Who were the 7 men Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter, married and dated?
The Netflix series The Crown highlights Princess Anne’s brief affair with Andrew Parker Bowles, but who else did she date – and marry?
Gerald Wald
One of the first men ever linked to the princess was Gerald Ward, an Eton-educated former cavalry officer, Berkshire landowner, and “all-round action man” with a knack for adventure. According to The Telegraph, Gerald was “occasionally touted in the press as a fitting suitor for Princess Anne”, but the relationship was never confirmed. They remained in touch for years and Ward would eventually become a godfather to Prince Harry.
Sandy Harper
At age 19, one of Anne’s frequent companions was polo player Sandy Harper, who was two years her senior. He liked to wear his hair long and fancied open-necked shirts and beads, and was often seen together with the princess, hanging out at discotheques all over London’s West End.
Sandy would end up marrying a model, and Princess Anne, although invited, skipped the wedding. She was competing at the Burghley Horse Trials.
Richard Meade
A favoured candidate for the princess was Olympic equestrian Richard Meade. With a suave demeanour and dashing good looks resembling Princess Anne’s father, Prince Philip, Richard seemed to be a perfect match.
He was, after all, the country’s most successful equestrian at the time and the first-ever British rider to win an individual Olympic title. Richard was much older than Anne and her friends, but the princess did not seem to mind. According to a Daily Mail report, the queen was rumoured to have disapproved of their relationship, and eventually, the two parted ways.
Andrew Parker Bowles
