Mark Phillips

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This article is about the former husband of the Princess Royal. For other people with the same name, see Mark Phillips (disambiguation).
Capt Mark Phillips
Born Mark Anthony Peter Phillips
(1948-09-22) 22 September 1948 (age 64)
Tetbury, Gloucestershire
Spouse(s) Anne, Princess Royal
(m. 1973, div. 1992)
Sandy Pflueger
(m. 1997, separated 2012)
Children Peter Phillips
Zara Phillips
Felicity Tonkin
Stephanie Phillips
Parents Maj Peter William Garside Phillips (deceased)
Anne Patricia Tiarks (deceased)

Captain Mark Anthony Peter Phillips, CVO, ADC(P) (born 22 September 1948) is a British Olympic gold-medal-winning horseman and ex-husband of Anne, Princess Royal, with whom he had two children. He remains a leading figure in British equestrian circles, a noted designer of showjumping circuits, and a columnist in Horse & Hound magazine.

Contents

Early life [edit]

Mark Phillips is the son of the late Major Peter William Garside Phillips (1920–1998),[1] and Anne Patricia Phillips (née Tiarks)[2] (1926–1988).

He was educated at Stouts Hill Preparatory School near Uley, Gloucestershire, and Marlborough College, then the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Military career [edit]

Upon passing out from Sandhurst, Phillips was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Queen's Dragoon Guards in July 1969[3], where he acquired the nickname "Foggy" on the grounds that he was "thick and wet". After the expected period, he was promoted to Lieutenant in January 1971.[4] By the start of 1974, Phillips was an acting Captain when he was appointed a Personal Aide-de-Camp to Queen Elizabeth II.[5] Phillips was substantively promoted to captain in July 1975.[6] Phillips retired from the Army on 30 March 1978.[7]

After retiring from the Army, Phillips continued to style himself Captain Mark Phillips.[8] Ordinarily, only Army officers of or above the rank of Major may use their rank when retired. However, retired junior cavalry officers whose civilian work involves equestrianism may continue to use their rank.[9]

Equestrian career [edit]

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  Great Britain
Equestrian
Gold 1972 Munich Team three-day event
Silver 1988 Seoul Team three-day event

In 1972, Phillips was a member of the British three-day event team, which won the gold medal at the Munich Olympics. He won the Badminton Horse Trials in 1971 and 1972 riding Great Ovation, in 1974 on Colombus, and in 1981 on Lincoln.

In 1998, Phillips designed the cross-country venue for the Red Hills Horse Trials, a qualifying event for the Olympics located in Tallahassee, Florida, USA.

It was through his equestrian activities that he met Princess Anne, only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

He is now a regular columnist in Horse & Hound magazine. He also remains a leading figure in British equestrian circles, and presently serves as Chef d'Equipe of the United States Eventing Team.[10]

Personal life [edit]

Main article: Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Philips

Phillips married Princess Anne on 14 November 1973, at Westminster Abbey,[11] and had two children:

The Queen is believed to have offered him a peerage on his wedding day, which he declined. This may also have been the specific wish of Princess Anne.[citation needed] (As female-line grandchildren of the Sovereign, Princess Anne's children were never eligible for the style "Royal Highness" or the title "Prince/Princess" under the terms of George V's letters patent of 1917). If Phillips held a peerage, however, his children with Princess Anne would have been entitled to be addressed as "The Honourable", or as "Lord" or "Lady". In the case of the Queen's sister, The Princess Margaret, her ex-husband, Anthony Armstrong-Jones, became the Earl of Snowdon upon marriage, with the subsidiary title, Viscount Linley. As a result, Lord Snowdon's son, David, is entitled use "Viscount Linley" as a courtesy title, and David's children, Charles and Margarita are addressed as "The Honourable". Zara and Peter do not hold royal styles or aristocratic honours but by virtue of their royal bloodline they are in the line of succession to the Commonwealth realms.

