#gatcombe stable

[anne0301]

📸 Photo By Kit Houghton

[aimeedaisies]

The Princess Royal’s Official Engagements in September 2023

02/09 The King and Queen, Princess Anne and Sir Tim attended the Braemar Gathering at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

03/09 (not counted) The King, Queen, Princess Anne, Sir Tim, PM Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murphy attended the Divine Service at Crathie Kirk Church. ⛪️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

06/09 (unofficial) Princess Anne, along with the Prince and Princess of Wales recorded a special episode of the Good, the Bad and the Rugby, with Mike Tindall, James Haskell and Alex Payne at Windsor Castle. 🏉

07/09 As President of the Riding for the Disabled Association, visited Digswell Place Group, Digswell Place Stables, Welwyn Garden City, to mark its 50th Anniversary. 🐎

As President of UK Fashion and Textile Association, visited MAES London Womenswear Manufacturer. 👗

Sir Tim represented Princess Anne at a Service of Thanksgiving for Sir Matthew Farrer (former Solicitor to the Late Queen) at St Magnus-The-Martyr Church in London. ⛪️

As Patron of the South Georgia Heritage Trust Princess Anne and Sir Tim, attended the Return of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Quest Crow’s Nest Service at All Hallows by the Tower, followed by a Dinner at Trinity House. 🗺️🍽️

08/09 Participated in a Meeting via video link in her role of Chairman of the International Olympic Committee Members Election Commission. 🎥💻

11/09 At Gatcombe Park;

Presented The Princess Royal Award and Royal Dairy Innovation Award. 🏆

Held a Management Team Meeting for the Chaffinch Trust. 💼

Held a Management Team Meeting for Give Them a Sporting Chance. 🏏

12/09 As Patron of the Boston Stump Restoration and Development Appeal, visited completed restoration work at St Botolph's Church in Boston, Lincolnshire. ⛪️

As Patron of Magpas Air Ambulance Capital Campaign, opened a new Air Base at Alconbury Weald. 🚁

As Patron of Maritime UK, attended the London International Shipping Week Tenth Anniversary Reception at Mansion House. 🚢

13/09 In Northern Ireland Princess Anne;

Attended the Department for Business and Trade’s Northern Ireland Business Summit at the International Conference Centre Belfast. 💼

As Patron of the International Sheep Dog Society, lattended the World Sheep Dog Trials at Gill Hall Estate, Dromore. 🐑🐶

Unveiled a Royal British Legion Community Bench in Dromore Square, Dromore. 🌹

Attended the Department for Business and Trade’s Northern Ireland Business Summit Reception at Hillsborough Castle. 👔🇮🇪

14/09 Attended the British Equine Veterinary Association 2023 Congress at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham. 🩺���

As Patron of the Butler Trust visited Stonnall Road Approved Premises in Walsall. 🏠

Opened the Firefly Woods at Dorothy House Hospice, Winsley House. She unveiled a firefly dedicated to her late parents. 💡

15/09 As Patron of the Restorative Justice Council, opened the Restorative Justice Council Inaugural Northern Ireland Conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 🇮🇪⚖️

As Chancellor of the University of the Highlands and Islands, attended the North, West and Hebrides Annual Graduation Ceremony and Celebration of Success and Achievement at St Peter’s and St Andrew’s Church, Thurso. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🎓

18/09 The Princess Royal, As Guardian of Give Them A Sporting Chance, visited the Rivertime Boat Trust at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley on Thames. 🦽🚣‍♀️

As Patron of the National Transport Trust, attended the Annual Awards Ceremony at Fawley Hill Transport Museum, Henley-on-Thames. 🚂🥇

19/09 Visited the Our Cow Molly icecream parlour and dairy farm at Cliffe House Farm, Dungworth, Sheffield. 🍦🐮

Launched the Ethel Trust Community Barge PEARL at Victoria Quays and attended a Reception at the Quays Hotel Sheffield. 🚤

As Patron of the Royal College of Midwives, visited Doncaster Royal Infirmary Women’s and Children’s Hospital. 👶🤰

20/09 As Patron of Police Treatment Centres, visited the St Andrews Centre in Harrogate. 👮‍♀️

Visited Claro Enterprises Community Workshop, Harrogate, to mark its 30th anniversary. 🎂

Visited Woods of Harrogate Limited Fine Linens Company in Harrogate. 🧖‍♀️

Visited Hollybank Trust Care Centre, in Mirfield, to mark its 70th Anniversary. 🩺

21/09 Visited Jaguar Land Rover Halewood Vehicle Plant to mark the 60th anniversary of its opening in Liverpool. 🚙

As President of the British Olympic Association, attended an Executive Board Meeting in London W1. 💼

22/09 With Sir Tim opened the Aberdeen South Harbour Expansion Project at the Port of Aberdeen. ⛴️

26/09 Held an Investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle. 🎖️

Opened the renovated Old War Office Building, Whitehall in London. 🏢

Attended the Royal Warrant Holders Association’s President’s Reception at Westminster Abbey. 📑🍾

As Patron of Mercy Ships International, attended a 45th Anniversary Dinner onboard The Elizabethan, sailing on the River Thames. 🛥️🍽️

27/09 Held two Investiture ceremonies at Windsor Castle. 🎖️

As President of World Horse Welfare, attended a Reception at Hyde Park Barracks, Knightsbridge, London. 🐎

As Patron of Opportunity International UK, attended a Dinner at Evercore in London. 🌍

28/09 As President of the UK Fashion and Textile Association, attended the Sustainability in UK Textiles Conference at Drapers’ Hall, London. 👗

As Founders’ Patron and President, of the Benenden School & Society, attended the Centenary Global Conference “Inspiring Future Female Leaders”, opened the Seniors’ Courtyard, launched “Benenden 100” Centenary Book and attended the Benenden Society Reception at Benenden School in Kent. 🏫

29/09 Attended the Rededication Service of Southport War Memorial. 🫡

Total official engagements for Anne in July: 47

2023 total so far: 353

Total official engagements accompanied by Tim in July: 5

2023 total so far: 75

[grandmaster-anne]

LIFE AT GATCOMBE PARK: Country Life was granted an extraordinary behind-the-scenes look into Princess Anne’s life at her Gloucestershire home.

Country Life | Published 29 July 2020

Guest-Edited by HRH The Princess Royal

The Princess says: ‘There are so many different parts of Gatcombe and that’s the best thing about it. It’s a proper mixed farm—not that we were looking to farm, in the beginning!’

