Princess Anne and Sir Timothy Laurence celebrated 33 years of marital bliss on 12 December – but how did their royal wedding break from tradition?

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It’s been quite the year for Princess Anne. Not only has the Princess Royal continued to earn her status as the hardest working member of the Firm, undertaking a whole host of engagements to support her many charities, but the King’s sister has also celebrated her 75th birthday, travelled across the globe to Australia and Singapore, and just yesterday took to Fort George for the second time in two months for another military obligation.

By her side throughout this year of milestones? Her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, who was himself this year honoured by King Charles, becoming a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order. Today, Princess Anne and Sir Timothy mark the 33rd anniversary of their wedding, one that broke from royal tradition but was, in classic style for the Princess Royal, a blend of heart and proper pragmatism.

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The wedding of Captain Mark Phillips and the Princess Royal in November 1973 saw an estimated 500 million people tune in across the globe

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Princess Anne had previously been wed to Captain Mark Phillips, tying the knot in a royal wedding on 14 November 1973 with all the pomp and ceremony one might expect for the late Queen’s only daughter. A national holiday was called, and an estimated 500 million people tuned in across the world to watch the Princess Royal walk down the aisle of Westminster Abbey in her Tudor-style Maureen Baker dress and Queen Mary Fringe tiara.

The British royal family were all on the guest list for the wedding, which was a national holiday – Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco also made their way to Westminster Abbey

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The royal family turned out en masse to attend the wedding: Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Prince Edward, Prince Andrew, the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and her children, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, Princess Alexandra, and Princess Alice were all on the guest list, joining a host of Mountbattens, Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco, the King and Queen of the Hellenes, and the Crown Prince and Princess of Norway.

The couple would go on to welcome two children – Peter and Zara Phillips – but the union was not to last. By 31 August 1981, Princess Anne and Captain Phillips announced that they were to separate. Soon, they were romantically linked with other people and rarely seen together in public. While they had initially announced that there were ‘no plans for divorce’, Buckingham Palace revealed on 13 April 1992 that the Princess Royal had indeed filed for divorce. Ten days later, the matter was settled.

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Timothy Laurence on duty during the arrival of Nigerian President Babangida at Victoria Station in London – his first public appearance since being named as the author of letters stolen from the Princess Royal

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A few years earlier, Princess Anne had met Timothy Laurence, a commander in the Navy who had been serving on the Royal Yacht Britannia – the same vessel upon which she had spent her honeymoon with Captain Phillips. In 1986, Laurence was named an equerry to Queen Elizabeth II, and by 1989 – the year the late monarch described as her ‘annus horribilis’ – his relationship with the Princess Royal had started to evolve. Indeed, that year, The Sun leaked news that Laurence had been writing private letters to the Queen’s daughter.

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On 12 December 1992, eight months after Princess Anne’s divorce from Captain Phillips was finalised, she married Timothy Laurence at Crathie Kirk, near the royal family’s beloved Balmoral Castle. It was a totally different affair from Anne’s previous marriage. There was a time when it was unthinkable that the daughter of the head of the Church of England could possibly remarry following her divorce – the Church forbade it. As such, the Princess Royal tied the knot in Scotland, where the national Church did not consider marriage to be a binding sacrament. After saying ‘I do’, Princess Anne became the first royal divorcée to marry again since Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1905.

Tim Laurence and Princess Anne are seen in their car after their wedding at Crathie Church

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The Princess Royal’s father, brother, mother, and grandmother were among the 30 guests for her second wedding

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Considering the somewhat controversial nature of the big day, the guest list was drastically different. It was a family affair: Princess Anne, then aged 42, arrived with Prince Philip and an 11-year-old Zara Phillips, who would serve as her mother’s bridesmaid. The late Queen was in attendance, as were the Princess’s brothers and Princess Margaret, with the overall attendees totally just 30.

There would be no tiara for the occasion, just a simple spray of white flowers adorning Anne’s hair. The Princess Royal chose an off-white jacket with a matching skirt – one that was, at the time, considered a rather short cut, sitting as it did just above her knee. In another subtle departure from The Done Thing, Anne also wore black pumps, eschewing the ivory and white tones that may have been expected from a royal bride. Her ring was a cabochon sapphire with three diamonds on either side. The newlyweds and the royal family made their way to Caigowan Lodge for a private reception, and, just like that, Princess Anne had made history.

King Charles has this year named Timothy Laurence, pictured here with Princess Anne at Windsor Castle for the French state visit, a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order

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Thirty-three years later, and the couple are still supporting each other through a lifetime of royal service. Occasionally, the Princess Royal may even make a subtle nod to her second big day, donning a similar white skirt suit for an engagement, like at her Buckingham Palace reception with King Charles this February. Clearly, the wedding day still holds a special place in the heart of the Princess Royal, as it no doubt does in the hearts of her family and the public.