Who is Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence?

Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence KCVO, CB, ADC, is the husband of the Queen's only daughter, HRH Princess Anne, the Princess Royal.

He recently 'stood in' for his wife at the Founders Day event at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, where he joked that doing so was akin to asking "Mrs Harry Kane to lead the England football team out" – an online video of the quip has had more than 100k views.

Sir Timothy Laurence served in the Royal Navy for 37 years, holding several commands, including HMS Montrose and HMS Cumberland, before retiring from the service in 2010.

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Born in London in 1955, he was commissioned into the Royal Navy as a midshipman, aged just 17. Today, he continues to serve his country in support of the Royal Family.

Sir Timothy Laurence's military career

After commissioning into the Royal Navy aged 17, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence was promoted to sub-lieutenant two years later.

Once he completed his studies at Durham, he undertook initial training at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. Following this, he served at HMS Vernon and on the minesweeper HMS Pollington.

As a navigating officer, Sir Timothy served on the Royal Yacht Britannia and HMS Sheffield. In 1982, he was mentioned in dispatches for his role in conducting patrols for IRA weapon smugglers off the coast of Northern Ireland while serving on board HMS Cygnet. 

In 1985, he was promoted to lieutenant commander and posted to HMS Alacrity but was soon appointed as an equerry to the Queen, a position he held for three years.

Promoted again to commander in 1988, Sir Timothy Laurence took over command of HMS Boxer, a frigate, in 1990, at the age of 34.

In 1994, he was posted as the first military assistant to the Secretary of State for Defence, Malcolm Rifkind, providing military advice to the minister in Whitehall.

As a captain, in 1996, Sir Timothy Laurence commanded HMS Cumberland in the Adriatic, where the frigate served in the NATO-led IFOR Task Force.

Later that year, he transferred command to HMS Montrose and was appointed captain of the 6th Frigate Squadron. Montrose was deployed to the South Atlantic on Falkland Islands patrol during this time.

In June 1998, Sir Timothy was promoted to commodore and appointed as a member of the Implementation Team for the 1998 Strategic Defence Review.

In 2004, Sir Timothy Laurence was promoted to the rank of rear admiral and appointed Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff with oversight on Resources and Plans. Three years later, he was again promoted to vice admiral and made Chief Executive of Defence Estates.

In 2010, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence retired from the Royal Navy. Today, he pursues non-executive and charitable interests and is the Chairman of the English Heritage Trust. 

Sir Timothy Laurence is a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, an honour he received in June 2011.