Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips


The wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips took place on Wednesday, 14 November 1973 at Westminster Abbey in London. 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.

Engagement

Anne first met her future husband Mark Phillips at a party for horse lovers in 1968. Princess Anne had been a keen fan of horses for most of her life and they bonded over that. She was BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1971. Phillips later went on to win an equestrian gold medal at the Munich Olympics in 1972. Their engagement was announced on 29 May 1973. Phillips presented Anne with a Garrard engagement ring made from sapphire and diamond.

The wedding

The wedding day, which was on the twenty-fifth birthday of her older brother, Charles, Prince of Wales was declared 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. 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. Princess Anne was accompanied to the ceremony in the Glass State Coach by her father, the Duke of Edinburgh. The Queen, The Queen Mother, Prince Charles, 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. A tall icy wedding cake with silver tiers was prepared for the ceremony. 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.
The service was a traditional royal wedding conducted by Donald Coggan, the Archbishop of Canterbury. In keeping with tradition, Anne's wedding ring was crafted from Welsh gold. 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. 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. The wedding ceremony was positively received by the public who gathered in the streets to celebrate the occasion. The BBC gained the rights to broadcast the event.

Clothing

Anne wore an "embroidered Tudor-style wedding dress, with a high collar and mediaeval-influenced sleeves". The dress was high-necked and high-waisted. It was designed by Maureen Baker, the chief designer for Susan Small. Anne's hair was "slightly parted up-do, with beehive volume," and the Queen Mary Fringe Tiara secured her veil. Phillips wore the full dress uniform of his regiment, the Queen's Dragoon Guards.

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.

Guests

Notable guests that attended the wedding included:

[British royal family]