{{Short description|Retired Royal Navy officer (born 1955)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = Vice Admiral | name = Sir Timothy Laurence | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100|GCVO|CB|CSM|ADC(P)|FSA}} | image = Sir Timothy Laurence at State Banquet 2025-09-17 (0.75 crop).jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Laurence in 2025 | nickname = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1955|3|1|df=y}} | birth_place = Camberwell, London, England | death_date = | death_place = | burial_place = | allegiance = {{GBR}} | branch = {{navy|United Kingdom}} | service_years = 1973–2011 | service_number = | unit = | commands = Chief Executive, Defence Estates (2007–2010)<br/>{{HMS|Montrose|F236|6}} (1996)<br/>{{HMS|Cumberland|F85|6}} (1995–1996)<br/>{{HMS|Boxer|F92|6}} (1990–1992)<br/>HMS ''Cygnet'' (1982–1983) | battles = NATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina | awards = Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order<br/>Companion of the Order of the Bath<br/>Mentioned in Despatches<br/>Companion of the Order of the Star of Melanesia (Papua New Guinea) | alma_mater = University College, Durham (BSc) | spouse = {{marriage|Anne, Princess Royal|12 December 1992}} | relations = Sir Perceval Maitland Laurence (great-uncle)<br>Sir Robert Moorsom (great-great-great-grandfather)<br>Lord Young of Acton (cousin)<br>Levy baronets (kinsmen) | other_work = }} Vice Admiral '''Sir Timothy James Hamilton Laurence''' (born 1 March 1955) is a British retired Royal Navy officer and husband of Anne, Princess Royal, the only sister of King Charles III.
Laurence served as equerry to Queen Elizabeth II from 1986 to 1989, before marrying her daughter, Princess Anne, in 1992.
==Early life and education== Timothy James Hamilton Laurence was born on 1 March 1955 in Camberwell, South London, the younger son of Commander Guy Stewart Laurence {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100|RN}} (1896–1982; later a sales executive for MAN Marine Engines), and Barbara Alison Laurence (née Symons, 1928–2019).<ref name="Facts">{{cite web |url=https://us.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2014030117242/sir-timothy-laurence-birthday-facts/ |title=Happy birthday Sir Timothy Laurence: ten facts about Princess Anne's husband |work=Hello! |date=1 March 2014 |access-date=17 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/234527/laurence |title=Laurence |publisher=Telegraph Announcements |date=2 July 2019 |access-date=29 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925003036/http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/234527/laurence |archive-date=25 September 2021}}</ref> He has an elder brother, Jonathan Dobree Laurence (born 1952). The family descends patrilineally from Zaccaria Levy, a Jewish merchant who arrived in England from Venice in the late eighteenth century, possibly having originated in Baghdad, and his wife, Simcha Ana, née Montefiore. Their son Joseph adopted the surname Laurence.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0BC_DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA19 |title=Lost Jews: The Struggle for Identity Today. |first=Emma |last=Klein |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-333-61946-9 |page=19}}</ref>
Laurence was educated at The New Beacon Preparatory School and later at Sevenoaks School, Kent, before studying geography at University College, Durham,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dur.ac.uk/durham.first/spring08/armedforces/ |title=Alumni in the Armed Forces |publisher=Durham University |access-date=14 March 2009}}</ref> on a Naval Scholarship. He graduated with an Upper-Second Class Bachelor of Science (Hons). During his undergraduate years, he edited the student newspaper, ''Palatinate''.<ref>{{cite news |first=Stuart |last=Qualtrough |title=People's Prince Will's may go to Durham University |newspaper=Sunday Mirror |date=23 May 1999 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_19990523/ai_n14489282 |access-date=28 August 2007}}</ref>
==Naval career== Laurence was commissioned into the Royal Navy as a midshipman on 1 January 1973, and became an acting sub-lieutenant on 1 January 1975. After leaving Durham he completed his initial training at the Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, and was posted to the Plymouth-based frigate {{HMS|Aurora|F10|6}}.<ref name="Facts"/> He was promoted lieutenant on 1 March 1977, ten months ahead of the normal schedule. In 1978, he was attached to the training establishment {{HMS|Vernon|shore establishment|6}}, and, in the following year, he served in the Ton-class minesweeper HMS ''Pollington''.<ref name=forces>{{cite web |url=https://www.forces.net/royals/who-vice-admiral-sir-timothy-laurence |title=Who is Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence? |date=13 June 2022 |first=James |last=Wharton |publisher=Forces.Net |access-date=24 October 2022}}</ref>
