Princess Anne wears 42-year-old dress from 1984 to royal banquet

Princess Anne proved once again that the best vintage shop is her own closet.

The Princess Royal, 75, stepped out for the Honourable Company of Master Mariners’ Centenary Banquet at London’s Guildhall on Thursday in a gauzy pale yellow gown printed with pink blooms.

Royal watchers quickly clocked the dress as a repeat from a royal engagement 42 years ago.

Video captured Princess Anne arriving at the black-tie affair and greeting her hosts on the arm of husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence. She attended as a Past Master of the centuries-old maritime guild, joined by her brother Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh.

The princess debuted the floral frock during a 1984 trip to Gambia, where she traveled as a patron of Save the Children UK.

On both outings, decades apart, she styled the gown with white opera gloves and a coordinating yellow clutch. It’s unclear whether the gold and pearl statement necklace from the 1984 version made a return.

“Still fits it like a glove, such beauty and elegance,” one fan wrote on X. “True beauty never ages,” added another.

While the royal family is known to repeat outfits, none digs deeper in their closet than Anne. In March, the “Queen of Recycling” (as she’s been dubbed) rewore a 57-year-old coat for the Nigerian state banquet at Windsor Castle, a piece she first slipped on at 18.

Earlier this month, she brought a pink skirt suit to Royal Ascot that she first wore to the races in 2001.

She’s traced the thrift to a post-war childhood. “A good suit goes on forever,” Anne has said of investing in pieces built to last.

“If it is properly made and has a classic look, you can wear it ad infinitum.”

She’s also dressed to honor her late mother, wearing Queen Elizabeth II’s sapphire brooch on a 2022 tour of Uganda.

Forty-two years on, the yellow gown holds up, and so does her case for shopping your own closet.