Hear the phrase ‘hand-me-down’ and many of us think of bobbly jumpers we begrudgingly inherited from our siblings.
But thanks to Princess Anne‘s youngest granddaughter, seven-year-old Lena Tindall, hand-me-downs have been given the royal stamp of approval.
She stepped out for the Christmas Day service at Sandringham wearing a coat that has had not one but two previous royal owners. Talk about thrifty.
Lena’s cousin, Savannah, first wore the coat for Christmas in 2017, when she was the same age.
Lena’s older sister Mia, then eight, wore it to attend Prince Philip‘s memorial service in March 2022.
Proof that even High Street purchases can withstand the test of time, the coat is from British chain Monsoon and is believed to have cost £79.
Lady Louise Windsor, in her final year at the University of St Andrews, did what most students do when they come home for the holidays: raided her mother’s closet. Luckily, her mother is the Duchess of Edinburgh, whose wardrobe is more Prada than Primark.
Lady Louise’s coat was a Prada design her mother wore for Ascot’s Christmas racing weekend in 2015. Her hat, by esteemed London milliner Jane Taylor, was first worn by her mother in 2017. The bag, from Belizean brand Studio Perera, was also her mother’s.
Lena Tindall and Zara Tindall attend the Christmas Morning Service at Sandringham Church on Christmas day
Princess Anne’s youngest granddaughter borrowed Mia’s military-inspired navy coat from Monsoon, which she wore to the late Prince Philip’s service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in 2022
Queen Camilla was even sporting a hand-me-down yesterday – if one can call a yellow diamond brooch owned by Queen Elizabeth a ‘hand-me-down’.
The takeaway? The ultimate 2025 style flex isn’t buying new – it’s breathing new life into years-old items by styling them in modern ways.
This isn’t something new for the royals – they’ve chosen high-quality clothes with time-enduring appeal for years, long before ‘responsible consumerism’ became trendy.
Lena, Mia and Savannah’s grandmother is Princess Anne, famed for rewearing outfits, often decades later.
And British aristocrats have always worn their clothes to the point of disintegration – a duke would far rather darn his socks than buy a new pair.
Lena’s coat and Louise’s outfit look familiar, yes, but your first thought isn’t ‘Oh, I’ve seen that before!’
Rather, it’s ‘That’s a beautiful outfit’. That’s the power of restyling done well – and great news for all our bank balances post-Christmas.
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The queens of thrift! The Royals leading the way with hand me down outfits for Christmas church service