Princess Anne divorced her first husband, Mark Phillips, in 1992, and despite marrying a new man, Sir Timothy Laurence, in that same year, her ex-husband Mark remained living at her royal estate, Gatcombe Park. The divorced couple came to the arrangement that he would reside in Aston Farm on the estate, while Anne and her new husband stayed at the main house. It was only 21 years later that Mark finally moved out – and here's the real reason why…
Mark Phillips left Aston Farm and moved to the US in 2013, but it seems it was only to make way for his daughter Zara Tindall and her family to move in. Mark was clearly very settled there before that, and the arrangement seemed to work for Anne, too – after all, the estate is rather large! For years, Mark organised the Festival of British Eventing, hosted at The Princess Royal's home, meaning that they were closely linked in business as well as by their two children, Zara and Peter.
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Aston Farm then underwent an overhaul ahead of the Tindalls moving in to modernise its facilities. It is reported to have a cinema room, a home gym and a modern kitchen inside its walls. Zara lives there with her husband Mike and their three children, Mia, Lena and Lucas. Fans get to glimpse into the property thanks to Mike's social media and Zara's occasional video calls.
© Getty1. Hardest-working royal
In 2024, Princess Anne retained her crown as the hardest-working royal for a fourth year in a row, racking up an impressive 395 engagements in UK, alongside 79 abroad.
2. Criminal offence
Princess Anne became the first senior member of the royal family to be convicted of a criminal offence. In 2002, her three-year-old English Bull Terrier bit two children in Windsor, Great Park. She pleaded guilty to a charge under the Dangerous Dogs Act and was fined £500.
3. Lucky escape
Just four weeks after her wedding in 1974, Princess Anne survived a kidnapping attempt. While driving down The Mall, her chauffeur had to stop the car due to another vehicle blocking the road. Ian Ball got out of the car and shot the chauffeur. Despite Ian shooting a total of four men in the encounter, Anne escaped unharmed.
4. Breaking tradition
When Anne's children, Peter and Zara, were born, she declined the chance to grant them royal titles. She explained her decision to Vanity Fair: "I think it was probably easier for them, and I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles."
5. Signature hairdo
In a 2020 documentary, Princess Anne exclaimed her surprise that it took two hours to style the hair of Erin Doherty, who portrays her in The Crown. Anne said it only takes her 10 to 15 minutes to do her own hair.
While living on the same estate as your ex may seem odd to some, it is a practical solution that other royals have sought out, too, such as Prince Andrew with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. The mother-of-two has admitted she doesn't class Royal Lodge as her "home" though, despite having been there for many years. In an interview with The Telegraph, the Duchess of York made the candid confession that she would never class her £30 million residence, Royal Lodge, as her "home". "When I’m in the UK, I’m lucky enough to stay at Royal Lodge. I wouldn’t call it my home as that would be presumptuous," she said.
In a previous interview, also with The Telegraph, Sarah touched on her relationship with Andrew now that they are no longer married: "We always say we are the most contented divorced couple in the world. We're divorced to each other, not from each other," the Duchess said. They remain close due to the fact that they share two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, as well as grandchildren, Eugenie's boys August and Ernest and Beatrice's girls Sienna and Athena, as well as Beatrice's bonus son, Wolfie, who is her husband Edoardo's from a prior relationship.
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