GATCOMBE PARK is inhabited by curious Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs that like to watch dressage, elegant, sooty-nosed White Park cattle, a matronly Suffolk filly, bustling Buff Orpington hens and their feisty cockerel and venerable grazing Wiltshire Horn sheep that resemble the inhabitants of a pastoral scene from a Thomas Hardy novel. Britain’s endlessly diverse, entertaining and genetically crucial native farm animals have long owed a great deal to the agricultural interests of the Royal Family.

The idea of improving livestock dates back centuries, but it was during Queen Victoria’s reign that enthusiasm for breed societies, official studbooks and competing at agricultural shows really took off and, ever since, British livestock breeds have benefited from knowledgeable, close royal interest and loyalty.

The Queen Mother presided over the North Country Cheviot Sheep Society and, with George VI, the Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society —she kept and bred both breeds at her Castle of Mey farm in Caithness. The Queen, who succeeded her mother as president of the Highland Cattle Society, bestows royal patronage on, among others, the Ayrshire and Jersey cattle societies. The Prince of Wales is president of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) and patron of The Poultry Club of Great Britain.

Some 30 of The Princess Royal’s 200-plus charitable patronages relate to animals and her 500-acre estate in Gloucestershire, which was formerly a dairy farm and has only a small nucleus of modest agricultural buildings, showcases an eclectic collection of sometimes neglected breeds, all organically reared and grass fed.

Their presence is a necessity: although the valley pastureland looks the rural, bucolic idyll, Cotswold brash does not make for rich arable soil and, as The Princess points out, turning organic with hardy livestock breeds, the meat from which is chiefly sold locally, was the only economically viable option. She also observes that cattle farming here isn’t easy, due to a local abundance of badgers.

‘Organic has become a more difficult market over the years,’ she discerns. ‘I think perhaps the emphasis now is more on buying local and in looking after your soil. We have to keep finding more imaginative uses for land.’

Part of the estate is farmed under the Government’s Higher Level Stewardship scheme, through which farmers receive payments for delivering conservation benefits, such as wildflower margins—these schemes terminate at the end of the Brexit transition period in 2022.

About half is woodland—a glorious mix of broadleaf species with plenty of beech—managed by Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence (My Week, page 78). There is a modest pheasant shoot and a partridge shoot overseen by The Princess’s son, Peter Phillips. He is also the director of the annual Festival of British Eventing, which should have been taking place here next week, but, as have most sporting events this summer, has sadly had to be cancelled.

The crowds of picnicking cross-country spectators are, more than anyone, familiar with the pleasingly shaped ashlar limestone house that forms a graceful backdrop to the horse trials at the head of the valley, overseeing the thrills and spills in the water fences around the ponds below.

A successful clothier, Edward Sheppard, signalled his prosperity by having the house built on the old manors of Avening and Minchinhampton between 1771 and 1774 by Francis Franklin of Chalford. The familiar conservatory—as well as the polygonal stables and coach house—was added by George Basevi in the early 19th century, when the property was acquired by the wealthy MP and influential political economist David Ricardo, in whose family it remained until 1937. Gatcombe has been the home of The Princess Royal since 1976.

The pigs

TRADITIONALLY, horses are not fans of pigs and, at horse-trials time, there are requests for the Gloucestershire Old Spots (GOS) to be kept away from the dressage arenas—although, as The Princess points out, it’s good for horses to learn to behave and riders to manage them. One day, a porcine group managed to make its way towards the action, grunting curiously: ‘Then, suddenly, something startled them and they scattered in all directions,’ recalls The Princess. ‘It was hysterical. They’re very chatty.’

Owners of highly strung horses need not worry too much, however. The cheerful pigs mainly live in woodland, where it’s shady in summer and there are enough holes and dips in the ground to shelter them from winter winds whistling overhead. The GOS also has a distinctive layer of back fat, which not only lends succulence and flavour to the meat, but keeps out the chill.

As with the cattle, the difficulty is in maintaining bloodlines—there are only four GOS boar lines in the country. ‘The original idea was to do weaners, but there weren’t enough around and we had to go back to breeding our own,’ notes farm manager Sam Stevens. ‘We found ourselves going as far as Cheshire for a pedigree boar.’

The GOS originated not far from Gatcombe in the cider and perry orchards of the Berkeley Vale and also has been dubbed the orchard pig—the spots were said to be bruises from falling apples—as well as the cottager’s pig. It was the first animal to have its meat awarded Traditional Speciality Guaranteed status by the EU, yet the breed is classified by the RBST as ‘at risk’, with fewer than 500 breeding sows in the country. The Princess is patron of the breed club.

The chickens

A TINY corner of the estate is given over to a flock of Buff Orpington hens and an imperious cockerel. ‘My grandmother kept them,’ explains The Princess. ‘They’re not overly prolific layers, but when they do, they produce big eggs.’

The majestic Buff Orpington, its golden plumage not far from the honey shade of some Cotswold stone, is a popular country-house chicken for its ornamental good looks, pleasingly solid shape and friendly, biddable nature.

The Orpington was greeted with great acclaim from poultry fanciers when first revealed, in 1886, by William Cook, a coachman from the eponymous Kent town. Poultry showing and fancy fowl, the more exotic the better, were big interests at the time, but the trend was also moving towards practicality and the Orpington bridged the gap between ornament and egg producer.

The cattle

A FEW Highland cattle inhabit Gatcombe Park—these endearingly shaggy-fringed beasts are now frequently seen south of the Scottish border, thanks to their rising usefulness as conservation grazers—but The Princess has long been a champion of the White Park. Classified ‘minority’ on the RBST watchlist (there are some 950 breeding females in the country), the White Park is thought to be Britain’s most ancient native cattle, with records dating back at least to the 10th century. Little surprise, therefore, that the RBST chose the breed as its logo.

These magnificent animals with their appealing black ‘points’ once adorned many parklands of the nobility, but, when such places declined in the 19th century, so did the cattle. Only four of these ancient herds survive, one of which is at Dinefwr in Carmarthenshire; the National Trust recently launched an appeal to raise £36,000 to buy another bull to keep the bloodline alive.

White Parks are tough, thrifty—able to flourish on coarse forage—and they produce quality, marbled beef. ‘We originally thought about having Shorthorns, but White Parks are more distinctive,’ comments The Princess, who acquired some of hers from a herd running free on Salisbury Plain.