Laurence then served briefly as Second Navigating Officer of the Royal Yacht HMY ''Britannia'', and, from 1980 to 1982, he was Navigating Officer of the destroyer {{HMS|Sheffield|D80|6}}.<ref name="NT-bio">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/13/world/in-quiet-scottish-ceremony-anne-marries-naval-officer.html |title=In Quiet Scottish Ceremony, Anne Marries Naval Officer |newspaper=The New York Times |date=13 December 1992 |access-date=13 May 2018}}</ref> In 1982, he took command of the patrol boat HMS ''Cygnet'' off the Northern Irish coast, deployed on patrols against IRA gunrunners. For distinguished service in Northern Ireland, Laurence was mentioned in despatches.<ref name=forces/>
After attending {{HMS|Dryad|shore establishment|6}} for the Principal Warfare Officer course, he was posted to the frigate {{HMS|Alacrity|F174|6}}. Laurence was promoted lieutenant commander on 1 March 1985. In March 1986, he attended the Royal Australian Navy Tactics Course at HMAS ''Watson'', Sydney, during which he was notified of his first staff appointment as equerry to the Queen,<ref name="NT-bio"/> a post he held from 11 October 1986 until 16 September 1989.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=50833 |supp=y|page=1951|date=13 February 1987}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=52074 |supp=y|page=3321|date=13 March 1990}}</ref> He was promoted commander on 31 December 1988.<ref name="NT-bio"/>
Elected Hudson Visiting Fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford, in 1989, Laurence wrote a paper on the relationship between humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping. In October 1989, he was posted to the frigate {{HMS|Boxer|F92|6}}, and took over as commanding officer on 30 January 1990, at the age of 34. Between 1992 and 1994, Laurence served on the Naval Staff at the Ministry of Defence, London. On 16 May 1994, he was appointed the First Military Assistant to the Secretary of State for Defence, Malcolm Rifkind, providing military advice in the private office.<ref name=forces/>
Laurence was promoted as captain on 30 June 1995, and, until 1996, commanded the frigate {{HMS|Cumberland|F85|6}}. In May 1996, the ship returned from the Adriatic, where HMS ''Cumberland'' served in the NATO-led IFOR Task Force. On 27 August 1996, Laurence was appointed Commanding Officer of the frigate {{HMS|Montrose|F236|6}}, as well as Captain of the 6th Frigate Squadron.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://royalcentral.co.uk/blogs/insight/getting-to-know-timothy-laurence-19756 |title=Getting to know Timothy Laurence |publisher=Royal Central |date=17 November 2013 |access-date=17 May 2018}}</ref> Until October 1996, the ship was deployed to the South Atlantic on patrol of the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory. In July 1997, Laurence returned to the Ministry of Defence, first on the Naval Staff and then, from June 1998, on promotion to Commodore, as a member of the Implementation Team for the 1998 Strategic Defence Review.<ref name=forces/>
==Later career== He was then posted to the Joint Services Command and Staff College as a commodore, serving as Assistant Commandant (Navy) from 15 June 1999. From 2001 to the spring of 2004, Laurence returned to the Ministry of Defence as Director of Navy Resources and Programmes.<ref name=line>{{Cite news |title=The line of duty – Tim Laurence, Defence Estates |work=Building |date=11 July 2008 |author=Emily Wright}}</ref>
Promoted rear admiral on 5 July 2004,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=57345|date=6 July 2004|page=8387 |supp=y}}</ref> he was appointed Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff, with responsibility for Resources and Plans, on 30 April 2007. Laurence was further promoted vice admiral and became chief executive of Defence Estates (later renamed Defence Infrastructure Organisation).<ref name=line/>
In 2008, Laurence was admitted as a Younger Brother of Trinity House.<ref>[https://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/about-us/trinity-house-fraternity/younger-brethren www.trinityhouse.co.uk]</ref>
Laurence became Head of Profession for the British Government's Property Asset Management community in July 2009. The community includes practitioners in construction procurement, estates and property management, and facilities and contracts management. He was awarded Honorary Membership by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Hon. MRICS) later that year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/0/15681807E0AFBA57802578F900381D84?OpenDocument |title=DCMS appoints five new Commissioners for English Heritage |publisher=Department of Culture, Media and Sport |date=27 August 2011 |access-date=24 October 2022}}</ref>
