The Princess Royal spent her wedding anniversary on duty – perhaps the most Anne way imaginable to pass such a special day.
As she marked 33 years of marriage to Sir Tim Laurence, the Princess was at Sandhurst for the Sovereign’s Parade.
The ceremony at the Royal Military Academy marks the end of an arduous training programme for cadet officers before they continue their service.
The mid December parade, one of three held at the Academy through the year, usually sees a royal attending and this year, it was Anne doing the honours on behalf of King Charles.
The Princess, who turned 75 in August, arrived by helicopter for the ceremony which took place on a grey and drizzly day.
Anne had dressed to be seen in the murky weather, choosing a bright turquoise coat and matching fedora style hat and sensibly (well, this is the Princess Royal) adding a warm scarf underneath her crossover collar.
The Princess Royal inspected the cadet officers during the parade, stopping to chat to a few as she made her way along the line.
Sandhurst has seen many royal trainees in its time and Queen Elizabeth II famously tried to make her grandson, Prince William, giggle when she attended his passing out parade.
This was Princess Anne’s second military engagement in as many days. She had been in Fort George in Scotland 48 hours earlier to visit the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Princess Anne was at Sandhurst by herself before heading back to her home at Gatcombe Park to celebrate her wedding anniversary with Sir Tim.
The couple married on December 12 1992 at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral. The Princess Royal and the Vice Admiral decided to have their wedding there as the Church of Scotland permitted the marriage of people who had previously been divorced. Anne’s marriage to Captain Mark Phillips had legally ended earlier the same year.
The royal wedding of Princess Anne and Sir Tim Laurence was a low key affair, attended only by close family and friends.
The bride wore a cream two piece skirt suit and chose flowers as her headwear rather than a tiara. She arrived at the church with her father, Prince Philip, and her daughter, Zara, who was then aged 11.
Although it was a small wedding, there was huge interest in the ceremony. Princess Anne was the first of the children of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to divorce and remarry. However, her wedding came just days after the then Prime Minister, Sir John Major, had stunned the House of Commons by announcing the separation of Charles and Diana.
Media from around the world descended on Crathie to follow the Royal Family in its first big major appearance since the announcement of the separation.
Just a few official photos of the event were released including one of a beaming Queen Elizabeth II standing proudly at the side of her only daughter.
The marriage has become one of the strongest and longest lasting in the modern Royal Family. Sir Tim Laurence accompanies his wife on a wide range of engagements, recently taking part in a tour of Australia and Singapore with her, but he isn’t counted as a working member of the Royal Family.
Princess Anne’s busy diary shows no signs of slowing down for Christmas just yet. In the week ahead, the Princess has events lined up in London, Oxford and Edinburgh.
It’s also expected that the Princess Royal will join her brother, King Charles, at Sandringham for Christmas with her own family including her son, Peter Phillips, and his new fiancée, Harriet Sperling, also thought to be on the guest list.
