Princess Anne’s hilarious 10-word remark about asking Queen Elizabeth permission to marry

Princess Anne once made a hilarious remark about what it was like when she had to ask her mother Queen Elizabeth for permission to get married.

Although she was never expected to take to the throne, it has been a long-standing requirement that members of the British Royal Family must seek permission from the monarch before they get married.

This was set out in an act imposed in 1772 in Parliament, which states that no descendant of George II can marry without the consent of the reigning monarch.

The act is still in force today, with King Charles not yet having been required to give permission for any marriages to go ahead since taking over the throne from his late mother Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

In a past interview, Princess Anne, 74, was asked how difficult it was to ask the late Queen for permission to marry.

She answered in a curt 10-words: “Not half as difficult as asking permission to get divorced.”

Princess Anne’s first wedding took place on November 14, 1973, when she married her first husband Captain Mark Phillips in Westminster Abbey, the same venue later used for Prince William and Princess Kate’s 2011 wedding.

The Princess Royal had her two children Peter and Zara Phillips with Mark before divorcing in 1992.

The same year as her divorce, Princess Anne married her second and current husband Sir Timothy Laurence on December 12, 1992.