Just like any other siblings, Prince Charles and Princess Anne doesn't always agree with each other. But as an older brother, the Prince of Wales wanted to protect his younger sister, believing the Princess Royal was making a huge mistake when she married Mark Phillips.
Prince Charles believed Princess Anne was making a "dreadful mistake" when she tied the knot with Mark Phillips in 1973. In Howard Hodgson's 2007 biography, Charles: The Man Who Will Be King, he revealed what the Duke of Cornwall felt about his royal sibling's decision to get married, New Idea noted.
Princess Diana's former husband was said to be still reeling from Camilla Chand's engagement when he received a letter from his father, Prince Philip. The Duke of Edinburgh informed him that his sister decided to marry the army captain, Mark Phillips.
It was, reportedly, a double blow to the future king, as felt helpless being unable to leave his training with the Royal Navy in Antigua at the time and thinking of Camilla's marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles. The author revealed that the news made him feel that everyone he loved back at home was being taken away, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Hodgson added that although Prince Charles hadn't experienced a close relationship with either of his parents, he loved his family so dearly. Princess Anne was one of his closest confidantes, to whom he could play the fool. So, he believed the news of her marriage meant that he could no longer "have the first call on her affection."
"Initially, he found this very hard to accept, and it took him several days to be able to contemplate her marriage without a sense of despair," Hodgson explained. Sadly, after 19 years together, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips' marriage ended in a divorce.
In the 2019 documentary, The Royal Family: Affairs and Infidelities, royal experts revealed what drew the former couple together to call it quits. Majesty Magazine editor Ingrid Seward revealed Princess Anne fell in love with Mark Phillips due to his love for horses, Express reported.
However, she's not sure what these two had in common. Daily Mail editor Richard Kay added that the royal family didn't even like her then-husband. Prince Charles named him "fog" because he found him "dense and thick."
Former royal butler Paul Burrell also claimed that Princess Anne's younger brothers, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, made fun of "Foggy," as he would turn every conversation into a topic about horses. But, despite these claims, it is believed that Mark Phillips and Anne both engaged in extra-marital affairs that ended their relationship.
