Fashion

50 Photographs That Prove Princess Caroline Is One Of Europe’s Most Stylish Royals

17 July 2021

The eldest daughter of Grace Kelly and Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, Caroline Louise Marguerite Grimaldi was born with all the makings of a fashion darling. Combining the stately charm of Monégasque royalty with the glamour of a Hollywood heiress, the philanthropist and keen equestrian didn’t take long to step into the role of style pin-up.

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Throughout her teenage years, in the ’70s, the princess breathed new life into the royal style template, as her mother had before her. Adept at emulating Kelly’s elegance with evening gowns for society events within the principality, state occasions alike saw her inject personality – often via outré accessorises and lashings of striking jewellery – into classic gowns from Marc Bohan at Dior and Karl Lagerfeld and Valentino Garavani. Off-duty, meanwhile, denim cut-offs and bandanas were key summer styling tricks.

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She has married three times, first to Philippe Junot, a Parisian banker; then, to Stefano Casiraghi, a sportsman and Italian heir; and a third time, to Ernst August, Prince of Hanover, in 1999. The third union means she also carries the title of Princess of Hanover, further enhancing her royal allure. Ancestry aside, however, it is her elegant personal style with an off-beat edge that endures. In most recent years, now in her seventh decade, the princess has become something of a Chanel loyalist, at first wearing Karl Lagerfeld’s collections exclusively – including custom couture moments – and now embracing Virginie Viard’s direction for the house.

Here, British Vogue looks at Caroline, Princess of Hanover’s most memorable style moments.

REPORTERS ASSOCIES
1/50
1960s
Pictured on the balcony of the Prince’s Palace in Monaco, a young Caroline wore a grey drop-waisted dress with white tie detail.
REPORTERS ASSOCIES
2/50
1970s
A young Caroline demonstrated a penchant for accessorising during a ski holiday.
Tony Kent
3/50
1973
The Grimaldi royal family were photographed during a country walk, with the eldest child of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace opting for a denim shearling jacket and matching flared jeans.
Gilles GIRIBALDI
4/50
1970s
The Princess wore laid-back denim during a day trip to Monaco’s coast.

Bettmann
5/50
1971
A 14-year-old Caroline was photographed in a tweed suit alongside her mother departing England from Heathrow Airport at the end of another term at St Mary’s School Ascot.
Gilles GIRIBALDI
6/50
1974
She wore a white T-shirt over denim cut-offs with platform sandals to breeze through Monte Carlo’s marina.
Vittoriano Rastelli
7/50
1974
The Princess wore a white jacket with a red neck scarf and a matching printed skirt to sit front row at a Valentino show in Rome.
James Andanson
8/50
1974
She wore a chiffon-pleated gown with her chignon accessorised with a white flower for the 1974 Red Cross Ball.