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In Season 4, we see Anne become increasingly unhappy with Phillips.
But what really happened between Anne and her first husband?
Here is the truth about Princess Anne’s first marriage.
One of Anne’s earliest romances was with Gerald Ward, an Eton-educated friend of the family.
Notably, he eventually became Prince Harry’s godfather (viaThe Telegraph).
One of Anne’s most famous early suitors was Richard Meade.
AsPeoplereported, this event took place in Mexico City, so it was the year that theOlympicswere hosted there.
Captain Mark Phillips was also a member of Britain’s Olympic equestrian team, just as Princess Anne was.
According toNewsweek, the couple quickly bonded over a mutual love of horses.
In fact, there is even abookabout the couple’s love of horses and their impressive equestrian careers.
The couple became engaged in 1973.
During a press event, Anne was asked if the marriage could last under the pressure ofroyallife.
She famously replied, “Can?
It’s got to, hasn’t it?”
But how much truth is there to the romance between Anne and Parker Bowles?
While the pair are shown in somepretty racy situationsinThe Crown, the real-life romance was probably a little different.
And it turns out, Anne’s relationship with Parker Bowles did not overlap with Camilla’s.
Sounds like the real-life story is a little less dramatic.
According to Smith, who also spoke toElle, their relationship fizzled out and they remained friends.
Parker Bowles is even godfather to Anne’s daughter with Mark Phillips,Zara.
AsPeoplenoted, the “famously low-key” princess pulled out all the stops on her wedding day.
She was the first of the queen’s children to marry, so the wedding was surrounded with intrigue.
Roughly 500 million people were said to have tuned in to watch the event.
The BBC presented an eight-hour broadcast, and the day was made a national holiday.
But unfortunately for royal fans, thislavish ceremony was entirely skipped over inThe Crown.
The home was refurbished by the Crown before the family moved in in the late ’70s.
The large estate was ideal for the horse-loving couple, as it provided the perfect land for equestrian events.
“This is not something that comes free,” she said.
“This has got to pay [its] way, otherwise I can’t stay here.”
It remains Anne’s permanent residence as of 2020.
AsHello!noted, Anne started a famous trend with the birth of her son.
Anne and Phillips also shocked the world by deciding against giving their children titles.
One of the earlier reported affairs was between Anne and her bodyguard, Sergeant Peter Cross.
He’s the one thing that makes me happy."
So, what really happened between Anne and her bodyguard?
Cross had been Anne’s personal bodyguard for about a year when the rumors started in 1979.
In 1988, theLos Angeles Timesspoke to the actor about his close relationship with the princess.
When asked about the rumors, Andrews refused to comment.
“I’ve learned that you cannot win in that kind of situation,” he explained.
TheChicago Tribunewrote in 1989 that Phillips had “semi-public affairs” with a series of women during the marriage.
AsPeoplereported, Rippon and Birks denied the rumors.
“We struck up an immediate rapport,” she said.
Phillips commented, “I never had a relationship with Miss Whatever-Her-Name-Is.”
WhileThe Crowndoes show Anne and Phillips drifting apart, it completely left out the rumors about Phillips' affairs.
Friends reportedly claimed that the couple remained together for the sake of their children.
As the publication revealed, for years, their lives had increasingly separated.
They frequently traveled separately and spent months on end apart.
According toNew Idea, Phillips had always struggled to accept the child.
One friend said, “He just never accepted it and he couldn’t cope with it.”
It seems as though that scandal was the last straw in their incredibly strained marriage (viaExpress).
Anne and Laurence married in December of 1992.
As of 2020, Anne and Laurence are still happily married.
It seems pretty clear that her ill-fated first marriage came to an end at the right time.
Unsurprisingly, he ended up falling for another horse lover.
In 1997, he married Sandy Pflueger, a fellow Olympic equestrian from the US team.
However, as theExpressreported, his second marriage was also unsuccessful.
Apparently, he fell for yet another horse-loving woman in 2012, Lauren Hough.
He certainly has a key in!
