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Happy birthday Sir Timothy Laurence: ten facts about Princess Anne's husband

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Sir Timothy Laurence celebrates his 59th birthday on March 1.In honour of his birthday, HELLO! Online has compiled a list of ten facts you may not have known about Princess Anne's husband.

1. Sir Timothy was born in Camberwell, South London, on 1 March, 1955 to Commander Guy Stewart Laurence and Barbara Alison Laurence.

2. Timothy attended the University of Durham on a Naval Scholarship and graduated with a 2.1 in geography. During his time at university, Timothy edited the student newspaper, Palatinate and was captain of his college cricket team.

3. After leaving Durham, Timothy quickly became a respected member of the Royal Navy and in March 1977 he was promoted to Lieutenant while being posted to HMS Aurora.

4. The future royal husband met Princess Anne, now 63, while he served as an Equerry to The Queen. After the Princess Royal divorced her first husband Captain Mark Phillips she became romantically involved with Timothy.

5. On 12 December 1992, the couple married in a Church of Scotland ceremony held at the Crathie Parish Church close to the royal estate Balmoral

6. While he and Anne have no children together, Timothy has become a devoted stepfather to her two children, Peter and Zara Phillips.

7. Timothy does not carry out royal duties by himself, but offers a supportive role to Princess Anne on some engagements. Although he does join the family every year for the annual Trooping the Colour and Remembrance Sunday.

8. During the 2012 Olympics, Timothy watched many of the events with the Duchess of Cambridge and the pair were spotted cheering on Team GB at events such as the sailing.

9. Despite being married to the Princess Royal, Timothy received no peerage after their wedding, although in June 2011 he was knighted by the Queen as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.

10. Timothy and Anne currently split their time between their country estate Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire and London, where they have an apartment at Buckingham Palace and St James’s Palace.

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