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. An estimated 500 million television viewers from around the world watched them marry.

Engagement

Princess Anne and Mark Phillips met at the Munich Olympics in 1972 where he won an equestrian gold medal. 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.

Their engagement was announced in May 1973.

The wedding

The day was declared a 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.

The service was a traditional royal wedding conducted by Donald Coggan, the Archbishop of Canterbury at the time. The married couple then returned to Buckingham Palace for the traditional balcony appearance before going on their honeymoon, on board the Royal Yacht Britannia traveling the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.

Clothing

Main article: Wedding dress of Princess Anne

Being a traditional royal wedding, Mark Phillips, being a Lieutenant at the time, wore the army uniform of his regiment, the Queen's Dragoon Guards while Princess Anne wore a Tudor wedding inspired dress which included a traditional high collar and medieval sleeves, inspired by Elizabethan dress. It was made of silk especially woven for the Princess Anne.

Her tiara was borrowed from her mother, Elizabeth II's wedding to Philip Mountbatten.

Attendants

The Royal family that attended the wedding included:

• Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh
• Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
  • His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales
  • His Royal Highness The Prince Andrew
  • His Royal Highness The Prince Edward
• Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, and The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Snowdon
  • Viscount Linley
  • Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones
• Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
  • Their Royal Highnesses Prince and Princess Richard of Gloucester
  • Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Kent
    • The Earl of St Andrews
    • Lady Helen Windsor
  • His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent
  • Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Mrs Angus Ogilvy and The Hon. Angus Ogilvy
    • James Ogilvy
    • Marina Ogilvy
• Her Royal Highness Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone

Other royal guests

• Their Serene Highnesses The Prince and Princess of Monaco
• Their Royal Highnesses The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway
• His Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Sweden
• Their Majesties King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes
• Their Royal Highnesses The Crown Princess of the Netherlands and Prince Claus of the Netherlands
• Their Royal Highnesses Prince Juan Carlos and Princess Sofía of Spain

The Princess Royal was escorted to her wedding in the traditional horse and carriage, The Glass Coach, by her father, Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh.