Despite first meeting in 1968, it wasn’t until 1973 that Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips got engaged. Around this time, the princess was asked if she thought their marriage could survive the spotlight and duty to the Crown alike, leading the young royal to simply state (via Brides), “Can? It’s got to, hasn’t it?” Six months later, Anne and Mark were joined in holy matrimony. In 1977, the couple welcomed their first child, son Peter Phillips, with daughter Zara Tindall arriving four years later. But like other marriages on this list, not even the vow of forever, kids, or even Anne’s earlier quip could keep the Princess Royal and Captain Phillips together.
In the years that followed, the couple reportedly grew increasingly apart, leading to Mark’s surprising absences from royal engagements. Soon enough, rumors of extramarital affairs between the couple started swirling, leading many to believe that the end of this royal love story was near. Finally, things came to a head for the couple in 1991, when Anne found out her husband had fathered a child with a mistress back in 1985. But Anne herself was also previously caught in a web of scandal after four love letters, written to her by future husband No. 2, Sir Timothy Laurence, were discovered.
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Following their 1989 separation announcement, Buckingham Palace revealed that the estranged couple finalized their divorce in April 1992. Anne would remarry to Laurence in a small Scottish ceremony that December.