‘I’m trying to improve them, but it’s a case of how to keep the colour.’ Because they are in possession of the black gene, the cattle can breed out with mottled black markings all over the body or even in solid black, as evinced by some of the striking beasts here; the points can come in red, too.

The horses

THERE has been a new arrival—a little chestnut Thoroughbred colt foal, Reel Fashion, by jumping sire Schiaparelli out of Gatcombe mare Fiddle Faddle. The Princess’s equestrian career is forever synonymous with eventing—she won the European title in 1971, a clutch of medals and was a member of the British team at the Montreal Olympic Games in 1976—but she also rode winners on the Flat and over jumps as an amateur jockey and her horse-breeding interests centre around the National Hunt world. ‘They have to do something useful,’ she remarks.

There are plenty of event horses around, too: The Princess’s daughter, Zara Tindall, herself a former European champion and a world and Olympic medallist, has hers at nearby Aston Farm and Tom McEwen, who, if things were normal, might reasonably have expected to be at the Tokyo Olympics right now, is the latest in a long line of fine horsemen to make Gatcombe their eventing base.

Amid a field of bay Thoroughbred fillies, Winnie, the Suffolk mare, cuts an imposing, solid presence. She’s also friendly—and curious, enthusiastically nibbling the windscreen wipers. ‘I bought her grandmother from the Hollesley Bay Colony Stud in Suffolk when they sold up,’ explains The Princess, who is patron of the Suffolk Horse Society, founded in 1877.

These striking heavy horses, with their rich chestnut coats and paler, flaxen or silver manes and tails, were bred to work the clay soil of East Anglia, but the difficulty of finding a role for them outside ploughing and timber hauling means that they are classified as ‘critical’ on the RBST watchlist. One potential outlet is as steady, careful mounts for Riding for the Disabled, another of The Princess’s long-time patronages. ‘Lockdown has been very hard on families with disabled children,’ she points out. ‘The number of parents who say their children’s behaviour has improved thanks to riding is striking.’

The sheep

SOME 230 Wiltshire Horn ewes graze the farm. Again, this is a hardy breed, which for centuries inhabited the treeless Wiltshire Downs, where there’s neither shade nor shelter. Wiltshire Horns lamb outside and, conveniently, are the original wool-shedding (no shearing) sheep, their fleece naturally shedding in spring and growing again in autumn.

The impressive horns come in useful, too: ‘You don’t really want horns inside, as that’s when your shins get mangled, but, outside, you’ve got handles to grab them with,’ observes Mr Stevens. ‘And,’ he adds, ‘they produce fantastic meat. Even the hogget meat isn’t overly fatty.’

Wiltshire Horn numbers dwindled alarmingly in the 19th century, a time when wool was a far more important currency than it is now, but, in 1923, a group of owners, determined to preserve genetic purity, formed the breed society. Competition from other wool-rich breeds caused further decline and the Wiltshire Horn came under the wing of the RBST in the 1970s, but new recognition of its low-maintenance qualities means that it’s now off the watchlist.

[the-empress-7]

Telegraph article from February 2014:

“Zara Tindall has risked irritating the Queen by selling exclusive photographs of her daughter Mia to Hello! magazine for a six-figure sum.

The Queen’s granddaughter is the most senior member of the Royal family to sell the rights to the first portraits of their child, and signed the deal despite previous denials that she intended to make money from the birth.

Pictures of Mrs Tindall with her husband Mike and their daughter appear on the front cover of this week’s Hello! and across 13 pages inside. In an accompanying interview, Mrs Tindall talks publicly for the first time about giving birth, disclosing that she had an epidural.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on whether the Queen had been consulted about the coverage or even informed in advance that the deal had been done for pictures of the 16th in line to the throne.

But when Zara Phillips, as she was then, married Mike Tindall in 2011, she was reportedly frustrated at being told by Buckingham Palace she could not sell pictures of the wedding to Hello!.

When her brother Peter Phillips sold pictures of his wedding to Autumn Kelly in 2008 to Hello! for a reported £500,000, palace aides let it be known that the Queen was not happy with the decision.

On that occasion, the Queen and other members of the Royal family were angry that their attendance at the wedding had become a selling point for the 20 pages of photographs that appeared the following week.

The pictures of Mia would not have commanded such a high fee, as they do not include other members of the Royal family, though the couple are understood to have received more than £100,000.

The photographs were taken two weeks ago by Anya Campbell, a professional photographer and friend of the couple who has photographed other members of the Royal family in the past and had no idea they were going to be sold on to Hello!.

Since Mia was born at 1.51am on Jan 17, Mr and Mrs Tindall have been careful not to be pictured in public with their daughter, apart from on one occasion when the new mother was photographed pushing a pram.

The Hello! pictures were taken at the couple’s home on the Princess Royal’s Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire. In the interview, Mrs Tindall described her daughter as “pretty relaxed and happy so far” and said: “I still keep looking at Mia and thinking, 'Oh! We made that!’”

The 32-year-old told the magazine that she had an epidural when she gave birth on an NHS ward. She had decided in advance that she wanted the epidural “rather than try and fight the pain”.

She also said the couple — who want two children — had hired a maternity nurse for four days after they got home from hospital, “mostly to learn bits and pieces like bathing and feeding and general routine” but were now managing on their own.

Mr Tindall, 35, a former England rugby player, said that: “As soon as we had Mia I sent a text to all the family. Zara is very close to her grandmother [the Queen] so of course she made a phone call once we got back home.”

Mrs Tindall first posed for Hello! in 2002 when she was paid a reported £125,000 for an “at home” photoshoot with her then boyfriend, Richard Johnson, the jockey.

She has no Royal title and is a professional equestrian, funding her stables through sponsorship with firms such as Land Rover and Rolex.

A spokesman for the Queen said: “Zara looks after all her own publicity. We wouldn’t comment on whether the Queen was informed.”

A spokesman for Mrs Tindall said the couple had agreed a deal with Hello! “for the future of their family”.

Graham Smith, chief executive of anti-monarchy group Republic, said: “Clearly she is exploiting her links to the Royal family for financial gain. It’s not really appropriate for her to be cashing in like this, but then again cashing in is what the Royal family do best.”

Last September, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent’s son Lord Frederick Windsor and his wife Sophie Winkleman posed for Hello! with their baby daughter Maud. Other royals who have posed for Hello! include the Queen’s nephew Viscount Linley, Princess Alexandra’s daughter Marina Mowatt and the Duchess of York”

Of course 16th and an Olympic champion isn’t 6th and the son of a future king 🤦‍♀️

Thank you for this. If The Queen was irritated with Zara over this, she better come for Harry's life for doing the exact same thing. And I can't wait to hear what Graham Smith will have to say about the same.

