Captain Phillips shares children Peter and Zara with his first wife, the Princess Royal, and welcomed Stephanie with his second wife, the American equestrian Sandy Pflueger.
While many former flames might cringe at the idea of brushing shoulders with their ex-spouse (not to mention her entire family) this certainly wasn’t the case for Capt Phillips, who remains on good terms with the Princess Royal more than three decades after their divorce.
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Lady Pamela Hicks, who died on 5th June, led an extraordinary life. Nobody knows this better than her daughter, India Hicks, who shared stories from comically timed fainting to domestic disasters with Prince Philip in a feature first published in 2024
The couple met in Mexico City, at an event for horse riding enthusiasts and their engagement was announced in 1973. During their engagement interview, the couple were asked, ‘Do you think the marriage can withstand the enormous pressures of public duty and publicity that you have to endure?’ to which the Captain replied: ‘I think we’ve withstood a great deal already this year’, before Anne snapped: ‘Can? It’s got to, hasn’t it?’
Stephanie (far right) was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly in 2008
Pool/Tim Graham Royal Photos/Getty Images
An estimated 500 million tuned in to watch the televised marriage at Westminster Cathedral in November 1973, making Anne the first of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s four children to marry. However, the relationship wasn’t to last. After the birth of their two children; Peter Phillips, born in 1977 and Zara Phillips (now Tindall), born in 1981, the marriage broke down.
In 1985, Phillips fathered a daughter, Felicity, as a result of an extramarital affair with New Zealand art teacher Heather Tonkin. Phillips was confirmed as the father as a result of DNA testing during a paternity suit in 1991. However, long before the DNA testing confirmed Phillips’ infidelity, the couple had already announced their intention to separate. In August 1989, the palace issued a statement that revealed they were to part on ‘terms agreed between them.’