Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Mark Anthony Peter Phillips (born 22 September 1948) is an English Olympic gold medal-winning horseman for Great Britain and the first husband of Anne, Princess Royal, with whom he has two children. He remains a leading figure in British equestrian circles, a noted eventing course designer, and a columnist for '' Horse & Hound'' magazine.

Family background and early life

Mark Anthony Peter Phillips was born on 22 September 1948. He is the son of Major Peter William Garside Phillips, MC (1920–1998) and Anne Patricia Phillips (''née'' Tiarks; 1926–1988); they married in 1946. Anne was educated at Downe House and served in the Women's Royal Naval Service during the Second World War. Her father John Gerhard Edward Tiarks (1896–1962), who served in the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and Second World Wars, attained the rank of Brigadier. John Tiarks was '' aide-de-camp'' to

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

from 1947 to 1950. Mark had a younger sister, Sarah Anne Staples (''née'' Phillips; 1951–2014). Phillips was educated at Stouts Hill Preparatory School near

Uley Uley is a village and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Elcombe and Shadwell and Bencombe, all to the south of the village of Uley, and the hamlet of Crawley to the north. The village is ...

, Gloucestershire, then at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

, then the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

Military career

Upon passing out from Sandhurst, Phillips was commissioned as a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

into the

1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (QDG) is a regiment in the Royal Armoured Corps of the British Army. Nicknamed The Welsh Cavalry, the regiment recruits from Wales and the bordering English counties of Cheshire, Herefordshire, and Shropshire, and ...

in July 1969, He was promoted to Lieutenant in January 1971. By the time of his wedding to Princess Anne in November 1973, Phillips was an acting

. In January 1974, he was appointed a

Personal aide-de-camp Personal Aide-de-Camp to the King (or Queen) is an appointment in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. It is distinct from that of other aides-de-camp, in that it is only bestowed on members of the British royal family holding military r ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

. Phillips was substantively promoted to captain in July 1975, and retired from the Army on 30 March 1978. Phillips continued to style himself ''Captain'' Mark Phillips, as it is usual for retired cavalry captains to keep using their rank if their civilian job involves working with horses in racing or equestrian sports.

Equestrian career

Phillips was a reserve member of the British equestrian team for the

1968 Olympics 1968 Olympics may refer to: * 1968 Summer Olympics, which were held in Mexico City, Mexico * 1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter ...

. He was part of the British

three-day event Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This e ...

teams that won a world title in 1970, a European title in 1971, and Olympic gold medals in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

; individually, he finished in 35th place in 1972. At the 1988 Olympics, his horse sustained a pulled muscle and could not complete the individual three-day event, but Phillips won a silver medal with the British team. Phillips was a four-time champion at the Badminton Horse Trials, in 1971 and 1972 on ''Great Ovation'', in 1974 on ''Colombus'', and in 1981 on ''Lincoln''. It was through his equestrian activities that he met Princess Anne, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whom he married. Their own daughter Zara later won a silver medal in the

with the British team at the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. In 1998 Phillips designed the cross-country venue for the

Red Hills Horse Trials The Red Hills Horse Trials is held in Tallahassee, in the U.S. state of Florida and is one of the equestrian world's top events. It is an annual major eventing competition held by the United States Eventing Association, Area III and the 16th event ...

, a qualifying event for the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. He is now a regular columnist for '' 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.

Personal life

Phillips first met his future wife Princess Anne at a party for horse lovers in 1968. They married on 14 November 1973, at Westminster Abbey. They have two children: Peter (born 1977) and Zara (born 1981). It is believed that Phillips declined a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

from the Queen, which would have allowed his children to use courtesy titles. The Queen bought Gatcombe Park, near

Minchinhampton Minchinhampton is an ancient Cotswolds market town in the Stroud District in Gloucestershire, South West England. The town is located on a hilltop, south-east of Stroud. The common offers wide views over the Severn Estuary into Wales and furth ...

, for the couple as a wedding present. In August 1989 the Princess Royal and Phillips announced their intention to separate, as the marriage had been under strain for a number of years. The couple had rarely been seen in public together, and both were romantically linked with other people. They continued to share the custody of their children, and initially announced that "there were no plans for divorce." Meanwhile, Phillips continued to work at the couple's estate at Gatcombe Park. In 1991, a DNA test confirmed that Phillips had fathered a girl, Felicity Tonkin, born in August 1985 in New Zealand to art teacher Heather Tonkin. Phillips and Princess Anne divorced on 23 April 1992. On 1 February 1997, Phillips married

Sandy Pflueger Helen Sandy Pflueger (born April 14, 1954) is an American equestrienne. She has competed successfully in both eventing and dressage, finishing second at the prestigious Badminton Horse Trials in 1981 and competing on the United States Dressage T ...

, an American Olympic

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

rider. Their daughter Stephanie was born on 2 October 1997. She grew up at Aston Farm, Gatcombe Park, close to the family of Princess Anne, and served as a bridesmaid at the wedding of her half-sister

Zara Tindall Zara Anne Elizabeth Tindall (''née'' Phillips; born 15 May 1981) is a British equestrian, an Olympian, and the daughter of Anne, Princess Royal, and Captain Mark Phillips. She is the niece of King Charles III and is 20th in the line of succe ...

. On 3 May 2012, it was confirmed by Phillips' solicitors that Phillips and Pflueger had separated, intending to divorce, with Phillips becoming involved with American equestrian

Lauren Hough Lauren Hough (born 11 April 1977) is an American equestrian. She was born in Goshen, New York. She competed in team jumping at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Personal life Hough is a daughter of equestrian Charles Hough Jr.. In May 2012 ...

. Phillips' personal wealth is thought to be around £15–20 million.William Langle
"Captain Mark Phillips: He's found love in the saddle (again)"
telegraph.co.uk, 6 May 2013 The settlement he received when his marriage to Princess Anne ended was described as "modest" and reported to be around "$3 million".

Honours and arms

Military ranks

(Retired), late Queen's Dragoon Guards

Honours

British honours

15 August 1974: Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) * UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon

6 February 1977:

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

6 February 2002:

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'or de la Reine Elizabeth II) or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

6 February 2012: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal *

6 February 2022: Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal

Honorary military appointments

* 1 January 1974:

Personal Aide-de-Camp Personal Aide-de-Camp to the King (or Queen) is an appointment in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. It is distinct from that of other aides-de-camp, in that it is only bestowed on members of the British royal family holding military r ...

to the Queen (ADC)

Foreign honours

* Norway: Commander with Star of The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav, 13 April 1988.

Arms

Issue

;By Princess Anne ;By Heather Tonkin ;By Sandy Pflueger

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Mark 1948 births Living people 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards officers Anne, Princess Royal Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order British event riders British male equestrians English Olympic medallists Equestrians at the 1972 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1988 Summer Olympics Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic equestrians of Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in equestrian Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain People educated at Marlborough College People from Tetbury Sportspeople from Gloucestershire