The Church of England was against her second marriage. So how did Princess Anne sort out a very practical route to happiness on this day?

• Princess Anne and Sir Timothy Laurence were married on December 12, 1992
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Long known as a straightforward, practical kind of woman, Princess Anne found a very practical solution when things conspired to make her second marriage tricky.

Anne was already divorced from first husband, Captain Mark Philips, when she agreed to marry Timothy Laurence. 

But the Church of England did not permit the remarriage of divorcees. So on this day, December 12, 1992, Anne and Timothy Laurence wed in a small ceremony north of the border in the Scottish Presbyterian Church. 

It was a far cry from the magnificence of Princess Anne’s 1973 marriage to Mark Philips at Westminster Abbey, which had been the first royal wedding to reach a mass television audience – and in colour! 

Princess Anne and Sir Timothy Laurence were married on on December 12, 1992, in Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral in Scotland

Princess Anne and Tim Laurence pictured with his mother, Prince Philip, Peter Phillips, Zara Phillips and Queen Elizabeth on their wedding day

It was less than a month after her decree absolute that the Princess Royal and Tim Laurence were married at Crathie Kirk, Balmoral.

Sir Tim first made it to the heart of royal life in 1986, when he was appointed as the Queen’s Equerry – an official assistant to the Royal Family.

READ MORE:  How Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence rose from being an unknown aide to the Queen to Princess Anne’s devoted husband

The pair slowly fell in love and three years later, Timothy proposed to Anne with a cabochon sapphire and diamond ring. It was a simple yet unique design, suited perfectly for the no-nonsense royal.

The ceremony involved just 30 guests including her parents the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Princess Margaret, her children Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, Prince Charles and Prince Andrew.

The wedding also happened to take place just days after Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their legal separation.

For the big day, Princess Anne opted against the traditional bridal gown and instead wore a high-neck shift-style dress with a white suit jacket.

She accessorised the look with black shoes and carried a small bunch of heather for her bouquet – matching the flowers in her hair, styled with her signature beehive. 

Sir Timothy wore his naval uniform.

Traditional Scottish bagpipes played as the newlyweds left the church for their post-ceremony celebration at Craigowan Lodge on the Balmoral estate.

The low-key affair had just 30 guests in attendance, including her parents the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip (pictured)

Pictured: Tim Laurence and Princess Anne seen in their car after their wedding ceremony

Having made the leap from royal servant to royal spouse, Sir Tim has now been at the heart of the world’s most famous family for more than 30 years.

As well as accompanying the Queen at engagements, Sir Tim also escorted other royals, such as Princess Diana and the Duchess of York to venues and events.

His discretion and calm competence quickly won the trust of other royals with the late Queen and Prince Philip said to have been firm admirers.

A connection between the princess and her future husband first became noticed when, in 1988, Anne invited him to become a trustee of her charity – The Princess Royal’s Charity Trust.

By then, her relationship Mark Philips was on the rocks and matters seemed to escalate when the existence of a series of letters written by Sir Tim to Anne became public knowledge.

The letters had been stolen from Anne’s briefcase and delivered to The Sun. Rather than publishing them, the newspaper handed them to the police.

Almost overnight, he went from being an unknown member of the Queen’s staff to a potential love interest of the married Princess Royal. The navy officer believed that the saga would be the end of his career.

It had been less than four decades since King George VI’s married Equerry, Peter Townsend, had seen his own career come to a virtual halt when it emerged that he and Princess Margaret were in love.

Times had changed, however. 

Within days of the letter’s existence emerging, the Queen showed her support for Sir Tim by having him by her side at public engagements.

It was said, however, that Prince Philip had been less forgiving and had been angry that a servant of the Queen had acted in such a way with his married daughter.

But that did not stop Sir Tim’s romance with Anne from blossoming, as her marriage to Phillips petered out.

The pair announced their separation at the end of August in 1989 and in April 1992 the Palace announced that Anne had filed for divorce. 

Pictured: A bystander waiting for for the Princess Royal’s wedding at Crathie Church, Scotland

Pictured: Princess Anne and Sir Tim with their dog on their first wedding anniversary in 1993

Pictured: The banns of marriage for the Princess Royal and Timothy Laurence in 1992

Anne and Sir Tim went public with their romance in May 1992, a fortnight after her divorce was finalised. The couple took to the floor together at the Royal Caledonian Ball in London for a series of dances.

Their wedding later that year provided a happy ending to what the Queen had described as her ‘annus horribilis’.

Princess Anne and Sir Timothy now live together on the Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire.

Anne’s two children from her first marriage, Peter Philips and Zara Tindall, also live on the estate with their respective partners and children.

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