A 'Gardening Incident'? Princess Anne's Husband Shows Up in Public With a Black Eye

Princess Anne's husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, sported a black eye, as he stepped out to attend the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's 200th anniversary at Westminster Abbey on Monday, March 4. The former naval officer, 69, who married the princess in 1992, is said to have gained the shiner on his right eye from a "gardening incident."

Sir Timothy is the Princess Royal's second spouse after her first marriage to Captain Mark Phillips ended in divorce in 1992. In a 2020 interview, Sir Timothy said of his wife: "It’s quite amusing that she married first an army officer and then a naval officer. So there must be something about the military that attracts her."

The unfortunate yard work incident comes as the Princess Royal has increased her royal duties in the wake of King Charles III's cancer diagnosis. It also comes after Her Royal Highness, who has long been the monarchy's "hardest-working" member, was "proven right" in the words of one source, due to her brother's wish for a "slimmed-down monarchy," becoming a catastrophe.

"Well, I think the 'slimmed-down' [monarchy] was said in a day when there were a few more people around to make that seem like a justifiable comment," the Princess Royal shared during an interview before Charles III's coronation. King Charles III's decision to "tone down" the Crown is not being met with the wide-ranging approval the monarch may have hoped for.

"That is the backbone of royalty because that is what makes people in this country feel that the royals are worth having," Lady Colin Campbell dished when discussing all the charity work numerous royal family members contribute to Britain.

"I think he’s guilty of stupidity. The fact of the matter is I have seen for over 20 years that Charles' idea of slimming down the monarchy is unworkable," the aristocrat revealed. "Charles seems to be heading in the direction that only what appears in the media should be validated, and everything else should be ignored."

"Each royal has their own engagements, their own charities, foundations, patronages, and interests," royal historian Marlene Koenig told an outlet. "Beatrice and Eugenie cannot step in for Catherine with her engagements for this reason." The Princess Royal has alluded to problems with a smaller royal family, but the King has not heeded her warnings."

She continued: "Beatrice and Eugenie are Prince Andrew’s daughters, which, of course, would cause criticism from some quarters."

It is believed that the King has envisioned a small unit of working royals during his reign, as far back as the 1990s. Queen Elizabeth II preferred not to "rock the boat" during her record-breaking time on the throne, which allowed the monarchy to operate as it has for hundreds of years.

GBN reported on Laurence's black eye.