[princessanneftw]

Is it true that Ana slapped Mark in public?Because if so I love her even more

I don’t think I’ve ever read anything about either of them being violent towards one another?

One French (I think) paper said she hit him with a riding crop after losing her temper, but both of them said that wasn’t true.

There was another story when they weren’t married long that Mark hadn’t met her at the airport in Germany when she came to see him, they had a row in the hotel lobby, she subsequently locked him out of their room and he kicked the door in. The Palace denied that story as well.

The only other thing I can think of is a story that locals told the media after their separation was announced, that she rode up to him at one of the horse trials I believe, threw one of the promo tshirts at him and said “take that for your stable girl”, referencing rumours that he’d slept with a stable girl that worked at Gatcombe. Obviously we don’t know how true that is either.

So nope, never read anything that said she’d slapped him in public.

[duchessofostergotlands]

If the brf ended like the monarchy ended what do you think everyone would do, what do you see them doing work wise and life wise and stuff?

Well most of them have money, property and assets of their own which would keep them going so I don’t think they’d all work as such. I think most of them would just live ordinary rich people lives where they don’t seem to be doing all that much. 

H&M and Philip- Would just lead their final years quietly at Balmoral and Sandringham. They have money through art, property and horses and I expect would continue with those things. 

Charles and Camilla- I think we would see Camilla far less in public but she’d be happy with that. I expect she’ll still do charity work - most rich people do - but just more low key. I don’t see her getting a job as such. Charles I’d guess would struggle to adjust to not being in charge of things, I think he might try to buy land and focus on agriculture and such. I could also see him even running for political office if allowed or if not, being much more involved in think tanks and policy groups. Maybe even writing a memoir...

William and Kate- William I think would go in a similar route to Tim in that he’d take on board positions in a few charities. And I think he’d go back to the air ambulance service or the military. Kate I think would be relatively low key countryside mother but I could also see her doing a few charity board positions and perhaps following Katharine Kent’s example and taking on a part time teaching role 

Anne- I’d expect she’d continue making an income through the estate at Gatcombe, running a stables maybe and doing consulting work for breeders 

Edward and Sophie - I think Edward would struggle in the real world. I think he might just get given a job in a hedge fund or something by one of his chums even though he isn’t qualified. Sophie might go back into PR but I can see it being more as a consulting job, throw in some after dinner speeches too as she speaks well in public (I’d say she’s the best of the working royals)

The older cousins- They’re all quite elderly now so will most likely just carry on with their inheritances and investments 

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

Looks like Peter and Eugenie are going to be put forward most. I think Bea wants a bigger role, and Andrew wants that for her but with her d-bag beau I bet they hold off a bit on giving her more. Don't want another embarrassing relationship in the spotlight. Peter & Eugenie have stable relationships, no drama. Just what they need right now. Not sure if Zara is really interested in doing more. She seems pretty happy just focusing on her family & horses and supporting Will behind the scenes.

They are giving Zara the horse stuff. It’s just that it aligns so well with her existing career that we haven’t noticed. I bet that's partly why the Gatcombe trials are winding down. Zara is going to be busy.

Peter is going to get “events” like the London Marathon. The Yorkies are going to get churches and teas and will share fashion with Sophie. Sophie will do military families and small tours and foreign royal events. Andrew gets older military stuff and his entrepreneur stuff.

And the Harkles get Africa.

[mhsn033]

Princess Anne gets military promotion as she celebrates 70th birthday

Image copyright John Swannell/Digicam Press

Image caption The photos of Anne had been taken in February, prior to the coronavirus lockdown

Princess Anne has been promoted by the Military and Royal Air Power to label her 70th birthday.

The Princess Royal – the Queen’s second exiguous one – will opt within the characteristic of total and air chief marshal, bringing her ranks in accordance along with her flawed within the Royal Navy.

It’s miles a convention that senior royals are treated as protection power contributors and receive promotions as they become older.

Earlier this 12 months, Prince Andrew used to be as a consequence of be promoted but it used to be deferred.

Princess Anne turns 70 on Saturday and her birthday is being marked with the open of three reputable pictures taken at her dwelling in Gatcombe Park, Gloucestershire.

The photos had been taken in dreary February by John Swannell, who has also photographed other senior royals as correctly as Tony Blair, Sir Michael Caine and Sir Elton John.

Image copyright John Swannell/Digicam Press

Image caption The photos had been taken at her dwelling, which has 730 acres of land and a lake

Talking earlier this week, Anne’s son-in-law Mike Tindall stated plans to label the day were “scaled wait on” as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We did glean plans – it could perhaps’ve been up in Scotland – but obviously with Covid and Aberdeen being locked down quite, I mediate every little thing’s been scaled wait on a exiguous bit,” stated the ragged England rugby superstar, who’s married to Anne’s daughter Zara, on The One Display.

“Or now not it is a shame. I’m obvious we’ll cease something as a family to celebrate her 70 improbable years, she’s lawful an fabulous lady by diagram of how valuable work she can be able to gather by within the 12 months.

“We will have the opportunity to be doing something, as but I gather now not know whether she is conscious of – so my lips are sealed.”

Image copyright John Swannell/Digicam Press

Image caption In considered some of the unique photos, Anne wears a gold ribbon knot brooch place with 12 diamonds

Talking about her protection power promotion, which has been popular by the Queen, the Ministry of Defence stated Anne had been “vastly supportive” of the militia.

“This promotion on her 70th birthday recognises her helpful contribution and dedication to the protection power.”

Anne’s birthday has also been marked by a TV documentary, which used to be over a 12 months within the making, and she also customer-edited an predicament of Country Life magazine.

She commented within the magazine about her adore of nature and the must enjoy discontinuance a ways from rupture and preserve vitality to offer protection to the atmosphere.

In the ITV documentary, she spoke about social media, suggesting it is adding to the pressures confronted by youthful royals.

Image copyright Cpl Select Bourne RAF

Image caption Princess Anne has been promoted by the Military and Royal Air Power to label her 70th birthday

Profile: Princess Anne

Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise used to be born in 1950, the second exiguous one to the Queen and Prince Philip and their only daughter. She is 14th in line to the throne.

