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Mark Anthony Peter Phillips, CVO
Royal Victorian Order

The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a House Order of chivalry in the Commonwealth realms. Created by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom on 21 April 1896, with the motto Victoria and 20 June as the official day, the order was established to recognise those who have served the monarch with distinction, each be...
, ADC(P)
Personal Aide-de-Camp

A Personal Aide-de-Camp to The Queen is a member of the British Royal Family with military rank who has been appointed one of the Sovereign's honorary military attendants....
 (born 22 September 1948) is a former Olympic
Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sports. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia, Greece, Greece....
 gold-medal-winning horseman and first husband of Anne, Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal

The Princess Anne, Princess Royal is the only daughter of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. At the time of her birth, she was third in the History of the British line of succession#George VI to the thrones of Commonwealth realm; however, after additions to the Royal Family, and an evolution of the Commo...
. He is the son of Major Peter William Garside Phillips (deceased in September 1998) and Anne Patricia Phillips (nee Tiarks).

Phillips was educated at Stouts Hill
Stouts Hill

Stouts Hill is an 18th-Century Gothic revival country house situated in the Cotswolds, just outside the village of Uley. The house is currently a timeshare property....
 Preparatory School and Marlborough College
Marlborough College

Marlborough College is an England Independent school , co-educational boarding school in the county of Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs....
, whence he joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is the British Army Commissioned officer initial training centre....
.

passing out from Sandhurst, Phillips was commissioned into 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards
1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards

1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards is a Cavalry regiments of the British Army of the British Army. It was formed in 1959 by the amalgamation of 1st King's Dragoon Guards and the Queen's Bays , both of which were raised in 1685 as Lanier's or 2nd Queen's Regiment of Horse, and Peterborough's or 3rd Regiment of Horse by James II of England in re...
 in 1969.






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Mark Anthony Peter Phillips, CVO
Royal Victorian Order

The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a House Order of chivalry in the Commonwealth realms. Created by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom on 21 April 1896, with the motto Victoria and 20 June as the official day, the order was established to recognise those who have served the monarch with distinction, each be...
, ADC(P)
Personal Aide-de-Camp

A Personal Aide-de-Camp to The Queen is a member of the British Royal Family with military rank who has been appointed one of the Sovereign's honorary military attendants....
 (born 22 September 1948) is a former Olympic
Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sports. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia, Greece, Greece....
 gold-medal-winning horseman and first husband of Anne, Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal

The Princess Anne, Princess Royal is the only daughter of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. At the time of her birth, she was third in the History of the British line of succession#George VI to the thrones of Commonwealth realm; however, after additions to the Royal Family, and an evolution of the Commo...
. He is the son of Major Peter William Garside Phillips (deceased in September 1998) and Anne Patricia Phillips (nee Tiarks).

Career


Education

Mark Phillips was educated at Stouts Hill
Stouts Hill

Stouts Hill is an 18th-Century Gothic revival country house situated in the Cotswolds, just outside the village of Uley. The house is currently a timeshare property....
 Preparatory School and Marlborough College
Marlborough College

Marlborough College is an England Independent school , co-educational boarding school in the county of Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs....
, whence he joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is the British Army Commissioned officer initial training centre....
.

Army

Upon passing out from Sandhurst, Phillips was commissioned into 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards
1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards

1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards is a Cavalry regiments of the British Army of the British Army. It was formed in 1959 by the amalgamation of 1st King's Dragoon Guards and the Queen's Bays , both of which were raised in 1685 as Lanier's or 2nd Queen's Regiment of Horse, and Peterborough's or 3rd Regiment of Horse by James II of England in re...
 in 1969. Since leaving the Army he has continued to style himself Captain Mark Phillips

Equestrian career

In 1972, he was a member of the British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 three-day event
Eventing

Eventing is an equestrianism event which comprises dressage, cross-country equestrianism and show-jumping. This event has its roots as a comprehensive cavalry test requiring mastery of several types of riding....
 team, which won the gold medal at the Munich
Munich

Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
 Olympics. He won the Badminton Horse Trials
Badminton Horse Trials

The Badminton Horse Trials is a eventing, one of only six annual four star, Concours Complet International, events as classified by the FEI....
 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
Red Hills Horse Trials

The Red Hills Horse Trials is held in Tallahassee, Florida, Florida, USA and is one of the equestrianism world's top events. It is an annual major eventing competition held by the United States Eventing Association, Area III and the 16th event held in Area III consisting of Dressage, Cross-country equestrianism, and Show jumping....
, a qualifying event for the Olympics located in Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee is the Capital of the Florida, USA, and the county seat of Leon County, Florida. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida in 1824....
, USA.

It was through his equestrian activities that he met HRH The Princess Anne, only daughter of HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

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.

First marriage

The couple were married, on 14 November 1973, at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to popularly and informally as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic architecture Church , in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster....
, and had two children:
  • Peter Mark Andrew Phillips
    Peter Mark Andrew Phillips

    Peter Mark Andrew Phillips is the only son of Anne, Princess Royal and her first husband, Mark Phillips. He is the eldest grandson and first grandchild of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh....
    , born 1977
  • Zara Phillips
    Zara Phillips

    Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, Order of the British Empire is a member of the British royal family and is the second child and only daughter of Anne, Princess Royal and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips....
    , born 1981


The Queen is believed to have offered him a peerage
Peerage

The Peerage is a system of titles of nobility in the United Kingdom, part of the British honours system. The term is used both collectively to refer to the entire body of titles, and individually to refer to a specific title....
 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
George V of the United Kingdom

George V was the first British monarch belonging to the House of Windsor, which he created from the British branch of the German House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha....
's letters patent
Letters patent

Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of an open letter issued by a monarch or government, granting an office, right, government-granted monopoly, title, or status to a person or to some entity such as a corporation....
 of 1917)

However, rumours of a stormy relationship were rife, and their home life at Gatcombe Park
Gatcombe Park

Gatcombe Park is the private country home of Anne, Princess Royal, situated in England between the Gloucestershire villages of Minchinhampton and Avening, five miles south of Stroud, Gloucestershire and around six miles north of Highgrove, the country residence of Charles, Prince of Wales....
 was the subject of much unwanted media attention throughout their marriage. In 1992, Mark Phillips and the Princess Royal were divorced.

Extra marital affair


In August 1985 Phillips fathered a daughter, Felicity, as a result of an extramarital 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. 

Second marriage

On 1 February 1997, he married Sandy Pflueger
Sandy Pflueger

Sandy Pflueger is an American equestrienne. She has competed successfully in both eventing and dressage, finishing 2nd at the prestigious Badminton Horse Trials in 1981 and competing on the United States Dressage Team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics....
, a successful American dressage
Dressage

Dressage is a path and destination of competitive horse training, with competitions held at all levels from amateur to the Equestrian at the Summer Olympics....
 rider – the couple have a daughter named Stephanie, born October 2, 1997.

Titles, styles, honours and arms


Honours

  • CVO: Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
    Royal Victorian Order

    The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a House Order of chivalry in the Commonwealth realms. Created by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom on 21 April 1896, with the motto Victoria and 20 June as the official day, the order was established to recognise those who have served the monarch with distinction, each be...
  • ADC(P): Personal Aide-de-Camp
    Personal Aide-de-Camp

    A Personal Aide-de-Camp to The Queen is a member of the British Royal Family with military rank who has been appointed one of the Sovereign's honorary military attendants....
     to the Queen

Military
  • Captain (Retired)


Footnotes


Sources