The Queen bought the couple Gatcombe Park near Minchinhampton as a wedding present. Several sources, including Nicholas Davies' book Queen Elizabeth II: A Woman Who Is Not Amused have attempted to cast doubt on whether Phillips fathered his daughter Zara.[12][13][14][15]

In August 1985 Phillips fathered a daughter, Felicity, as a result of an extramarital affair with New Zealand art teacher Heather Tonkin. Phillips was confirmed as the father as a result of DNA testing during a paternity suit in 1991.[16] In 1989 the Princess Royal and Mark Phillips announced their intention to separate, as the marriage had been under strain for a number of years. The couple divorced on 23 April 1992.[17][18]

On 1 February 1997, Phillips married Sandy Pflueger, an American dressage rider. Their daughter Stephanie was born on 2 October 1997.[18]

On 3 May 2012, it was confirmed by Capt Phillips' solicitors at the law firm CKFT that Phillips and Pflueger had separated, intending to divorce. Phillips is presently reported to be in a relationship with US show jumping rider Lauren Hough, at 35 some four months younger than his son. The couple are reported to be planning to live together in Wellington, Florida.[19]

Titles, styles, honours and arms [edit]

Honours [edit]

Insignia of CVO

Military [edit]

Arms [edit]

Arms of Mark Phillips
Notes
These arms were granted to Peter Phillips, the father of Captain Mark Phillips, in October 1973. Mark used these arms differenced with a three point label until he inherited the undifferenced arms from his father in 1998.:[20] He was granted hereditary supporters a rare privilege for untitled people.
Arms of Mark Phillips.svg
Escutcheon
Per chevron azure and Or, in chief a horse courant argent, and in base a sprig of forget-me-not flowers, slipped and leaved proper.:[20]

Issue [edit]

Name Birth Marriage Issue
Peter Phillips 15 November 1977 17 May 2008 Autumn Kelly Savannah Phillips
Isla Phillips
Zara Phillips 15 May 1981 30 July 2011 Mike Tindall
Felicity Tonkin 10 August 1985
Stephanie Phillips 2 October 1997

Ancestry [edit]

Footnotes [edit]

  1. ^ thePeerage.com Phillips family update
  2. ^ tiarks.co.uk
  3. ^ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44923. p. 8768. 22 August 1969. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  4. ^ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 45287. p. 912. 26 January 1971. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  5. ^ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46174. p. 267. 7 January 1974. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  6. ^ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 46644. p. 9641. 28 July 1975. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  7. ^ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 47508. p. 4411. 10 April 1978. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  8. ^ http://www.britroyals.com/family.asp?id=mark
  9. ^ http://www.debretts.com/forms-of-address/professions/armed-forces/army/retired.aspx
  10. ^ United States Equestrian Federation
  11. ^ http://www.royal.gov.uk/ThecurrentRoyalFamily/ThePrincessRoyal/Marriageandfamily.aspx The Official Website of the British Monarchy
  12. ^ Davies, Nicholas. Queen Elizabeth II: A Woman Who Is Not Amused. A Birch Lane Press Book. ISBN 1-55972-217-7
  13. ^ Cathcart, Helen. Anne, The Princess Royal. Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0-491-03058-8
  14. ^ Hoey, Brian. Zara Phillips: A Revealing Portrait of A Royal World Champion. Virgin Books ISBN 978-0-7535-1309-5
  15. ^ Shawcross, William. Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother: The Official Biography. MacMillan ISBN 978-1-4050-4859-0
  16. ^ Mail on Sunday
  17. ^ Brozan, Nadine (24 April 1992). "Chronicle". New York Times. 
  18. ^ a b "Princess Anne's ex-husband a father again". Reading Eagle (Reading, PA). 7 October 1997. p. A10. 
  19. ^ The Telegraph
  20. ^ a b "News & Views". The Heraldry Gazette (57): 17. March 1974. 
Authority control
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