She is a horse-riding enthusiast who competed within the British equestrian team within the 1976 Olympics and and used to be voted BBC Sports Personality of the Yr in 1971.

Image copyright PA Media

Image caption Anne used to be interesting on bringing the 2012 Olympic Games to London

In 1973, she married her first husband Captain Place Phillips and in disclose that they went on to glean two young people, Peter and Zara. Anne made up our minds her young people haven’t got royal titles.

The couple survived a kidnapping try in 1974, as they had been returning to Buckingham Palace in a chauffeur-pushed limousine.

Image copyright PA Media

Image caption Anne chatting to bodyguard James Beaton after he used to be injured within the try and kidnap her in 1974

Her first marriage ended in divorce after 19 years and she or he married her second husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, in 1992.

In 1990, she used to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work as president of the charity Place The Children.

In 2002, Anne grew to become the first senior member of the royal family to be convicted of a prison offence. She pleaded responsible to a designate under the Harmful Canines Act after her pet Dotty bit two young people in Windsor Gigantic Park.

She lives within the 18th-century nation dwelling Gatcombe Park, discontinuance to Stroud in Gloucestershire, which used to be a display cloak from the Queen. It has 730 acres of land, gargantuan stables and a trout lake.

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[grandmaster-anne]

FUTURE ENGAGEMENTS OF THE PRINCESS ROYAL

6 October 2022

Grand Master, The Royal Victorian Order, will attend the Annual Evensong and Reception, Savoy Chapel, Savoy Hill, London WC2.

Colonel, The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons), will attend the Blues and Royals Club Annual Dinner at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London, 66 Knightsbridge, London SW1.

7 October 2022

Patron, Minchinhampton Surgery Charitable Trust, will attend a Reception at Chavenage House, Tetbury, Gloucestershire.

8 October 2022

Patron, the Wooden Spoon Society, will attend the VetsFest Rugby Tournament at Moseley Rugby Club, Billesley Common, Yardley Wood Road, Billesley, Birmingham, West Midlands.

11 October 2022

Will visit the Lakes Distillery at Cockermouth, Setmurthy, Cumbria.

President, Riding for the Disabled Association, will visit the Blairgowrie Group at Easter Rattray Farm, Blairgowrie, Perth and Kinross.

Will visit the International Fire and Rescue Association training facility at Strathore Road, Thornton, Kirkcaldy, Fife.

12 October 2022

Patron, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, will hold a 50th Anniversary of Patronage Reception at St. James's Palace.

Will attend the Annual National Service for Seafarers at St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Paul's Churchyard, London EC4.

Court Member, The Fishmongers' Company, will attend the Court Autumn Dinner at Fishmongers' Hall, London Bridge, London EC4.

13 October 2022

Patron, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, will attend a Reception at Members' Dining Room, House of Commons, London SW1.

Patron, The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK), will attend the Women in Logistics Annual Conference at Volvo Trucks UK and Ireland, Wedgnock Lane, Warwick, Warwickshire.

Life Vice President, National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs, will attend a 90th Anniversary Dinner at the Farmers Club, 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1.

14 October 2022

President, Riding for the Disabled Association, will open new North Pembrokeshire and Cardigan Premises at Havard Stables, Dinas Cross, Newport, Dyfed.

Will open Haverfordwest High School at Queensway, Haverfordwest, Dyfed.

Will attend the 2022 World Rowing Coastal Championships Beach Sprints and open the Coastal Schooner Interpretation Centre at Saundersfoot Harbour Events Deck, Saundersfoot, Dyfed.

17 October 2022

Past Master, the Worshipful Company of Woolmen, will attend a Dinner at Mansion House, Walbrook, London EC4.

Gatcombe Park: Guardian, Give Them a Sporting Chance, will hold a Management Team Meeting at Gatcombe Park.

Gatcombe Park: Guardian, The Chaffinch Trust, will hold a Management Team Meeting at Gatcombe Park.

18 October 2022

Will attend the Clothiers Company 500th Anniversary of Ordinances Dinner, the Guildhall, High Street, Worcester, Worcestershire.

19 October 2022

Patron, Sense Scotland, will open TouchBase East Dunbartonshire, 59 Springfield Road, Bishopbriggs, Dunbartonshire.

Patron, Columba 1400, will attend a Reception and Dinner at Blair Estate, Dalry, Ayr and Arran.

Patron, Seagull Trust Cruises, will re-commission Canal Passenger Boat, 100 Southbank Road, Kirkintilloch, Dunbartonshire.

20 October 2022

President, Riding for the Disabled Association, will visit Ashmount, Ruddington & Wenlo RDA Groups at Meadow School of Riding, Bowley's Barn Farm, Stanford Lane, Normanton-on-Soar, Loughborough, Nottinghamshire.

Will attend the Seven Seas Club Centenary and Trafalgar Night Dinner at the National Liberal Club, 1 Whitehall Place, London SW1.

Will visit Kays Scotland, 9 Barskimming Road, Mauchline, Ayr and Arran.

21 October 2022

Patron, Maritime UK, will launch the National Centre for Coastal Autonomy at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Plymouth, Devon.

Will visit the Centre for Space Technologies at Cornwall Airport Newquay, St. Mawgan, Newquay, Cornwall.

Will visit Communications Facility, Goonhilly Downs, Helston, Cornwall.

1 November 2022

Will visit the restored Junk Yacht Boleh at Haslar Marina, Gosport, Hampshire.

Patron, The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, will open the Gosport Services Community Hub at Brune Park Community School, Military Road, Gosport, Hampshire.

Will visit the restored Junk Yacht Boleh at Haslar Marina, Gosport, Hampshire.

3 November 2022

Will attend a Luncheon at Coutts, 440 Strand, London WC2.

Patron, The Royal College of Emergency Medicine, will attend a Conference at Octavia House, 54 Ayres Street, London SE1.

President, British Olympic Association, will attend the TeamGB Dinner in Central London (venue tbc).

4 November 2022

Patron, Moredun Foundation, will attend a Conference at Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, Midlothian.

5 November 2022

Patron, Scottish Rugby Union, will attend Scotland versus Fiji International Rugby Match at Murrayfield Stadium, the City of Edinburgh.

8 November 2022

Royal Fellow, The Royal Academy of Engineering, will attend a New Fellows' Dinner at Drapers' Hall, Throgmorton Street, London EC2.

9 November 2022

Patron, Learning and Work Institute, will attend an 'Art for the People' event at City Lit College, 1 - 10 Keeley Street, London WC2.

