The wedding that invented modern royal fever — and the marriage that quietly unraveled.
Fifty years ago, Princess Anne was one of the most eligible women in the world, but dashing soldier and fellow equestrian Captain Mark Phillips was the one to win her hand. When they tied the knot in a fairy-tale ceremony at Westminster Abbey in November 1973, it would thrust Anne into the limelight like never before and set a precedent for all future royal weddings. Interviewees include former royal reporter Angela Rippon, who talks about the couple's courtship, and the groom's best man Eric Grounds, with detail of the stag do.
Production
Rare archival footage from the stag do
Writing
Angela Rippon's insider courtship details
Director
Jaine Hilston
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This 1973 wedding invented the modern royal TV spectacle — 500 million watched globally, setting the template Diana would shatter in 1981.
Anne's 'no curtsy' stance toward Diana and her infamous 'naff off' to photographers stem partly from this era's suffocating scrutiny.
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