Princess Beatrice has been named the best-dressed person in Britain for 2024.
The 35-year-old topped Tatler’s best-dressed list, despite going viral for the bizarre fawn-coloured hat she wore at the Prince and Princess Of Wales‘ wedding, which inspired numerous memes in 2011.
The society bible praised Beatrice for being ‘a beacon of sartorial elegance’ by ‘pairing vintage-inspired cuts with fresh-from-the-catwalk glamour‘, although it did note she was the ‘subject of much jest’ for the Philip Treacy hat.
Both Beatrice and her sister Princess Eugenie are reported to have cried over articles criticising their hats at the wedding.
But the York sisters – who are the daughters of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York – have both transformed their style in recent years.
Princess Beatrice dazzled in Richard Quinn to celebrate Vogue
Princess Beatrice wore this Emilia Wickstead long sleeved dress to Wimbledon
Princess Beatrice has shelved her ‘quirky’ headgear for which she became known in her younger royal years (pictured at William and Kate’s wedding)
Beatrice has refined her look over the last year adding some stylish new season pieces, together with recycling her faithful accessories and wardrobe essentials.
An important part of this gradual transformation is that, after experimenting with different styles, silhouettes and brands in the past, Beatrice has now found a theme – and a new confidence with upmarket fashion brands.
Cue It-girl labels such as Self Portrait, Beulah and The Vampire’s Wife are taking centre stage alongside international labels Reem Acra, based in New York, and Monique Lhuillier on the West Coast.
This move towards high fashion marked a notable shift in the royal’s style, shelving the quirky headpieces and colours for a more streamlined touch.
Princess Beatrice cemented her style credentials at Royal Ascot this year
Princess Beatrice is pictured at the Fashion Manifesto launch event
Princess Beatrice in Beulah and Christopher Woolf attend The “Together At Christmas” Carol Service at Westminster Abbey
Since turning 30 five years ago, Princess Beatrice has gradually found a fashion formula of her own and is now widely praised for her elegant yet flattering outfits.
Credit is due to her stylist, Olivia Buckingham, who also advises Poppy Delevingne and Nicky Hilton.
Dubbed society’s secret weapon, Olivia has introduced Beatrice to a series of go-to designers including the now defunct The Vampire’s Wife, Self Portrait, Monique Lhuillier and Emilia Wickstead, plus Manolo Blahnik and Chopard for accessories.
‘I like to push my clients’ boundaries but also stick to their authentic codes,’ she previously told the Mail.
‘I don’t want it to be one-sided, what I enjoy is giving them creative freedom, then we meet in the middle and come up with a magical look.’
Princess Beatrice in one of the ‘hot’ new brands – Self Portrait – it seems to be a favourite with the top Royals
Princess Beatrice paired an old Erdem dress with a new Zara tuxedo blazer at Whitehall’s Old War Office
Princess Beatrice wearing a vibrant Vampire’s Wife dress at the V&A
Buckingham explains that she and Beatrice formed a styling relationship out of friendship.
‘The whole process is collaborative when it comes down to choosing the final look,’ she says.
‘We discuss the event and what type of style would work even down to the finer details like jewellery and shoes.’
‘I know that we both believe that if a woman can feel empowered and confident by clothes then that’s what they should be used for.’
Another day at Ascot, another dress, this time by Beulah
Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi at the Zahran Palace in Amman earlier this year
Princess Beatrice stepped out in Chloe for dinner at the Twenty Two Hotel in New York
Princess Beatrice poses as she attends Jordan’s Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II’s Royal Wedding Banquet at the Al Husseinieh Palace in Amman
Princess Beatrice looked sophisticated in a navy Hill House gown as she gave a speech during the Oscar’s Book Prize winner announcement
The Beulah Sienna dress featured dramatic puff sleeves and accentuated her petite waist with a wide belt for King Charles’s Coronation
Meanwhile, Beatrice has shelved the unusual colours and quirky headpieces – which all-too-often had a touch of the pantomime dame about them – for a more streamlined approach.
Gone are the overly fussy – and strangely quirky – outfits and, of course, those hats.
Beatrice’s sister Princess Eugenie recently said the pair look back at ‘terrible photos’ of themselves and laugh.
‘There’s been terrible ugly shots of us coming out of bars,’ she told the White Wine Question Time podcast.
‘People come up to me and say “you’re much better looking in real life”.
‘Beatrice and I, like many of our cousins, have had a really awkward phases. I’m proud of my incredibly strange looks.’
Olivia Buckingham at Claridges for a Moet & Chandon launch party in 2022 wearing Valentino
Showing she loved eccentric headpieces from a young age, Beatrice was only 16 when she wore this extravagant hat to the Christmas Day church service at Sandringham in 2005 (left). She wore another bold Philip Treacy piece to her cousin Peter Phillips wedding to Autumn Kelly in 2008 (right)
Beatrice dazzled at the glitzy Vogue World event in an elegant floral cape dress by Richard Quinn. The sensational black and yellow look was straight from the catwalk and was completed with full length gloves.
Keeping her fashion forward frock the star of the show, the princess pulled her hair back and just added diamond earrings and simple black pumps.
The list also featured Victoria Starmer, the wife of prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, in the fitting position of number 10.
Tatler said she had an ‘unfussy chic’ style, and praised her for ‘championing local labels like Edeline Lee’.
British fashion designer Jade Holland Cooper came in second place, with Tatler praising her for her own label’s ‘tantalising tweed numbers’, and for being ‘dressed to thrill’ in Dolce and Gabbana.
The highest placed man on the list was David Beckham’s son Cruz, who was in third, and praised for his ‘uber-cool in sports-luxe silhouettes’, which Tatler said were ‘tailored like a rock star’.
In fourth was Lord William Gordon-Lennox, son of the 11th Duke of Richmond, who Tatler said had a ‘penchant for Savile Row’s finest’, which gave him ‘sartorial bliss’.
Queen Camilla’s sister Annabel Elliot came fifth for her ‘suitably grand’ appearance, made up of ‘graceful satin sets and velvet suits’.
Finishing sixth, fashion designer Anu Hinduja was praised for her ‘riotous glamour’, and just behind her in seventh was Jack Grealish’s girlfriend Sasha Attwood, with Tatler saying her style is ‘a cut above the rest’.
Socialite and teacher, Lucy Van Straubenzee, who is close friends with the Prince and Princess of Wales, came in eighth place, with Tatler saying her style was a ‘masterclass in elegance’.
England and Chelsea footballer Ben Chilwell came ninth, and was praised for his ‘retro riffs’, which Tatler said was ‘bringing fashion back to the beautiful game’.
The full top 25 list can be seen in the September issue of Tatler, which will go on sale on Thursday, August 1, both on