Chancellor, Harper Adams University, will attend a 'How do we achieve Net Zero in Farming and Food?' discussion at Rabobank, Thames Court, One Queenhithe, London.

Commandant-in-Chief (Youth), St. John Ambulance, will hold a Young Achievers' Reception at St. James's Palace.

10 November 2022

President, World Horse Welfare, will attend the Annual Conference at Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7.

Patron, Wetwheels Foundation, will attend a Reception at Mansion House, Walbrook, London EC4.

11 November 2022

as President, Royal Yachting Association, will chair the Annual General Meeting, attend awards ceremony and luncheon at One Great George Street, London SW1.

15 November 2022

President, Riding for the Disabled Association, will visit the Maisemore Group to mark the Fiftieth Anniversary at Hartpury College and University, Hartpury, Gloucestershire.

16 November 2022

Patron, St Margaret's Chapel Guild, will attend an Annual Service at St. Margaret's Chapel and subsequently attend the Annual General Meeting, Queen Anne Room, Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh.

will attend a Service to mark the nine hundred and fiftieth Anniversary of the Founding of Priory at Dunfermline Abbey, St. Margaret Street, Dunfermline, Fife.

24 November 2022

Chancellor, University College of Osteopathy, will attend the Graduation Ceremony at Bridge Theatre, 3 Potters Fields Park, London, SE1.

will attend a Biennial Reunion Reception of the Association of Royal Yachtsmen at the Royal Thames Yacht Club, 60 Knightsbridge, London SW1.

25 November 2022

Colonel in Chief, Intelligence Corps, will take the salute at a Passing Out Parade at Chicksands, Bedfordshire.

[princessanneftw]

Princess Royal's taste of life in the fast lane

The pair spoke about their experiences in a video call recorded to support Sir Jackie's Race Against Dementia charity

By Victoria Ward for the Telegraph

She has been caught speeding multiple times over the years, racking up numerous fines.

So when the Princess Royal, unbeknownst to anyone at Buckingham Palace, snuck off to Silverstone to try her hand at racing with Sir Jackie Stewart it is perhaps unsurprising that they struggled to get her out of the car.

The Princess, then in her early 20s, had been invited to the track by the three-time Formula 1 champion, whom she had met by chance at an awards ceremony.

The pair have now spoken about the experience as they joined forces to reminisce about their enduring friendship in a video call recorded to support his Race Against Dementia charity, which he launched after his wife, Helen, was diagnosed with the disease six years ago.

They laughed as they discussed whose sport was more dangerous and reminisced about clay pigeon shooting events at Gleneagles and learning to drive on go-karts.

Recalling their visit to Silverstone, in the early 1970s, Sir Jackie said that when he arrived to pick her up at Windsor, the Princess was “rather disappointed” to be told that he would be driving.

“That hasn’t changed if I may say so, you drive more than any other lady I know,” he said. “You were always keen to be behind the wheel, that was for sure.”

Sir Jackie drove her around the track in “a very hot British touring championship car” before they switched seats and she took the wheel.

He said: “I was giving you a heads up because racing tracks are very wired, and it’s not like you can see what speed you are entering corners, and of course you didn't need to be told all of that.

“I finally got out of the car and off you went and we could hardly get you out of the car after that, God knows how many laps you did.”

The Princess chuckled: “I’ll take your word for that.

“Not being the world’s best passenger, I just didn't feel well being driven.

“That’s my excuse, I was never a good passenger just because of the way I felt, not because of the quality of the driver, honest.”

She added: “You took us round first and then you let us loose.”

Sir Jackie recalled how a photographer had taken a “wonderful” photograph of the Princess sitting in the Tyrrell 003, in which he had won the 1971 Formula 1 World Championship, which he planned to sell.

But Walter Hayes, a PR executive for Ford who first signed the then-relatively unknown Sir Jackie in 1965, persuaded him not to. “Walter said ‘no, no, no you can’t do that,’" Sir Jackie revealed.

“Because nobody, it seemed to be at that time, from Buckingham Palace downwards, knew that you would have been at Silverstone driving racing cars, so he managed to get it stopped.

“But I think it’s one of the nicest photographs I’ve got at home because you enjoyed yourself, it was very clear.”

The Princess and Sir Jackie also discussed the moment they met in December 1971 at an awards ceremony, laughing about how the Princess had been late because she was cleaning out the stables.

“This was a long time ago, it’s a minor miracle we’re still here,” she said.

The two hit it off immediately and have since become so close that Lady Stewart is godmother to the Princess’s daughter, Zara Tindall.

In return for her trip to Silverstone, Sir Jackie was persuaded onto one of her event horses at the Gatcombe Park indoor school.

“You did look like a pea on a drum,” she laughed.

The Princess also spoke about her work ethic regarding the care of horses, which she said had been drummed into her by her mother, the Queen.

She also spoke of her pride in her daughter’s equestrian success and the joy of being able to present her with a silver medal as part of the GB team at the London Olympics in 2012. “It was a treat,” she said.

“It’s never easy to follow on if your parents have been successful in a sport.

“I often wondered if it was something she really wanted to do but she was naturally talented and she applied herself.”

Race Against Dementia has already raised millions to fund a global network of research fellows who are using the advanced technologies developed by Mclaren F1 and Red Bull Racing and Dyson to develop more effective treatments.

The recording was part of Sir Jackie’s Memories series of conversations available on the charity’s website.

[princessanneftw]

Inside Princess Anne's lifelong love affair with horses

As the Princess Royal approaches her 70th birthday, those who know her recount the most enduring relationship of her life

By Eleanore Kelly for the Telegraph

The Princess Royal has spent a lifetime with horses. Like her siblings, she started riding at the age of three. But what makes her remarkable is the success she achieved as a competitor. Aged 21 she was crowned European Eventing Champion at Burghley. She was riding Doublet, a horse bred by the Queen, for polo, and gifted to the Princess.

At the 1975 European Eventing Championships, she finished second on Goodwill, another horse owned by the Queen and her mount at the Montreal Olympics in 1976, where she became the first member of the British royal family to compete at an Olympic Games. She rode winners in horse racing too, notably in the Grand Military Steeplechase at Sandown over jumps, and the Diamond Stakes on the flat at Ascot. No wonder she won BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award in 1971 - the first ever event rider to carry off the trophy.

There were always ponies around during her childhood. Both her parents rode regularly, as did her older brother, Prince Charles, who developed a keen interest in polo and was considered a gifted player.

