During Princess Anne’s hospitalization, victim of a concussion, her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, did not leave her bedside and he continues to watch over her convalescence at Gatcombe Park. A dedication that, for more than 30 years, has rhymed with discretion.
The infidelities of Mark Phillips, Anne’s first husband, having ended up causing disorder, their separation was announced – “in terms agreed between them” – on August 31, 1989, by a Royal statement of Buckingham. THE status quo seems likely to continue, but Anne can hardly tolerate ambiguous situations. In 1991, Elizabeth II authorized her daughter to initiate divorce proceedings. A few weeks earlier, just before the Christmas holidays, a certain Timothy Laurence had been invited to Sandringham…
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Royal Navy Commander Timothy James Hamilton Laurence is also no stranger to royal circles. Born in London’s Camberwell district on March 1, 1955, he is four and a half years younger than Anne. From 1987 to 1989, he was an equerry to the Queen. He comes from a line of Venetian Jewish merchants who immigrated to England in the 18th century and converted to Christianity.
A simple and discreet wedding in Scotland
With great tact, Tim would remain anonymous until the Princess Royal’s first marriage was dissolved on April 23, 1992. No royal divorcee had married a second time since Victoria-Melita, daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1905. And since the Anglican Church was reluctant to bless her new union, Anne turned to the Presbyterians of Scotland, who were less fussy in this area.
The princess’s remarriage, in the context of the small pink granite church of Crathie Kirk, built by Victoria in 1893 not far from her Balmoral estate, ends on a more optimistic note.a terrible year (“the year of horror”) of Elizabeth II. The scandalous separations of Andrew and Sarah, then of Charles and Diana, and the fire at Windsor Castle in November, made 1992 one of the darkest parenthesis in the sovereign’s long existence.
Two to three hundred die-hard faithful braved the New Caledonian cold, the humidity and the gusts of wind, in the afternoon of December 12, 1992, to greet the new happiness of their princess. By order of Her Majesty, the “survivors” of the royal family were ordered to close ranks. Diana, who remained in London, simply scribbled a note of congratulations to the woman who would soon be her ex-sister-in-law. On the other hand, Charles, Andrew, Edward and Margaret are there. Queen Mum herself overcame her aversion to divorced and remarried people.
Ten minutes late, Anne arrives in a Range Rover, accompanied by her daughter Zara, then aged 11. She is wearing a discreet suit, hesitating between ivory and off-white, and a hat decorated with freesias. During the ceremony, dispatched in less than half an hour, the Reverend Keith Angus will remind the couple: “For your whole lives, you will owe each other mutual aid, assistance and tenderness.” Then Anne and Tim emerge from the small chapel to the sound of bagpipes playing the traditional Mary’s Wedding : “Red her cheeks as rowans are, / Bright her eye as any star, / Fairest o’ them a’ by far, / Is our darling Mairi. – His cheeks are red like mountain ash,/ His eyes are bright like the stars. / By far the most beautiful of all / Is our beloved Mary.”
A group of pupils from the local primary school give Anne a bouquet of white heather, a small yellow horseshoe for good luck, and Tim a greeting card depicting a warship. The reception for this village wedding will take place at Craigowan Lodge, an annex of Balmoral, which serves as a canteen for the castle staff. The thirty guests enjoy chicken soup, nibbling on a few sandwiches and chips, all washed down with tea. All of these Spartan “festivities” will have cost less than 15,000 francs at the time – around 3,800 euros today. A fine tribute to the sense of economy that has always characterized Princess Anne!
Effectively support Anne, without encroaching on her official duties
Since the union was not celebrated according to the Anglican rite, Tim Laurence will never be formally integrated into the royal family. On the other hand, Elizabeth II, who appreciated him very much, will name him her personal aide-de-camp in 2008 and will invest him three years later, as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. Supreme consecration, he will appear with the “active members” of the Windsor clan on the balcony of Buckingham, for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, in 2022.
Throughout the three decades of an uneventful marriage, Tim will show himself as Anne’s “rock”, to use the expression used by Elizabeth II with regard to Philip. Like his late father-in-law, he will know how to effectively support his wife, without encroaching on his official duties. Peter Phillips, Anne’s son, will also pay her this beautiful tribute, during a documentary produced for the Princess Royal’s 70th birthday: “They both understand what it means to be part of an extended family and that that this requires.” If Anne and Tim share a love of rugby, the latter does not have his wife’s passion for horse riding: “She grew up with horses, he will confide one day. Horses are part of her life .It’s not something I share with her. Unfortunately, I’ve never been bitten by the horse bug.”
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In addition to their country estate at Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire, Tim and Anne initially rented a flat in the Dolphin Square complex in Westminster as their London residence. They subsequently occupied apartments in Buckingham Palace and now at St James’s Palace. After a career in various departments of the Navy, Tim retired in 2010 and now manages a financial portfolio, mainly in the charitable sector. Among other commitments, he has also been Chairman of theEnglish Heritage Trust until 2022, and vice-president of the Commonwealth War Graves – which manages the graves of Commonwealth soldiers.
