Mark Phillips

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Mark Antony Peter Phillips, CVO, (born September 22 1948 in Tetbury, Gloucestershire), former Olympic gold-medal-winning horseman, was the first husband of Anne, Princess Royal.

Mark Phillips was educated at Marlborough College and Sandhurst, following which he was commissioned into 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards in 1969.

In 1972, he was a member of the British three-day event team, which won the gold medal at the Munich Olympics. He won the Badminton Horse Trials in 1971 and 1972 riding Great Ovation, in 1974 on Colombus, and in 1981 on Lincoln.

It was through his equestrian activities that he met Princess Anne, and they were married on November 14, 1973 at Westminster Abbey. Two children were born to the couple: Peter (born 1977) and Zara (born 1981). As is customary, The Queen is believed to have offered him a peerage on his wedding day, which he turned down. This may also have been the specific wish of Princess Anne, who is also said to have refused The Queen's offer to create her grandchildren Princes and Princesses under letters patent. Since leaving the Army he has continued to style himself Captain Mark Phillips.

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.

Mark Phillips is the father of an illegitimate daughter named Felicity Tonkin (born 1985) who lives in New Zealand. The girl's mother is Heather Tonkin, an art teacher and daughter of Dr. Shirley Tonkin, a renowned expert in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome [1]. Heather Tonkin lodged the paternity suit with a court in New Zealand in 1991, and DNA testing later confirmed that Mark Phillips was indeed the father of her child [2].

In 1992 Mark Phillips was divorced from the Princess Royal. In 1997, he was remarried to Sandy Pflueger, a successful American dressage rider. The couple have a daughter named Stephanie (born 1997).

Mark Phillips remains a leading figure in British equestrian circles and serves as Chef d'Equipe of the United States Eventing Team.

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