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Anne, Princess Royal, turns 70 this weekend, and the Royal Family has started celebrating via Instagram already. Queen Elizabeth II’s official account has recently shared pictures of the Princess, marking notable points in her life. Today, they released a photo of her and Sir Timothy Laurence taken in the 1990s, casting back to Anne’s second marriage.

When did Princess Anne marry Timothy Laurence?

Princess Anne first married British Olympian Mark Phillips in 1973.

The couple stayed married for 16 years and welcomed two children, Peter Phillips and now Zara Tindall.

They separated in 1989, stayed so for three years and formally divorced in 1992.

Her relationship with Sir Timothy Laurence blossomed when she met him during his time serving on the Royal Yacht Britannia.

They grew closer in 1989, with private correspondence between the two confirmed by The Sun.

The couple married following Anne’s first divorce in 1992, but they faced hurdles in doing so.

Church of England rules did not permit divorcee’s with a still-living ex-spouse to remarry in their church.

Their answer lay in the Church of Scotland, which view marriage as ordnance of religion rather than a binding sacrament.

As such, the Princess was allowed to marry in one of their churches.

They married at Crathie Kirk, the Royal Family’s chosen place of worship while in residence at Balmoral.

In doing so, Princess Anne became the first royal to remarry since Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

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The couple didn’t have any children together, and Commander Laurence eventually became Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.

Prince Charles eventually followed his sister in 2005, when he married Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

They didn’t face the same hurdles as Princess Anne, as the Church of England changed its rules in 2002.

He received the consent of the Queen, Government and the head of the church for a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall.

But one aspect of their marriage has received question, as news outlets in the past have alleged their type of ceremony would block the Duchess of Cornwall from some honours.

One such honour is becoming the Queen, a title she would take on Princes Charles’ accession to the throne.

A frequent argument is that only a religious rather than civil ceremony would give her this benefit.

The Lord Chancellor defended the validity of their marriage in 2005, however.

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