The wedding of HRH Princess Anne and Commander Timothy Laurence took place thirty years ago today at Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral.
It came just three days after the momentous announcement of the split between Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
After such a whirlwind week for the heir to throne, Princess Anne’s second marriage wasn’t wildly box-office to the media, but it didn’t slip entirely under the radar.
Anne’s divorce from Captain Mark Phillips after 18 years of marriage came through in April 1992.
A fortnight later, the British tabloids went into full-on gush mode when they spotted the Princess at a Ball.
‘Anne gets her man’ cried tabloids
“Princess Anne has danced the night away with a handsome navy frigate commander just two weeks after getting a divorce,” they trumpeted.
They splashed pictures of Anne, then 41, tripping a Scottish reel at the Royal Caledonian Ball with 37-year-old Commander Tim Laurence, her former equerry.
“Anne gets her man,” according to the paper, Today.
She was ‘starry-eyed’ in The Sun, and ‘so in love’ in the Daily Mirror.
The Sunday Tribune had a mole in the form of a guest at the charity ball, who reported that Laurence whirled Anne round the dance floor.
“She was laughing almost non-stop. She was ecstatic.”
Anne had known Laurence since 1986 when he appeared in the Royal inner circle as an equerry to Queen Elizabeth.
They tried hard to keep their relationship low-key and private, and have largely succeeded to this day.
There was a hiccup in 1989 when intimate letters from Tim to Anne were leaked to The Sun, but they were handed into the police for investigation and the contents never published.
It didn’t stop public speculation about their contents however, with The Sunday Mirror claiming they were of “an extremely personal and intimate nature” and “too hot to handle.”
Quite clear Tim Laurence ‘potty’ about Princess Anne
Another source told People magazine that the letters were much tamer.
“It’s quite clear that he is potty about her, but they are very boring and ramble on,” they said. “They are the sort of letters 18 or 19-year-olds write to one another, thoughts about life and rather philosophical.”
Anne and Mark Phillips announced their separation later that year.
A historical note to conjure with: Anne’s divorce was only the second in the inner circle of the Royal family since the 16th century when Henry VIII was busy getting through his six wives.
Anne and Tim married at Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral, possibly chosen as the Church of England did not allow marriage rites for divorced individuals.
Anne wore a white suit for the occasion, while Tim donned his naval uniform.
The couple reportedly exchanged vows to stay together “until God shall separate us by death.”
Crathie Kirk wedding was low-key affair
There was no fanfare, no fleets of limos carrying celebrities or banks of paparazzo.
Only a few members of the public turned up and camped out for the occasion.
The thought was the people were upset about the recent announcement of the Charles and Diana split.
A convoy of 4x4s took the bride and groom and the rest of the Royal family from Balmoral to Crathie Kirk for the 30-minute service.
The front page of the order of service, seen by the P&J, simply stated ‘Crathie Church, 1992’ without making any reference to who was getting married.
Rev Keith Angus presided.
A carol started proceedings
The service started with the carol It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, followed by the statement that everyone was gathered together for the wedding of the Princess Royal to Cdr Laurence.
The hymn Father Hear The Prayer We Offer followed the lessons, before prayers and the marriage itself took place.
The final hymn was O Worship The King.
The couple spent the first night of their marriage at Craigowan Lodge on Balmoral estate, and managed to slip away unnoticed by waiting press the following day.
After that, it was back to normal for Crathie residents as the security cordons and media melted away, and local youngsters could enjoy their re-scheduled Christmas party in the village hall.
Dignity has been the watchword of Anne and Tim’s union.
Tim received no peerage on marriage, but was made a personal aide-de-camp to the Queen in 2008 and invested in June 2011 as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
Now the couple have reached their pearl anniversary with the Princess Royal busier than ever, and Cdr Laurence now a Vice-Admiral.
Commander Laurence now a quiet fixture of royal life
He has become a quiet fixture of royal life alongside the princess, accompanying her on state visits and to royal events.
During the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Tim was granted a rare dispensation to remain on the Buckingham Palace balcony, despite a decision to only host working royals, and the Cambridge and Wessex children, on the balcony during Trooping the Colour.
“The Queen is happy (for Timothy Laurence) to attend as a frequent attendee and support for the Princess Royal on official engagements,” Buckingham Palace announced ahead of the event.
After the Queen’s death in September, Tim remained by Anne’s side, travelling with her as they accompanied the Queen’s coffin from Scotland to London.
Conversation