Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips

The wedding of Princess Anne (later Anne, Princess Royal) and Mark Phillips took place on Wednesday, 14 November 1973 at Westminster Abbey in London.[1] Princess Anne is the only daughter and second child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, while Mark Phillips is a retired British Army cavalry officer and a skilled horseman and equestrian.

Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips
Date14 November 1973 (14 November 1973)
VenueWestminster Abbey
LocationLondon, England, United Kingdom
ParticipantsPrincess Anne (later Anne, Princess Royal)
Mark Phillips

Engagement

Anne first met her future husband Mark Phillips at a party for horse lovers in 1968.[2] Both were competitive equestrians, with Anne winning the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 1971 after her victory at that year's European Eventing Championships,[3] and Phillips winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1972. Their engagement was announced on 29 May 1973.[4][5] Phillips presented Anne with a Garrard engagement ring made from sapphire and diamond.[5][6]

The wedding
Combined coat of arms of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips

The wedding day, which was on the twenty-fifth birthday of her older brother, Charles, Prince of Wales was declared a special bank holiday and a global estimated audience of 500 million watched the Westminster Abbey ceremony, with large crowds lining the streets on the wedding day.[4][7][8] In the UK, 27.6 million people tuned in to watch the event.[9] Although Phillips was technically a lieutenant in the Army at the time of the marriage, he was also an acting Captain and was styled as such.[10][11] Princess Anne was accompanied to the ceremony in the Glass State Coach by her father, the Duke of Edinburgh.[5] The Queen, The Queen Mother, The Prince of Wales, and Prince Andrew arrived in the Scottish State Coach. The ceremony featured many ceremonial aspects, including use of the state carriages and roles for the Household Cavalry, Irish Guards, and Coldstream Guards.[12] A tall, iced wedding cake with silver tiers was prepared for the ceremony.[13] Tiers of the cake were formed in the shape of a hexagon, and "a statue of a female jockey leaping a fence" was placed on top of it as a tribute to Anne's career as an equestrian.[14]

The service was a traditional royal wedding conducted by Michael Ramsey, the Archbishop of Canterbury. In keeping with tradition, Anne's wedding ring was crafted from Welsh gold.[15] The tradition of using Welsh gold within the wedding rings of the Royal Family dates back to 1923. Following the service, the couple then returned to Buckingham Palace for the traditional balcony appearance and a wedding lunch.[11] At night, they stayed at White House Lodge in Richmond Park before going on their honeymoon on board the Royal Yacht Britannia, travelling the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.[4][11] The wedding ceremony was positively received by the public who gathered in the streets to celebrate the occasion.[4][11] The BBC gained the rights to broadcast the event.[15]

Clothing

Anne wore an "embroidered Tudor-style wedding dress, with a high collar and medieval -influenced sleeves".[11] The dress was high-necked and high-waisted.[16] It was designed by Maureen Baker, the chief designer for Susan Small.[17][18] Anne wore a pair of diamond cluster earrings and her hair was "slightly parted up-do, with beehive volume."[5] The Queen Mary Fringe Tiara secured her veil.[19][20] Phillips wore the full dress uniform of his regiment, the Queen's Dragoon Guards.[21][11]

Best man, bridesmaid and page boy

Capt. Eric Grounds served as the groom's best man. Princess Anne's bridesmaid was her nine-year-old cousin, Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, the daughter of Princess Margaret, while her page boy was her nine-year-old brother, Prince Edward.[11][4][22]

Guests

1,500 guests attended the wedding, including:[7]

British royal family

Other royal guests

References
  1. "Princess Anne, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  2. Longworth, R. C. (1 September 1989). "Princess Anne To Separate From Husband". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  3. Corrigan, Peter (14 December 2003). "Bravo for Jonny but Beeb need new act". The Independent. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
  4. "Princess Anne's wedding". BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  5. "Iconic weddings: Princess Anne and Mark Phillips". Hello!. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  6. Chang, Mahalia (27 November 2017). "A Very Thorough History Of British Royal Engagement Rings". Harper's Bazaar Australia. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  7. "Royal Wedding Souvenir Issue". Daily Express. No. 22830. Beaverbrook Newspapers. 15 November 1973.
  8. "Photograph of procession for Princess Anne's wedding". UK Parliament. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  9. "Features | Britain's Most Watched TV | 1970s". British Film Institute (BFI). Archived from the original on 22 November 2005. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  10. Morgan, Gwen. "A Royal Wedding Album". Chicago Tribune 15 November 1973. Retrieved 4 March 2016. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Michael Ramsey, blesses Princess Ann and Capt. Mark Phillips....
  11. "1973: Crowds cheer marriage of Princess Anne". BBC. 14 November 1973. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  12. Mackie, Lindsay (12 November 2006). "This week in 1973: The marriage of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  13. Ball, Sarah (March 2011). "Tiers of Joy: Royal Wedding Cakes". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  14. "The Royal Wedding Cakes of History". The Royal Family. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  15. Crosby, John (11 October 2014). "From the Observer archive, 14 October 1973: royal wedding fever". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  16. "The Most Iconic Royal Wedding Gowns of All Time (slide 23)". Harper's Bazaar. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  17. "The most beautiful royal wedding dresses of all time, from Princess Diana to Grace Kelly". The Daily Telegraph. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  18. "The most iconic Royal wedding dresses (slide 18)". Marie Claire UK. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  19. Maloney, Maggie (26 March 2018). "The 22 Most Gorgeous Royal Wedding Tiara Moments of All Time (slide 14)". Town & Country. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  20. "British royal wedding tiaras: See the jewels worn by princess brides". Hello!. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  21. Lopez, Alfred, ed. (2005). Postcolonial Whiteness: A Critical Reader on Race and Empire. Albany, NY, USA: State University of New York Press. p. 49. ISBN 0791463613.
  22. "November 15, 1973 - A royal wedding album". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015.
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