It was Princess Anne’s wedding anniversary

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.