Princess Anne’s secret sex bomb phase! How the royal experimented with Barbarella style in the ’70s – and was even on the cover of Vogue

Voluminous waves and large curls that framed her face was the hairstyle Princess Anne chose in 1971 during a visit to Tehran. 

The style echoed Jane Fonda’s hair in Barbarella – a science-fiction comedy that was released just a few years before.

Anne, who was 21  at the time, made quite a splash with her high-topped bouffant.

However, for the past 40 years the Princess Royal has mostly stuck to one familiar hairstyle – her trademark beehive.

Her go-to style – backcombed at the front and pinned back – has been her signature  look since the 1980s.

Jane Fonda pictured as Barbarella in 1968 in the science-fiction comedy film

The Princess Royal with her iconic back-combed chic beehive in 2013

Princess Anne with her hair combed back and pinned up, holding her daughter Zara as she leaves the hospital in 1981

It was her hairstyle of choice after the birth of her daughter Zara in 1981 when she was photographed leaving the hospital and it has mostly stayed as her firm favourite since. Combed back from her face and pinned at the back – it was perhaps a practical choice for a new mother with her hands full. 

However, before that Anne wore her locks in a plethora of different ways.  

Anne pictured as a toddler with short, tight blonde curls

The princess had blonde ringlets from being a toddler and was often seen with short, unruly curls. 

As a child, Anne’s hair looked similar to her mother’s when she was younger. Both had wavy hair combed with side partings into neat bobs. 

The royal as a child, around 10 years old, in 1960 holding her Welsh pony named Greensleeves at Windsor 

When she was a teenager, Anne experimented with different styles and had short, mousy brown hair at 17 as the blonde began to disappear. 

She was pictured wearing black knee-high boots and a baby blue coat with her hair in a slightly wavy bob.

Anne’s  short bob at Liverpool Street Station in 1967, aged 17 

Two years later, a photograph to commemorate Anne’s 19th birthday was released showing her dark shoulder length hair with loose curls. 

Earlier that same year Anne opted for a backcombed low pony when she attended a concert at the Royal Albert Hall –  a shift away from her younger curls.

By the time the princess entered her 20s, she had grown her hair long and often wore it straight and down. 

She was pictured in 1970 helping Prince Philip grill food on a barbecue and had voluminous straight hair past her shoulders. 

A photo released of the princess to commemorate her 19th birthday in 1969 of Anne with her hair styled in loose curls past her shoulder

Anne, with her hair tied back low, visiting the Royal Albert Hall in 1969 aged 19 years old

Anne, with her hair styled straight and long, grilling with her father Prince Philip in 1970

Around this time, some curl began to creep back in and she was pictured with loose curls pinned back away from her face at the London Palladium in 1971.

She had styled her hair in a half-up half-down fashion, backcombing the front and letting the rest hang loose over her shoulders. 

Anne was pictured with this style in 1978 when she visited the BAFTA headquarters in London and met industry experts including television producer Peter Morley.

In a change from her straightened hair or beehive do, Anne wore her hair in a quiff for the BAFTA Awards in 1988.

She was photographed with actor David Jason and had her hair combed up and the front styled into a curled quiff – a do that was quite popular in the 80s. 

The royal, wearing her hair pinned back and down in loose curls, at the London Palladium in 1971

Anne at the the BAFTA headquarters in London in 1978 with her hair styled down. she is standing next to her great uncle Lord Mountbatten

The princess with her son Peter Phillips in 1978 wearing her hair in forerunner to her more well-known style

Princess Anne wearing her trademark style in 1982 at an awards ceremony in London

Anne pictured with an 80s style curled quiff  talks to actor David Jason at the BAFTA Awards in 1988

But despite all the early experiments, it is her beehive that has endured. 

In 2022, the woman behind Princess Anne’s hair was honoured by King Charles, the Express reported.

The hairdresser, Dawn Murphy, featured on the King’s first New Years Honours List and was given a Royal Victorian Medal. 

Anne’s  various  hairstyles are so well-known that they had to be meticulously recreated in TV series The Crown. 

Actress  Erin Doherty revealed it took an hour-and-a-half to get the royal trademark just right.