Princess Anne sparkles in backless cut-out dress for elegant outing

Princess Anne often appears most comfortable dressed down incasual, countryside attire, but she proved she does elegant evening wear just as well this weekend, donning a sultry navy dress for a special occasion.

The Princess Royal was attending a gala dinner in aid of The Eric Liddell 100, a charity and community hub in Edinburgh, honouring sporting legend Eric Liddell. Princess Anne is patron of the charity and even conducted an interview on their behalf on the BBC in July, proving it's a role she takes seriously.

For the gala dinner, Princess Anne cast aside her usual smart skirt suits, opting instead to wear a backless, cut-out evening dress in midnight blue.

The navy dress had a draped open back, with Grecians style layers flowing the length of her torso – and the front of the gown was just as beautiful as the back. The elegant design featured a glittering clasp at the neck, adding sparkle to the fashion-forward cut-out panel.

Princess Anne added sparkling drop earrings and wore her hair in her signature swept-up style.

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Personalised Princess

It appears Princess Anne customised the dress, believed to be a vintage 1960s number courtesy of Frank Usher. The dress originally featured a block of pave crystals at the neck and back, but this week saw the Princess Royal replace the brooch with an accessory of her own, pinning a sapphire brooch to the neckline of her dress.

The brooch, which belonged to Empress Maria Feodorovna,  is a favourite of 74-year-old Anne, who last wore it in 2022, during a visit to Uganda with her husband Sir Timothy Laurence.

Winter accessories

While it was glamour first for Princess Anne's outing, earlier in the work the royal put practicality first, wrapping up warm for a visit to a farm in Yorkshire.

Princess Anne's cosy outfit included a nod to her brother, King Charles, with his younger sister wrapping a woollen scarf around her neck, purchased from the King's Highgrove shop and given to the whole family last Christmas during their annual visit to Sandringham for the festive season.

Never one to take it easy, Princess Anne also travelled to the south of the country, visiting the southwest to celebrate the Pride of Somerset Award winners.

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This outing saw Princess Anne wear a smart military jacket paired with a knee-length skirt, nude tights and a pair of navy brogues with stylish tassels pinned to the front.

With another busy week ahead of her, we look forward to seeing what the hard-working royal wears out and about this week.