How Princess Anne's first marriage may have been marred by this pre-wedding day interview

Princess Anne's first marriage was heralded with a fairytale wedding day fit for a real-life Princess. However, this particular fairytale didn't see her living happily ever after with her Prince Charming.

• Princess Anne's first marriage to Captain Mark Phillips may have suffered owing to a power struggle, claims a documentary.
• The royal and her first husband remain friends and are often seen enjoying their shared love of all things equestrian.
• In other royal news, History of the Queen’s beloved Royal Yacht Britannia as seen in The Crown, why it led to rare public tears from Her Majesty and how it ended centuries of tradition.

Princess Anne's engagement rings broke royal protocol before she even walked down the aisle. Choosing to marry a 'commoner' was an untraditional choice and, despite being offered an Earldom by Queen Elizabeth II, Mark chose to maintain his Captain title. Despite this title, reports the Express (opens in new tab), it appears that he wasn't top dog at home.

The Real Princess Anne, a Channel 4 documentary from 2002, made claims that there was an, "uneasy balance of power,” within their partnership from the get-go. "On the day they looked like an archetypal fairy princess enthralled with a dashing military officer," said the documentary's narrator. "But a pre-wedding interview suggested that in reality there was an uneasy balance of power.” 

The interview took place after they'd announced their engagement in May 1973, ahead of their November nuptials at Westminster Abbey the same year.

During the interview in question, the couple was asked about their upcoming nuptials, what their relationship was really like, and whether they thought they could endure the ravages of public life. When asked, “Do you think the marriage can withstand the enormous pressures of public duty and publicity that you have to endure?”

In response, Mark said, “I think we’ve withstood a great deal already this year.” Afterward, Princess Anne added, "can? It’s got to, hasn’t it?” 

The interviewer pressed further, asking the Princess Royal, “but as far as the home is concerned, you’re boss?” Although she didn't respond with anything more than an uncomfortable smile, Mark laughed and answered a resounding 'yes' which made for a cringe-worthy interaction.

Unfortunately for the former couple, rumors of infidelities on both sides marred their relationship, and in 1985 Mark fathered a child with another woman. After separating in 1989, Princess Anne and her first husband divorced in 1992.

Later that year, she married her second husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy James Hamilton Laurence. Their wedding was on December 12, 1992, in a small ceremony in Crathie Kirk church, Scotland and the couple resides at the stunning Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire.

Despite Princess Anne's first marriage ending, she remains friendly with her ex-husband and is often seen at equestrian events together alongside their children, grandchildren, and current partners.