Mark Anthony Peter Phillips, CVO, ADC(P) (born 22 September 1948) is a former Olympic gold-medal-winning horseman and first husband of Anne, Princess Royal. He is the son of Major Peter William Garside Phillips (deceased in September 1998) and Anne Patricia Phillips (née Tiarks)(deceased in July 1988). And the father of the reigning Eventing World Champion Zara Phillips.
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Career
Education
Mark Phillips was educated at Stouts Hill Preparatory School and Marlborough College, whence he joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Army
Upon passing out from Sandhurst, Phillips was commissioned into 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards in 1969.
Equestrian career
In 1972, he was a member of the British three-day event team, which won the gold medal at the Munich Olympics. He won the Badminton Horse Trials in 1971 and 1972 riding Great Ovation, in 1974 on Colombus, and in 1981 on Lincoln.
In 1998, Phillips designed the cross-country venue for the Red Hills Horse Trials, a qualifying event for the Olympics located in Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
It was through his equestrian activities that he met HRH The Princess Anne, only daughter of HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
He is now a regular columnist in Horse & Hound magazine. He also remains a leading figure in British equestrian circles and serves as Chef d'Equipe of the United States Eventing Team.
