Pippa Middleton, Chelsy Davy and Princess Beatrice clash... at the boxing (with a fashion faux-pas in the red corner at blue-blooded bout)

Glamorous girls out in force at charity event
Royal blues and red sirens are the ladies' choice

By Jonathan Petre

Last updated at 10:17 PM on 1st October 2011

It was already a sultry evening - and these friends of the Royals turned up the heat when they arrived in strikingly similar low-cut designer gowns for a charity boxing ball last night.

But Prince William’s sister-in-law Pippa Middleton, his former girlfriend Jecca Craig and ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell might have been wishing they had exchanged fashion notes before they turned out for the occasion in Central London – they each wore a shimmering red dress with plunging neckline.

However, the clash did not stop Pippa and Geri – who sat at neighbouring tables – chatting to each other. They appeared to be ‘getting on like a house on fire’, according to one observer.

Lady in red: Pippa dazzles in this strikingly low-cut red designer gown for a night at a charity boxing match

Prince Harry’s former girlfriend Chelsy Davy, wearing a metal-blue off-the-shoulder gown, was also there, showing off her tan at the event which featured a series of amateur boxing bouts. One of the fighters was Hugh van Cutsem, a childhood friend of the Princes.

Princess Beatrice, in a floral gown, and her sister Princess Eugenie were among the revellers, though the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who attended the ball three years ago, did not make an appearance. Prince Harry also had other plans.

At the event three years ago, the then Kate Middleton wore a much commented-upon and equally revealing pink dress, prompting fashion watchers to speculate that she had provided the inspiration for those attending last night.

The guest list read like a Who’s Who of the Royal inner circle. Among the 850 people attending was another of William’s ex-girlfriends, Olivia Hunt, as well as actress Isabella Calthorpe, who was once linked romantically to the Prince but last night accompanied Sir Richard Branson’s son Sam and his sister Holly.

Red-faced? It would seem Geri Halliwell also had the same idea

Red-faced? It would seem Jecca Craig also had the same idea

Red-faced? It would seem Geri Halliwell and Jecca Craig also had the same idea as they revealed astonishingly-similar looks for the glamorous night

Pippa Middleton’s boyfriend Alex Loudon, her brother James, Princess Beatrice’s boyfriend Dave Clark and Taylor McWilliams, who replaced Prince Harry in Chelsy’s affections, also turned out.

Tables for the ball, organised by jewellers Boodles, cost £1,950 each. Money raised last night was going to the Starlight Children’s Foundation, which grants wishes for seriously ill youngsters, and the Lt Dougie Dalzell MC Memorial Trust, which was set up in memory of a British soldier killed in Afghanistan.

Chelsy Davy arrives at the Boodles charity boxing match

Holly Branson arrives at the Boodles charity boxing match

Princess Beatrice arrives at the Boodles charity boxing match

Blue blood (well, almost): Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy wore a shimmering metal-blue off-the-shoulder gown, as did Holly Branson (middle) while Princess Beatrice opted for a floral number