Laurence retired from Royal Navy service in August 2010 and subsequently developed a portfolio of mainly non‑executive and charitable interests, with a particular emphasis on property and regeneration.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://royalcentral.co.uk/uk/princessanne/princess-anne-and-sir-tim-laurence-celebrate-25-years-of-marriage-93180 |title=Princess Anne and Sir Tim Laurence celebrate 25 years of marriage |publisher=Royal Central |first=Charlie |last=Proctor |date=12 December 2017 |access-date=17 May 2018}}</ref> He served on the board of the project-management company Capita Symonds until 2014 and is non-executive chairman of the property developers Dorchester Regeneration.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/9622747/Royal-concern-as-billion-pound-contract-could-be-clinched-by-firm-that-employs-Princess-Annes-husband.html |title=Royal concern as billion-pound contract could be clinched by firm that employs Princess Anne's husband |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |first=Richard |last=Eden |date=21 October 2012 |access-date=17 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dorchestergrp.com/senior-management-team |title=Senior Management Team |publisher=Dorchester Group |access-date=17 May 2018 |archive-date=4 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704093505/https://www.dorchestergrp.com/senior-management-team |url-status=dead}}</ref> He is also non-executive chairman of Purfleet Centre Regeneration, a newly established company specialising in site reclamation and regeneration.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thurrockgazette.co.uk/news/11103151.We___re_serious_about___800m_Purfleet_plan/ |title=Sir Tim Laurence: We're serious about £800m Purfleet plan |work=Thurrock Gazette |date=26 March 2014 |access-date=17 May 2018}}</ref> He served as a senior military adviser to PA Consulting until 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.paconsulting.com/newsroom/releases/vice-admiral-tim-laurence-appointed-as-senior-advisor-at-pa-consulting-group-21-march-2011/ |title=Vice Admiral Tim Laurence appointed as senior advisor at PA Consulting Group |publisher=PA Consulting |date=21 March 2011 |access-date=17 May 2018}}</ref>
Laurence served as Master of the Worshipful Company of Coachmakers and Coach Harness Makers for 2010/11.<ref>[https://www.coachmakers.co.uk/court-committees/ www.coachmakers.co.uk]</ref>
Chairman of the English Heritage Trust between April 2015 and December 2022, Laurence also served as vice-chairman of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission until 30 June 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=English Heritage announces social policy expert Gerard Lemos as its next Chair |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about-us/search-news/pr-chair-announcement/ |website=English Heritage |publisher=English Heritage Trust |access-date=23 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cwgc.org/learn/news-and-events/news/2018/04/23/09/39/hrh-princess-anne-and-sir-tim-laurence-attend-cwgc-cemetery-to-mark-centenary-of-the-zeebrugge-raid |title=HRH Princess Anne and Sir Tim Laurence attend CWGC Cemetery to mark centenary of the Zeebrugge Raid |publisher=Commonwealth War Graves Commission |date=23 April 2018 |access-date=17 May 2018}}</ref> A Trustee of the HMS ''Victory'' Preservation Company,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://olib.uk/charity/html/1146376/the-hms-victory-preservation-company/ |title=The HMS Victory Preservation Company |publisher=CharityData |access-date=17 May 2018 |archive-date=4 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704124623/https://olib.uk/charity/html/1146376/the-hms-victory-preservation-company/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> his transport interests also include membership of the Great Western Advisory Board.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about-us/our-people/ |title=Our People |publisher=English Heritage |access-date=17 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180531185603/http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about-us/our-people/ |archive-date=31 May 2018}}</ref> [[File:Procession to Lying-in-State of Elizabeth II at Westminster Hall - 66.jpg|thumb|Laurence (third from left) processing with members of the royal family to the lying-in-state of Elizabeth II, 14 September 2022]] Laurence served as President of Kent CCC for 2020, and was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (FSA) in 2021.<ref>[https://www.sal.org.uk/2021/12/9-december-ballot-results/ www.sal.org.uk]</ref>
In December 2023, Laurence was appointed Chairman of the Science Museum Group.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/vice-admiral-sir-tim-laurence-kcvo-cb-appointed-as-chair-to-the-science-museum-group |title=Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, KCVO, CB appointed as Chair to the Science Museum Group}}</ref>
