Princess Anne and Sir Timothy Laurence reportedly had an “unusual” wedding three decades ago.
As noted, she had a very different wedding to the former equerry to Queen Elizabeth II than the one she had the first time with her former husband, Mark Phillips.
Hello! Magazine made the claims as it recalled some of the details of the nuptials, which occurred on December 12, 1992. It comes as the Princess Royal and her husband celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary on Monday.
The publication said that the nuptials of the royal-born Princess and retired Royal Navy officer was forbidden in England. It explained that the Church of England did not allow remarrying, unlike the Church of Scotland, resulting in them tying the knot at Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral.
It is also said that Princess Anne and Sir Timothy Laurence had a low-key wedding, having only 30 guests in attendance. These include Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, and her two children from her first marriage, Zara Tindall and Pete Phillips.
In addition to the low-key dynamic of the event, the outlet shared that the Princess Royal did not also wear a traditional bridal gown on the day of her wedding to the former equerry to the Queen. She instead chose to don a midi dress with a white jacket and paired it with black court shoes.
Sir Timothy Laurence and Princess Anne reportedly met following his appointment as equerry to the Queen in 1986. At the time, the royal was still married to Mark Phillips, according to Express UK.
Despite this, the Princess Royal and the then-equerry to the British Monarch reportedly sparked romance speculations. As noted, it came after when personal letters between them got stolen.
In 1989, the royal-born Princess and her first husband parted ways. They eventually ended their marriage and finalized their divorce three years later, allowing her to marry Sir Timothy Laurence.
Meanwhile, a style expert recently spoke to Express UK to discuss the engagement rings Princess Anne has received in her lifetime. It noted that both pieces from Mark Phillips and Sir Timothy Laurence are similar, adding that they feature sapphires instead of diamonds.
Maxwell Stone from Steven Stone told the publication, which published the comments on Monday, that it is “interesting” to see the Princess Royal receiving “sapphire engagement rings rather than the traditional diamond rings.”
The expert subsequently explained that “blue sapphires are often linked to people who are respectful, loyal, hardworking, and honest,” making the pieces “even more special,” and it “suggests that this could have meant something” to the royal-born Princess.