Princess Anne debuts new look for the first time in 50 years in new birthday photo and royal fans are saying the same thing

The Princess Royal is shaking things up - specifically with regards to her image.

With this week (Friday 15 August) marking her 75th birthday, Buckingham Palace have released an early official portrait of Princess Anne, the younger sister of King Charles III.

In the sweet snap, the mother-of-two can be seen posing happily beside her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, 70, to whom she's been married since 1992.

According to PEOPLE, the image was captured by royal photographer Chris Jackson over a month earlier, prior to the State Banquet held at Windsor Castle in July to mark the visit of French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife to the UK.

As we say, however, Princess Anne's birthday portrait has since gone somewhat viral online, being that the royal had seemingly made the decision to change an iconic image she's had for over five decades.

Anne traded in her bouffant for a chignon (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Any fan of the famous family will know that the Princess has worn a '60s-inspired bouffant up-do to the vast majority of her public appearances for the last 50+ years. So much so, that the vintage look become almost synonymous with Anne - famously dubbed the 'hardest working royal'.

As she approaches her mid 70s, however, the Princess has made a change to her signature hairstyle, rocking an elegant chignon in her new birthday snap instead.

Though a subtle alteration, the latter style sees more of volume concentrated on the back and sides of the head, rather than the top, where her bouffant style usually kept it.

The Princess rocked the same bouffant hairstyle for over 50 years (Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images)

And by the sound of fan reaction to Princess Anne's new look, she's getting tens across the board.

"Oh what a beautiful portrait!" one royal spectator gushed on X (formerly Twitter).

Another added: "What a beautiful photo. Happy birthday."

"Princess Royal looks absolutely beautiful!" a third went on.

"Want a beautiful picture of a beautiful lady xx," wrote another.

A fifth continued: "That's a lovely photo."

Another simply added: "Lovely photo."

In the photo, Anne could also be seen donning a breathtaking ivory gown, adorned with lace detailing on the bodice, with she'd paired with a cropped jacket.

Fans seem thrilled by Anne's new look (Aaron Chown - Pool/Getty Images)

The birthday girl also wore her diamond Festoon Tiara, which she'd received as a gift in 1973 for her 23rd birthday from the Worldwide Shipping Group, after she christened one of their ships.

Sir Tim, meanwhile, could be seen wearing a black tuxedo with red cuffs, which was embellished with several medals of honour.