As she prepares for her role as mother of the groom this weekend, the Princess Royal isn’t shopping for an outfit or involving herself in last-minute wedding arrangements.
Instead, in the days leading up to Peter Phillips’ big day on Saturday, Princess Anne is doing what she does most days: working.
Having just returned from an official trip to Greece, Anne has more engagements lined up at home this week, when she has a full diary right up until two days before the wedding.
Second only to the King in the tally of hardest-working royals, Anne clocked up 478 official engagements in 2025 and is already embracing another busy year during a difficult time for the royal family following the arrest of her brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
As Anne provides a much-needed steadying hand to her elder brother, the King, her loyal husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, is there to support her.
© PA Images via Getty ImagesThe retired naval officer was by his wife’s side as she visited Athens and Crete to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Crete during the Second World War earlier this month.
"The Princess Royal doesn’t stop, and she is the family member the King can rely on absolutely," says Robert Jobson, the author of The Windsor Legacy. "The Andrew fallout has undoubtedly rattled her and the family, and she is determined to serve her brother as he steadies the throne.
"But she has never wanted the spotlight; she has never needed it. She turns up, does the job, gets back in the car. She never shies away from her duties and responsibilities. Such work is what holds the institution together."
And it’s why she is so important in helping to preserve public support for the royal family.
A crucial supporting role
At Anne’s side is Tim, a quiet, reliable presence who is not a working royal but plays a crucial supporting role to his busy wife, in the same way that the late Duke of Edinburgh did for Queen Elizabeth II.
Indeed, if Peter is looking for inspiration as he embarks on his second marriage, he need look no further than the rock-solid union between his mother and Tim, who married in 1992 following Anne’s divorce from Peter’s father, Captain Mark Phillips, the same year.
© The Royal Family"I’m sure Peter thinks that he would like this marriage to be like his mother’s," says Ingrid Seward, the editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine. "He is always there for her, which I think is what she wanted in her second marriage.
"She wanted someone who was around a bit and would support her in her very hard-working life. And that is what Tim has done."
During the couple’s three days in Greece, Tim’s presence was, as always, reassuring yet discreet as Anne visited an RAF memorial commemorating members of the 30 and 33 squadrons who lost their lives in the Battle of Crete in 1941. She went on to meet their relatives and attended a Service of Remembrance at the Souda Bay War Cemetery.
They watched a Red Arrows flypast, visited the Firkas Fortress in Chania harbour and attended a service at the Holy Metropolitan Church. Anne began the trip with an audience with the Greek President, Konstantinos Tasoulas, in the country’s capital, Athens.
She and Tim then headed to the Yacht Club of Greece for a reception hosted by The Mission to Seafarers, one of the world’s leading maritime welfare charities, to launch its global services in Greece.
The 170-year-old charity, of which the Princess is president, provides practical and emotional support to the world’s estimated 1.9 million seafarers across more than 200 ports around the world.
© The Royal FamilyRoyal love story
Anne and Tim met 40 years ago when he was serving as an equerry to Queen Elizabeth; he had previously served aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia. Their relationship came to light in 1989 as Anne’s marriage fell apart, and she and Mark announced their separation that year.
"Tim was a very handsome man and there is something very kind about him," Ingrid says. "I think it took him a while to slip into that role of playing second fiddle to his wife, and, as with anyone who marries into the royal family, it takes time to get used to their different ways – even though Anne’s life is about as normal as a royal can get.
"Having been an equerry to the Queen, he already had some insight into how the family operates.
© The Royal Family"Over time, he has been very noticeably at Anne's side, which must be really nice for her. Because she's so independent, I think it took a long time for her to accept that. He’s not a natural countryman and has no interest in horses, but they share a lot of the same interests, and they both love sailing.
"There is a love of lighthouses, and they like to sail around in their boat looking for them. They also run their farm together at Gatcombe Park."
Recalling how Anne was taken to hospital with a severe concussion after an incident involving a horse on her Gloucestershire estate two years ago, Ingrid says: "It was Tim who found her and came to her rescue. He realised that something was wrong when she didn’t answer her phone, so they are obviously very bonded.
"He has the kind of instinct that only comes when you know someone really well."
© Getty ImagesAnne is patron, president or a member of more than 300 organisations, including children's charities, equestrian organisations and military regiments, and Tim, who retired from the Navy in 2010, has his own commitments, including patronages and other roles with heritage organisations and maritime charities.
"Anne has so much energy and has said she never wants to retire – she has the same sense of duty her parents had," Ingrid says. "When you see her in action, she's brilliant. She memorises the speeches and she's genuinely interested.
"Before we knew that Charles was going to get married again, the late Queen imagined that it would be Anne at his side when he became King, as a sort of figurehead to support her brother, which she would have been very good at."
Despite her reputation for being a no-nonsense royal, Anne does have a softer side, especially when it comes to her five grandchildren.
© Getty Images"She loves seeing them ride; she loves having them round for Sunday lunches and taking them for walks, doing all the things that we would do as kids. We quite like leaving them on Sundays. We'll say: 'We'll pick them up later – bye,'" Peter and his sister, Zara Tindall, said of their mother in an ITV documentary to mark her 70th birthday in 2020.
"Anne has a very masculine energy but definitely has a soft side, like Prince Philip did, and she is very proud of Peter and Zara," Ingrid says. "She’s always refused to be photographed kissing babies in public, but she’s different with her own grandchildren and she obviously adores them."
This weekend, after packing in a week of military- and youth-related engagements in London and Hampshire, that softer side will be on display as Anne joins her family to watch her son marry the NHS nurse Harriet Sperling.
Unsurprisingly, a few days later, it will be business as usual as the mother of the groom gets back to work, such is her dedication to the King and the rest of the family as they navigate the stormy waters ahead.
