Princess Anne may be a chameleon when it comes to her style, switching up casual hats and boots for farm life with fascinators and heels for royal engagements, but she rarely deviates from her tried and tested hair.
An elegant twisted chignon is not only a beautiful and timeless style that has seen her through decades of her life, but it’s also a very practical choice to keep her long locks away from her face.
So royal fans will be shocked to see the Princess Royal looking almost unrecognisable with flowing ‘bronde’ hair in an unearthed photo.
King Charles’ sister was pictured in Kiev, Russia in September 1973 looking cooler than ever in a striped blue shirt tucked into black trousers and finished with a cowgirl belt and a neck scarf.
Parted down the middle, Anne’s hair sported endless amounts of volume that would make anyone jealous, with her bouncy blow-dry highlighting her long curtain bangs and feathered layers as they fell past her shoulders.
While her colour looks natural in the photo, she appears to sport a much lighter colour, with ashy blonde money pieces framing her face despite the fact that her roots remained brunette – a low-maintenance look that is dominating salon requests in 2025.
‘Expensive’ 2025 trend
© Getty ImagesWe turned to HELLO!’s Deputy Beauty and Lifestyle Editor and resident beauty expert, Melanie Macleod, to find out why Anne was so on-trend over 50 years ago.
“Princess Anne is best known for her trademark dark, swept-up hair, but in her younger years she rocked the ‘bronde’ trend like a pro,” she began, labelling her look as “expensive.” And who doesn’t love exuding an air of understated and effortless luxury?
“Bronde hair is the ultimate combination of blonde and brunette – a bit like a Rolo sweet, it blends milky brunette with golden undertones, creating an expensive, princess-worthy look. Celebs who consistently nail the bronde trend are Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and JLo, so Anne is in good company with her natural hair colour.”
© Getty Images/iStockphotoExpert Hairstylist Tom Smith also previously told HELLO! Fashion Monthly that Pantone’s colour of the year, ‘Mocha Mousse’, has influenced hair trends, earning the bronde look its place as “the shade of summer 2025.”
He added: “Neutral cool-coffee tones blend beautifully through the hair but looks special and not too ‘natural looking’ for those that want something a bit special.”
According to Tom, the tone is “monochromatic and muted neutral bronde – very different to the intense caramel brondes we saw last year.”
Anne’s hair experimentation
© Bill Cross/ShutterstockSome of Princess Anne’s other experimental hairstyles include her Blondie blow-dry, and her waist-length hair with her ex-husband.
HELLO! previously delved into the archives to unearth an extremely rare photograph of the Princess Royal aged 21, when she sported a Debbie Harry-esque bouffant blowdry to the 2500th Anniversary of the Persian Empire in 1971 – and it wouldn’t look out of place in a Blondie music video.
© Alamy Stock PhotoYears later, Anne took part in a photoshoot at her home with her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, and their kids, Peter and Zara. The mother-of-two had clearly adapted her hairstyle to suit her busy lifestyle, securing the top section back while the lengths were left loose – the start of her trademark style today. Can you believe how long the princess’ hair used to be?
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