Princess Anne revives 57-year-old coat at Nigerian state banquet

Princess Anne, 75, wore a coat to Wednesday night’s Nigerian state banquet that she first wore at 18, arriving on the arm of her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence. The long duster was first debuted at the “Run Wild, Run Free” premiere in 1969 and was layered over a matching dress for the evening.

Crafted of ribbed ivory silk, the coat features an embroidered cutout design on each cuff and subtle beading along the hem. The princess appears to have removed the original embellishment around the neck and replaced it with a plain pointed collar in the same silk, then added Queen Mary’s City of London Choker — four rows of pearls interspersed with diamond bars that form a lattice popular in the Victorian era — along with diamond drop earrings given by her parents and the Meander Tiara.

The choker was first made for Queen Mary as a wedding gift in 1893 and was passed to the late Queen Elizabeth II upon her death in 1953 (though Elizabeth never wore it publicly).

Nigeria

princess anne, nigeria, state banquet, vintage coat, 1969 premiere, meander tiara, queen mary, choker, ivory silk, tim laurence