Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips
Some places are timeless. Places of quiet tranquillity, havens of quintessential Englishness. Places like Great Somerford, tucked away in the Wiltshire countryside. In 1973, this pretty little backwater was catapulted into the international limelight. A local boy had hit the big time. For by marrying 23-year-old Princess Anne, Captain Mark Phillips was joining the ranks of British royalty.
Royal Wedding
Great Somerford had marked royal occasions before, the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, the coronation of Edward VII, and in 1953 to mark the coronation of the current Queen, the villagers had planted a ceremonial tree. Although later, sadly, it was eaten by a Billy goat.
This picture postcard village was exactly the kind of place that a royal bridegroom ought to be riding out from. A blissful sanctuary from the unsettling new realities of the 1970s.
John Noakes “Pictures from these cameras will be seen in all five continents. The wedding will be televised live to 16 countries.”
We do do a good royal wedding. And in 1973, Princess Anne ‘s big day had it all. Crowds, pageantry, a radiant young couple. And a happy family. This was royalty still untouched by divorce and scandal. It was almost possible to imagine that Britain was one nation, one happy family, united on a day of celebration.
But not all the pomp and circumstance in the world could hide the stark truth of Britain’s fall from grace. And even on the biggest day of the year, the chilling realities of globalisation were silently seeping in.
A month before the royal wedding the Middle East erupted, as Israel’s Arab neighbours launched a stunning surprise attack. This wasn’t some local scuffle. This was a conflict that would shake the world.
External Links
Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips - Wikipedia Page
Further Reading
[amazon asin=0283062878&template=add to cart] Anne: The Private Princess Revealed - Brian Hoey
