Mark Phillips
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| Mark Phillips | |
|---|---|
| Captain (Retired), 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards | |
| Spouse | Sandy Pflueger (1997 – ) Anne, Princess Royal (1973 – 1992) |
| Issue | |
| Peter Mark Andrew Phillips Zara Phillips Felicity Tonkin Stephanie Phillips |
|
| Full name | |
| Mark Anthony Peter Phillips[1] | |
| Titles and styles | |
| Mark Phillips Capt (Retd) QDG Capt Mark Phillips |
|
| Father | Major Peter Phillips |
| Mother | Anne Tiarks Phillips |
| Born | 22 September 1948 Tetbury, Gloucestershire |
| Occupation | Equestrian; prev. British Army |
Mark Anthony Peter Phillips, CVO (born September 22, 1948) is a former Olympic gold-medal-winning horseman and first husband of Anne, Princess Royal.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Education
Mark Phillips was educated at Stouts Hill Preparatory School, Marlborough College, whence he joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
[edit] Army
Upon passing out from Sandhurst, Phillips was commissioned into 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards in 1969, where he acquired the nickname "Foggy" on the grounds that he was "thick and wet". Since leaving the Army he has continued to style himself Captain Mark Phillips
[edit] Equestrian career
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Equestrian | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1972 Munich | Team three-day event | |
| Silver | 1988 Seoul | Team three-day event | |
In 1972, he 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 The Princess Anne, only daughter of Elizabeth II.
He is now a regular columnist in Horse & Hound magazine. He also remains a leading figure in British equestrian circles and serves as Chef d'Equipe of the United States Eventing Team.[2]
[edit] First marriage
The couple were married, on 14 November 1973, at Westminster Abbey, and had two children:
- Peter Mark Andrew Phillips, born 1977
- Zara Phillips, born 1981
The Queen is believed to have offered him a peerage on his wedding day, which he turned down. This may also have been the specific wish of Princess Anne. (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)
However, rumours of a stormy relationship were rife, and their home life at Gatcombe Park was the subject of much unwanted media attention throughout their marriage. In 1992, Mark Phillips and the Princess Royal were divorced.
[edit] Extra marital affair
In August 1985 Phillips fathered a daughter, Felicity, as a result of an extra marital 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. [3]
[edit] Second marriage
On 1 February 1997, he married Sandy Pflueger, a successful American dressage rider – the couple have a daughter named Stephanie, born October 2 1997.
[edit] Titles, styles, honours and arms
[edit] Honours
- CVO: Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
- ADC(P): Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Queen
[edit] Military
- Captain (Retired)
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] Sources
- Lundy, Darryl. Felicity Tonkin. thePeerage.com.
- Lundy, Darryl. Captain Mark Anthony Peter Phillips. thePeerage.com.
- Lundy, Darryl. Heather Tonkin. thePeerage.com.
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