In those days polo was a men-only game, so not something his sister would have pursued, but she was a member of the Pony Club where she would have tried most equestrian disciplines with other young enthusiasts. Perhaps the attraction to eventing was the camaraderie that is always synonymous with a risk sport; horses are no respecter of titles.

When she became more serious about eventing, her parents arranged for training with Alison Oliver, wife of international show jumper Alan Oliver, who was based near Windsor. She is widely credited for propelling the Princess on the road to international equestrian stardom.

Lucinda Green, one of Princess Anne’s eventing peers, describes her as the pin-up of their era. Lucinda was a fellow team member at the Montreal Olympics and remembers the Princess having a crashing fall halfway around the cross-country course and suffering concussion. She remounted and finished the course but to this day cannot remember the rest of the jumps.

“She was extremely brave and good enough to get on the British team on two very different horses. Goodwill, her horse in Montreal, was not easy. He was big and had no brakes - I definitely wouldn’t have ridden him,” says Green.

With animals so often comes heartbreak, which even Princesses cannot escape. Her partnership with Doublet, a diminutive chestnut with the heart of a lion, ended in tragedy. The pair were destined for the Munich Olympics when the horse who had defined her career shattered a hind leg in an accident at Windsor and had to be put down.

At a time where security at sports events was minimal, The Princess was hounded by the media. “I always admired the way she coped with the press. That added the most unbelievable pressure on top of trying to do her sporting best. Tough for her but she put our sport on the map and kept it in the spotlight,” observes Green.

In 1985, she was persuaded to ride in a charity horse race at Epsom (home of the Derby). By this stage she’d hung up her eventing boots and had two young children. Yet she was always game for the challenge, if it involved horses.

Horse racing requires a very different technique from eventing, so she approached trainer David Nicholson for help. Known as “The Duke” because of his imposing personality, he suggested she come to his Cotswold yard, little expecting she would turn up almost every day for several years to ride out.

His wife Dinah became familiar with the Princess, as she would join them in the kitchen for breakfast after exercising the horses. “She was so dedicated and determined, driving 40 minutes every morning and arriving at 7.15am on the dot, so she could tack up her horse before riding out on the gallops. Then she would have breakfast with us and sometimes there would be a jockey - Richard Dunwoody or Peter Scudamore. The conversation would mostly be about horses. After breakfast, she would set off for a busy day of royal duties.”

Even if she had a royal engagement in London that went on late into the night, she would still get up after a few hours sleep to drive to the yard in Stow-on-the Wold. Acquaintances say her security detail looked permanently exhausted from keeping up with her.

After the charity race, in which she finished a respectable fourth, she asked Nicholson if she could continue riding out at his yard. It seemed the attraction was as much about the camaraderie of yard life as it was the actual race riding. “She became very fond of the people in racing and was always very natural with the stable lads, who liked her.”

There was a horse she was very fond of too, called Cnoc Na Cuille. He was a big winner for her in her career as a jump jockey (including the Grand Military) but soon after finishing third at Warwick, he dropped dead, probably from a heart attack.

“The Princess was not one for showing emotion but she was clearly very upset about it,” says Dinah. Soon after this she gave up race riding, although she has bred a few race horses herself at her home, Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire.

For 37 years, thanks to the Princess, Gatcombe has hosted eventing competitions, including the prestigious Festival of Eventing. The cross-country course is designed by her former husband Captain Mark Phillips, an Olympic medallist and four-time Badminton winner (once the golden boy of British eventing), and the Director is their son Peter Phillips.

Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara Tindall, a former European and World Champion event rider and silver medalist in the London 2012 Olympics, regularly competes there and the Princess hands out the prizes.

Tindall has even more eventing accolades than her mother and, like her, she was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year (in 2006). Her mother has always been hugely supportive of her children’s interest in horses. Every Christmas, the Princess would drive the children’s ponies up to Balmoral* (think they mean Sandringham?) herself in a horsebox so they could all ride.

There is also a strong equine theme to the Princess Royal’s charity work. She’s President of World Horse Welfare and the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) as well as Patron of the Pony Club and the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF). She was President of the International Federation of Equestrian Sports (FEI) from 1986 to 1994, a role she took over from her father, Prince Philip.

Roly Owers, CEO of World Horse Welfare, describes the Princess as having a deep love of horses, devoting a huge amount of time to all aspects of horse welfare. Former champion jockey John Francombe describes her as the best after-dinner speaker he has ever heard, with a great sense of humour, persuading well-oiled guests to open their wallets for charity and even persuading them to adopt horses themselves.

Rehoming unwanted horses is a large part of the World Horse Welfare’s work and the Princess is a rehomer herself. “On one of her visits to our rescue centres, she met a Welsh Cob called Annie and asked if she could have her. I believe she still rides her today.”

“She has always had a clear opinion but understands horses better than anyone,” says Owers. That once got her into trouble, at the 2013 World Horse Welfare conference when one of the topics was the European Horse Meat scandal. “She made a comment about the value of horses that was translated as ‘Princess Anne eats horse meat’ by certain journalists.”

What the Princess had actually said was: "Should we be considering a real market for horsemeat and would that reduce the number of welfare cases, if there was a real value in the horsemeat sector? I chuck that out for what it's worth because I think it needs a debate."

As Owers remembers, “it was unfortunately the first time we filmed the conference and broadcast it live, so you can imagine it created 48 hours of hysteria.” Though whether the Princess actually sits down to pony steak for Sunday lunch is not known.

Caroline Ward of the RDA remarks on her extraordinary empathy. “She understands the challenges our participants face and what they get out of the experience of riding horses. She will talk to them about their ponies and what it means to them to spend time with horses.

“These riders, many of whom find communication and mobility so difficult, will always open up to her. They are bound by this common interest and love of horses. She will also chat to the volunteers, to make them feel all the more special.”

Ward recalls the time Princess Anne helped a rider load her difficult horse into the horse box. “She came to our RDA National Championships at Hartpury College. She saw this struggle and despite not being dressed to get stuck in, she clearly couldn’t walk by without offering assistance. Well, this horse took one look at her and realised this was someone who meant business, and walked straight into the horsebox.”

Ex-jockey and racing journalist Brough Scott has known the Princess for many years through sport and her support of the IJF. “At charity events, rather than entertaining the fat cats, she is happiest talking to the ex-jockeys, many of whom are in a wheelchair. One really likes her for that, even though she is not trying to be liked.”

