Timothy Laurence

Vice Admiral Sir Timothy James Hamilton Laurence, (born 1 March 1955) is a retired Royal Navy officer and husband of Anne, Princess Royal, the only sister of King Charles III. Laurence was equerry to Queen Elizabeth II from 1986 to 1989. Early life and education Timothy James Hamilton Laurence was born on 1 March 1955 in Camberwell, South London, the son of Commander Guy Stewart Laurence, RN (1896–1982; also salesman for a marine engine manufacturer), and Barbara Alison Laurence (née Symons, c. 1929–2019). He has an older brother, Jonathan Dobree Laurence (born 1952). The Laurences descend from Zaccaria Levy, a Jewish merchant who arrived in England from Venice (and possibly initially from Baghdad) in the late 18th century. The family name was later changed to Laurence. Laurence was educated at The New Beacon Preparatory School and then at Sevenoaks School, Kent, and University College, University of Durham, on a Naval Scholarship, where he received a Bachelor of Science upper 2nd class honours degree in geography. At university, he edited the student newspaper, Palatinate. Naval career Laurence was commissioned a midshipman in the Royal Navy on 1 January 1973 and made an acting sub-lieutenant on 1 January 1975. Upon leaving Durham he completed his initial training at the Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, and was posted to , a Plymouth-based frigate. He was promoted to lieutenant 10 months early, on 1 March 1977. In 1978, Laurence was attached to the training establishment and in the next year served on the Ton-class minesweeper HMS Pollington.