Peter Phillips’ honest thoughts on stepfather Sir Tim Laurence revealed

The Princess Royal’s husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence marked his milestone 70^th birthday on Saturday.

The couple celebrated their 33^rd wedding anniversary last December, with the retired royal naval officer having known Anne since he was her late mother Queen Elizabeth II’s equerry in the late 1980s.

Upon their marriage on 12 December 1992, Sir Tim became stepfather to Anne’s children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, whom she shares with her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips.

And in a documentary to mark the Princess Royal’s 70^th birthday in 2020, Peter shared his thoughts on his stepfather.

Speaking in the ITV documentary, The Princess Royal at 70, the businessman said of his mother and Sir Tim: “They both have an understanding of what being a part of the wider family means and what is required.”

He added of his stepfather: “He’s been a very strong support for her.”

While Anne and Sir Tim do not have any children together, the former equerry appears to have a close relationship with Peter and Zara.

Last year, he was seen supporting Zara at the Badminton Horse Trials, with the pair sharing a hug after the equestrian took part in the competition.

Speaking about marrying into the royal family, Sir Tim said in the documentary: “The similarities with Princess Anne’s father [Prince Philip] are much talked about, but what is less spoken about is the similarities with her mother, the Queen [Elizabeth II]. The common theme is humour, fun.”

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He added: “One of the great surprises for me, when I first went to Balmoral and to Sandringham and Windsor was that these places are full of laughter.”

As well as being hard-working, Anne and Sir Tim have a shared love of sport.

“We both follow with great enthusiasm the Scottish rugby team,” Sir Tim said, with Anne rarely missing a match.

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And while his wife became the first British royal to compete in the Olympics, he added, laughing: “She grew up with horses, horses have been part of her life, it’s not something I share with her and sadly, I’ve never been bitten with the horse bug.”

Life before royal marriage

Born on 1 March 1955, Timothy was the youngest son of Guy Laurence and Barbara Symons.

He seemed destined for the Royal Navy as his father had served as a Commander.

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Sir Tim was educated at New Beacon Preparatory School in Sevenoaks, before heading to Sevenoaks School.

He finished his education at University College in Durham while on a naval scholarship, graduating with a second-class honours degree in geography.

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He joined the Royal Navy in 1973 as a midshipman and four years later he was promoted to Lieutenant. He briefly served on the royal family’s yacht, HMY Britannia.

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Sir Tim served and commanded several ships throughout his naval career, until retiring from service in 2010.

He was appointed as equerry to Queen Elizabeth from 1986 to 1989, where he met Anne.