The Queen’s son-in-law: Who is Sir Timothy Laurence?

Princess Anne married Captain Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey in 1973. The two got divorced in 1989 and reportedly, in the same year, private letters between Princess Anne and Sir Timothy were made public. Buckingham Palace stated back then:

The stolen letters were addressed to the Princess Royal by Commander Timothy Laurence, the Queen’s equerry.

We have nothing to say about the contents of personal letters sent to Her Royal Highness by a friend which were stolen and which are the subject of a police investigation.

Who is Sir Timothy Laurence?

Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence is Princess Anne’s second husband. The two got married on December 12, 1992, in a private service in front of just 30 guests at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral, confirms The Sun. At that time, the Church of England did not allow divorced people to re-marry in its churches while their former spouses were still alive.

What does he do?

He’s a retired Royal Navy officer who was equerry to the Queen between 1986 and 1989. Born in Camberwell, Sir Timothy attended the New Beacon Prep Sevenoaks School in Kent. He then went to the University of Durham on a naval scholarship. He received a Bachelor of Science upper 2nd class honours geography degree.

He also trained at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth after leaving Durham University. Before embarking on a nearly 40-years career in the navy, he edited the student newspaper and was the captain of his college cricket team.

Princess Anne and Sir Timothy live at Gatcombe Park, a 730-acre Grade II-listed estate in Gloucestershire.

Why isn’t he given a royal title?

Express.co.uk confirms that the Queen has only bestowed a royal title on royal men when they tie the knot. However, royal titles have rarely been given to men who marry Royal Family women in recent decades. The only exception, in this case, is Queen's sister Princess Margaret.

As such, Sir Timothy was never given a royal title, but he was made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 2011 by the Queen.

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