Princess Anne is gradually making her return to royal duties, as she opened a new A&E unit at Worcestershire Royal Hospital this afternoon.

Royal fans were no doubt delighted that the Princess Royal appears to have made a full recovery following her hospitalisation last month for a concussion and minor injuries.

Anne was dressed today in a white and blue floral dress, paired with a dark cropped blazer and her trademark gloves in navy blue, despite the hot July weather.

Her accessories may seem unusual, but her reason for wearing gloves while out and about is not about being hot or cold but rather for hygienic purposes.

As a working royal, the Princess is constantly shaking hands with new people on engagements and so she chooses to wear gloves to avoid any direct contact and any potential germs.

It seems Anne is following in her mother’s footsteps, as creative Director of luxury glovemaker Cornelia James, Genevieve James, explained that Queen Elizabeth would often wear gloves too.

Ms James said there were two main reasons for this, as she told Good Housekeeping: “Number one: [they’re] stylish. Number two: practical. They’re necessary because if you’re the Queen, you’re shaking a lot of hands, so they protect her hands as well.”

She added: “The mind’s eye picture of the Queen is the white-gloved hand waving.”

Most royal women no longer wear gloves, as Princess Kate and Duchess Sophie do not and Queen Camilla only does so occasionally.

Contrarily to the Queen and Princess Anne, the late Princess Diana “abandoned the royal protocol of wearing gloves because she liked to hold hands when visiting people or shake hands and have direct contact”, according to Eleri Lynn, curator of the Kensington Palace exhibit Diana: Her Fashion Story.

The Princess Royal is currently making a phased return to royal engagements following an accident on the grounds of her Gatcombe Park estate last month.

On the evening of June 23 Anne was taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol after an apparent incident with a horse while she was out walking caused her to lose consciousness.

Last Friday, the Princess made her official return to public duties when she presented awards at an equine competition at Hartpury University and Hartpury College in Gloucestershire.

Prince William and Princess Kate personally congratulated Anne on her return to public appearances, calling her a “super trooper” and adding “so great to see you back so soon! W & C x”.

The Princess of Wales too has made her return to public life following her cancer diagnosis, as she attended Trooping the Colour last month and the Wimbledon men’s final last Sunday.