Mark Anthony Peter Phillips, CVO (born September 22, 1948) is a former Olympic gold-medal-winning horseman and first husband of Anne, Princess Royal. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. The Royal Victorian Order (RVO is a Dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry in the Commonwealth realms Created by Queen Victoria Events 66 - Emperor Nero creates the Legion I Italica. 1236 - The Lithuanians Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Olympic Games is an international Multi-sport event established for both summer and winter games

Career

Education

Mark Phillips was educated at Stouts Hill Preparatory School, Marlborough College, whence he joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Stouts Hill is an 18th-Century Gothic revival country house situated in the Cotswolds, just outside the village of Uley. Marlborough College is an English independent, Co-educational Boarding school in the county of Wiltshire. The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst ( RMAS) commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is the British Army officer initial training centre

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". 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (QDG is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. Since leaving the Army he has continued to style himself Captain Mark Phillips

Equestrian career

In 1972, he was a member of the British three-day event team, which won the gold medal at the Munich Olympics. Equestrianism made its Summer Olympics debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Munich, in what was The Equestrian Events at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich included Show Jumping, Dressage and Eventing. The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event staged in 1988 in The Equestrian Events at the 1988 Seoul Olympics included Dressage, Eventing, and Show Jumping. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Eventing is an equestrian event which comprises Dressage, cross-country and Show-jumping. Munich (München; Minga is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. He won the Badminton Horse Trials in 1971 and 1972 riding Great Ovation, in 1974 on Colombus, and in 1981 on Lincoln. The Badminton Horse Trials is a three-day event, one of only six annual four star CCI****, events as classified by the FEI.

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. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) The Red Hills Horse Trials is held in Tallahassee, Florida, USA and is one of the equestrian world's top events The Olympic Games is an international Multi-sport event established for both summer and winter games The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

It was through his equestrian activities that he met The Princess Anne, only daughter of Elizabeth II. For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II

He is now a regular columnist in Horse & Hound magazine. Horse & Hound is the oldest equestrian Magazine in Britain It is a weekly magazine with the first edition published in 1884 He also remains a leading figure in British equestrian circles and serves as Chef d'Equipe of the United States Eventing Team. The United States Eventing Association (abbreviated to USEA) is the organization responsible for organizing promoting and adjudicating equestrian Eventing ^[2]

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. Events 1533 - Conquistadors from Spain under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro arrive in Cajamarca, Inca Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large mainly Gothic church Peter Mark Andrew Phillips (born 15 November 1977 is the only son of The Princess Anne The Princess Royal and her first husband Captain Mark Phillips. Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, MBE (born 15 May 1981 is the second child and only daughter of Princess Anne Princess Royal and her first husband Captain Mark The Peerage is a system of Titles of Nobility in the United Kingdom, part of the British honours system. 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. 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 Gatcombe Park is the private country home of Anne Princess Royal, situated in England between the Gloucestershire villages of Minchinhampton 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 extra marital affair with New Zealand art teacher Heather Tonkin. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) Phillips was confirmed as the father as a result of DNA testing during a paternity suit in 1991.  ^[3]

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. Events 1327 - Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar Sandy Pflueger (born 1954) is an American equestrienne She has competed successfully in both Eventing and Dressage, finishing 2nd at the prestigious Dressage (pronounced dress-ahhzh /ˈdrɛsɑʒ/ (a French term most commonly translated to mean "training" is a path and destination of competitive Horse training

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Honours

• CVO: Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
• ADC(P): Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Queen

Military

• Captain (Retired)

Footnotes

Sources

• Lundy, Darryl. The Royal Victorian Order (RVO is a Dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry in the Commonwealth realms Created by Queen Victoria A Personal Aide-de-Camp to The Queen (or to The King when appropriate is a member of the British Royal Family with military rank who has been appointed one of the Sovereign's Felicity Tonkin. thePeerage. com.
• Lundy, Darryl. Captain Mark Anthony Peter Phillips. thePeerage. com.
• Lundy, Darryl. Heather Tonkin. thePeerage. com.