Princess Anne's rule-breaking wedding beauty look was ahead of its time

July 2024 · 3 minute read

The Princess Royal married her first husband in 1973

Princess Anne had an estimated 500 million viewers watching her royal wedding on TV, but many of them may not have spotted her rule-breaking beauty look.

The Princess Royal married her first husband Lieutenant Mark Phillips on 14 November 1973 at Westminster Abbey in a wedding dress designed by seamstress Maureen Baker. The 23-year-old bride looked beautiful in an embroidered Tudor-style silk wedding dress featuring a high collar and medieval sleeves. Take a look at more royal wedding dresses in the video below...

WATCH: Most memorable royal wedding dresses of all time

She wore her hair in a beehive updo – a popular look in the 1960s – finished with her grandmother's diamond tiara and a veil. However, her makeup was so ahead of its time, with Anne opting for flawless skin, rosy cheeks and what appears to be a sweeping of bright blue eyeshadow.

There are few close-up coloured photos of Anne on her wedding day, but a still of the CBS Morning News coverage suggests she chose 90s-style eye makeup. Blue eyeshadow first became popular in the 1960s after Barbie sported it in 1959, and it had a resurgence in the 90s thanks to supermodels such as Kate Moss.

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This would make her one of the boldest brides in history, since the likes of Princess Kate, Meghan Markle and Princess Diana all chose neutral wedding makeup, including sheer products that highlighted their natural beauty and nude nail polish that didn't detract from their wedding dress and engagement rings. Even when Anne's daughter Zara Tindall got married to Mike Tindall in 2011, she chose to hide her rebellious blue pedicure which acted as her 'something blue'!

Following an unconventional wedding breakfast, which included lobster, partridge and mint ice cream, guests were able to feast on their 5ft 6 royal wedding cake

The couple got engaged in 1973 after Mark proposed with a beautiful sapphire and diamond engagement ring designed by Garrard Jewellers.

In keeping with royal tradition, the Queen is said to have offered Mark - who wore the full scarlet and blue uniform of his regiment - an earldom on his wedding day, but he declined. This means that when they welcomed son Peter Phillips in 1977 and daughter Zara Tindall in 1981, they were the first grandchildren of the sovereign to have no title.

Anne and Mark were married for 19 years before getting divorced in 1992. Anne went on to marry naval officer Commander Timothy Laurence later that year, but since the Church of England did not permit remarrying, the couple eloped to Scotland for the ceremony, with only 30 guests in attendance.

The couple are still together today and reside at Gatcombe Park which was a wedding present from the Queen.

More royal wedding beauty looks:

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