens in new tab), using the Court Circular, Princess Anne attended more royal engagements than any other member of the Royal Family during 2022. Aged 72, she attended 214 engagements in total - an impressive number at any age. 

Coming in close second is her older brother, King Charles, who racked up 181 official engagements - the majority of which were before his mother's passing.