In January 2025, Laurence was forced to withdraw from an official visit to South Africa with the Princess Royal after suffering from a torn ligament while working on their Gloucestershire estate, Gatcombe Park.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://people.com/princess-anne-visits-south-africa-solo-after-husband-timothy-laurence-cancels-following-injury-8777650|title=Princess Anne Undertakes South Africa Royal Tour Solo After Husband Sir Timothy Laurence Cancels Following Injury|magazine=People|first=Rachel|last=Burchfield|date=21 January 2025|access-date=21 January 2025}}</ref>
==Marriage== [[File:Coronation of Charles III and Camilla - Coronation Procession (66).jpg|thumb|right|275px|Laurence rode in the Scottish State Coach after the coronation of King Charles III on 6 May 2023, alongside Richard, Duke of Gloucester and his wife, Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester.]][[File:RVO-Star.jpg|thumb|right|100px|GCVO star]] Laurence met Princess Anne when serving as an equerry to Queen Elizabeth II in 1986, at a time when it was widely rumoured that her first marriage to Captain Mark Phillips was breaking down. In 1989, the existence of private letters from Laurence to the Princess was revealed by ''The Sun'', although the sender was not named. Buckingham Palace issued a statement:
<blockquote> "The stolen letters were addressed to the Princess Royal by Commander Timothy Laurence, the Queen’s Equerry. We have nothing to say about the contents of personal letters sent to Her Royal Highness by a friend which were stolen and which are the subject of a police investigation."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://people.com/archive/cover-story-a-crisis-rocks-a-royal-marriage-vol-31-no-16/ |title=A Crisis Rocks a Royal Marriage |magazine=People |date=24 April 1989 |access-date=13 May 2018 |first1=Joanne |last1=Kaufman |first2=Jonathan |last2=Cooper}}</ref> </blockquote>
Laurence and Anne married on 12 December 1992 in a Church of Scotland ceremony at Crathie Kirk, near Balmoral Castle<ref>{{cite web |title=1992: Princess Royal remarries |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/12/newsid_2547000/2547723.stm |website=BBC On This Day |publisher=BBC |access-date=15 July 2025}}</ref> (the Church of Scotland permits second marriages for divorcees). Although he was not elevated to the peerage upon marrying into the royal family, Laurence was appointed a Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Queen in 2008, and was invested in June 2011 as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Commonwealth War Graves Commission appoints new Commissioner |date=11 July 2011 |url=http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/detail.aspx?NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=420345&SubjectId=15&DepartmentMode=true |access-date=30 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323143956/http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/detail.aspx?NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=420345&SubjectId=15&DepartmentMode=true |archive-date=23 March 2012}}</ref> Advanced as a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in August 2025,<ref name="gcvo">{{London Gazette|issue=64835 |date=1 September 2025|page=17010}}</ref> Sir Timothy will be able to display his coat of arms, once proven by the College of Arms, on an armorial plate at the Savoy Chapel alongside other GCVOs.<ref>[https://www.centralchancery.org.uk/orders-of-chivalry/the-royal-victorian-order/ www.centralchancery.org.uk]</ref>
Anne kept her country estate, Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire, after her divorce from Captain Mark Phillips. After she married Laurence, the couple leased a flat in Dolphin Square, Westminster, as their London residence. They later moved to apartments in Buckingham Palace and now keep an apartment at St James's Palace.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.royal.uk/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309035640/http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalResidences/StJamessPalace/Today.aspx |url-status=dead |title=The Royal Family |archive-date=9 March 2009 |website=The Royal Family}}</ref>
==Honours== {{see also|List of honours of the British royal family by country}} * 1983 (18 October): Mentioned in Despatches for distinguished service in Northern Ireland during the period 1 February 1983 to 30 April 1983.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=49510 |supp=y|page=13651|date=17 October 1983}}</ref> * 2004 (1 August): Appointed Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Sovereign (ADC)<ref name="CC2004">[https://www.royal.uk/media-centre/court-circulars Court Circular, 30 July 2004]</ref> * 2021 (9 December): Elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA)<ref>[https://www.sal.org.uk/fellows/vice-admiral-sir-timothy-laurence/ Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence FSA] - website of the Society of Antiquaries of London</ref> * 2023 (27 September): Appointed patron of the International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF)<ref>[https://www.international-maritime-rescue.org/News/vice-admiral-sir-timothy-laurence-appointed-patron-of-the-international-maritime-rescue-federation "Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence appointed Patron of the International Maritime Rescue Federation"]. IMRF. Retrieved on 27 September 2023.</ref>