To be a successful rider, you have to build a relationship of trust and mutual understanding with your horse. That means controlling your fear and emotions. Eventing, a combination of the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country and show jumping, is perhaps the truest test of all-round horsemanship, demanding both accuracy and courage. It is only for the bravest of the brave, says Scott.

“Princess Anne wasn’t simply a Royal who rode, she was an athlete who achieved great things in her eventing career and rode courses that would have terrified most people. That must have given her self-confidence and fulfillment.”

In her public duties too, the Princess Royal has given her all, incidentally personifying the characteristics necessary for a fine horsewoman: discipline, dedication and courage. Are they a matter of her breeding and upbringing, or do we have her love of horses to thank for that?

[princessanneftw]

How come everyone says that Zara and Peter live in Gatcombe grounds while in reality both of them live in Aston farm their father's propriety in where he also lives when in UK and Zara's stables are based? Is it still Anne's and part of the land?

No, Aston Farm is separate. It’s two miles away from the Gatcombe, probably less than a 10 minute drive. I think they bought it in the 70s or 80s to have more land for farming? And Mark acquired it after the divorce, so yeah, it’s separate from Gatcombe.

[princessanneftw]

How many staff does anne has? Charles has over 200+ and wow i wonder if others also has 100s of staffs.

I did read about her staff before, and I think it was under twenty people.

So I’m not too sure about office staff, but she’s obviously got a private secretary and probably an assistant private secretary. At Gatcombe, there’s a housekeeper, a ‘butler’, but he gets to wear jeans and help around the place, a dresser, they have a cook on and off, two cleaners and two gardeners. She must have staff in the stables aswell, but I’ve no idea about those!

[princessanneftw]

Ok so I’m home, and here are your receipts.

BASICALLY

Mark cheated on Anne numerous times during their marriage. You’ll usually see a lot of Anne-haters talking about how she’s an “adulteress” because she cheated on Mark with Tim and this resulted in the end of her marriage. That is ✨not correct✨. In fact, it’s pretty much the other way around.

When they first married, Anne and Mark were really happy together. They had arguments like any other couple, but there were no major problems in the marriage. From the biographies I’ve read and the archived newspaper articles I’ve read, I think it’s fair to say that Mark began to lose interest after Peter was born, and they started to drift apart from there. Knowing what we know now, I think it was shortly after this when he first started seeing, or at least actively pursuing, other women behind her back.

Several stories were run by numerous newspapers that Mark had cheated on Anne with a number of women in his circle, including a stable girl that worked at Gatcombe for a while, and the most infamous being Pamella Bordes, who received horse riding lessons from Mark and stayed in a cottage on the Gatcombe estate while Anne was abroad.

Now, none of the affair stories have ever been proven true, apart from one, which is enough to suggest that he was unfaithful with more than one woman, perhaps in more than one country. In addition to this, the cool, calm manner in which he conducted himself before and after this incident speaks volumes to me about how many times he had done it before.

In 1985, Mark fathered a child in New Zealand after a one night stand with a woman called Heather Tonkin. He said the allegations were completely false at first, but it later emerged that he had been making payments to Tonkin for five years after initially asking her to have an abortion. After he and Anne had separated, it was confirmed after a DNA test in 1991 that Mark was indeed the father of the little girl. To this day, it’s believed that he has never met her, nor acknowledged her in public.

In the same year he fathered Felicity Tonkin, Peter Cross sold a story to the News of the World (yes, that completely scandal-free, oh-so reliable paper!) claiming that while he had been her protection officer from 1979 to 1980 before allegedly being dismissed for “over-familiarity”, he and Anne had had a “close” relationship. That newspaper has since been shut down, but some of his claims were included in a biography I read about the Queen and I’ve included them below for what it’s worth.

His claims have never been proven, nor has Anne ever acknowledged them. Staff that worked for Anne at the same time as Cross have called his claims ridiculous and completely false. Personally, I think that she was lonely and certainly had a close relationship with him at the time, but I find it hard to believe that it ever became more than someone to confide in. I certainly don’t believe the rumours that came out of it after he tried his best to imply that he was actually Zara’s father. Absolutely not.

Cross had been trying to sell his story in Fleet Street for years before one of them eventually took him up on his offer, a paper that his since been shut down for, among other things, illegally hacking people’s phones, including that of a murdered child. The NOTW smelled a scandal, and Cross obviously wanted to cash in and exploit whatever trust she had in him. Another dick, basically.

ANYWAY, Mark fathering that child was enough to allow Anne to divorce him. This was finalised in April 1992, and in December of that same year she was finally able to marry Tim. Again, I don’t have enough time to tell you what a sweetheart Timothy Laurence is, but if you do want to read the story of how he and Anne fell in love, I suggest reading this. It includes a short summary of their early days together that I think is SO sweet and sums it up perfectly. This came from one of Tim’s friends at the time:

“Tim never stopped thinking about Princess Anne from soon after their first meeting…. Anne has treated him as her closest confidant for some considerable time. Obviously, Tim and the princess were physically attracted to each other, but their friendship goes deeper than that. Tim has filled a loneliness in her life and given her a shoulder to cry on when she needed someone to tell her troubles to. He understands her tantrums and the bad publicity she attracts. But most of all, he cares for her in the way her husband does not.”

It’s also important to note that Mark hasn’t really changed a bit. After he and Anne divorced, he married his second wife, Sandy Pflueger in 1997 and had another daughter, Stephanie. Then in 2012, it emerged that he’d left his wife of 15 years for Lauren Hough, a show jumper who is the same age as his and Anne’s son Peter, who he had been cheating on his wife with for five years. What did he have to say on the matter? “I might only be alive for another five or ten years so I might as well be happy”. Yep. What a dick. Unfortunately for Lauren, if this post is anything to go by, she isn’t getting *ahem* much out of it. (annefic made me include this bit)

SO, that’s pretty much my explanation as to why Mark Phillips was, is and always will be a fuckboi of the highest order and doesn’t hold a candle to the sweet cinnamon roll angel that is Tim Laurence. I’m sorry it’s so long, but there’s a lot to cover and this isn’t even all of it lol

THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK ✌🏻

Mark Phillips or Tim Laurence?

there is no contest

Timothy Laurence is a giant cinnamon roll and if you have a few hours to spare, I will gladly sit you down and tell you all of the reasons why you should love him as much as Anne does and as much as I do.

Mark Phillips is t r a s h and I also have the receipts for that if you want them :)