{| class="wikitable" |- align="center" style="background:silver;" |Ribbon |Description |Notes |- |40x40px |Royal Victorian Order | * Appointed Member (MVO) on 23 August 1989<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=51858 |date=1 September 1989 |page=10109 |supp=y}}</ref> * Appointed Knight Commander (KCVO) on 14 June 2011<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=59841 |date=5 July 2011}}</ref> * Appointed Knight Grand Cross (GCVO) on 21 August 2025<ref name="gcvo" /> |- |40x40px |Most Honourable Order of the Bath |Appointed Companion (CB) on 16 June 2007<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=58358 |date=16 June 2007 |page=2 |supp=y}}</ref> |- |37x37px |General Service Medal (1962) |18 October 1983, with 1 Clasp Northern Ireland and the oak leaf emblem for being mentioned in despatches<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=49510 |date=17 October 1983 |page=13651 |supp=y}}</ref> |- |40x40px |Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal |6 February 2002<ref name="auto">{{cite book |title=Medal Yearbook 2021 |publisher=Token Publishing |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-908828-53-8 |location=Honiton, Devon |page=295}}</ref> |- |40x40px |Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal |6 February 2012<ref name="auto" /> |- |40x40px |Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal |6 February 2022<ref>{{Cite web |title=Platinum Jubilee Medal revealed |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/platinum-jubilee-medal-revealed |website=Gov.uk}}</ref> |- |40x40px |King Charles III Coronation Medal |6 May 2023 |- |40x40px |Order of the Star of Melanesia |Appointed Companion on 29 September 2005<ref>{{cite web |date=30 September 2005 |title=Farewell, princess |url=http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20050930/news01.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060213153617/http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20050930/news01.htm |archive-date=13 February 2006 |access-date=3 May 2013 |publisher=Post-Courier Online}}</ref> |}
==Authored articles== * {{cite web |last=Laurence |first=Sir Tim |date=26 May 2020 |title=The Dunkirk evacuation was no 'miracle' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/26/dunkirk-evacuation-no-miracle/ |website=The Daily Telegraph}} * {{cite web |last=Laurence |first=Sir Tim |date=5 December 2020 |title=Like it or not, building the Stonehenge tunnel is the best way to preserve this historic site |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/12/05/like-not-building-stonehenge-tunnel-best-way-preserve-historic/ |website=The Daily Telegraph}} * {{cite web |last=Laurence |first=Sir Tim |date=1 May 2022 |title=More than ever, we must remember our historic bond with Poland and Ukraine |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/05/01/ever-must-remember-historic-bond-poland-ukraine/ |website=The Daily Telegraph}} * {{cite web |last=Laurence |first=Sir Tim |date=29 December 2022 |title=We'd all lose out if our heritage crumbled away |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/29/lose-heritage-crumbled-away/ |website=The Daily Telegraph}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=4823310}}
{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=Vice-Admiral<br>Peter Dunt}} {{s-ttl|title=Chief Executive of Defence Estates|years=2007–2011}} {{s-aft|after=Andrew Manley|as=Chief Executive,<br>Defence Infrastructure Organisation}} {{s-end}} {{Moorsom family tree}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurence, Timothy}} Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:People from Camberwell Category:People educated at Sevenoaks School Category:Alumni of University College, Durham Category:English people of Jewish descent Category:Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Category:Family of Anne, Princess Royal Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath Category:Equerries Category:English geographers Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Category:Royal Navy vice admirals Category:Mountbatten-Windsor family Category:Palatinate (newspaper) editors Category:Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Category:Presidents of Kent County Cricket Club Category:Members of Trinity House