Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips will tie the knot on June 6 with his NHS fiancee Harriet Sperling in a private ceremony in a church in Gloucestershire
Peter Phillips with wife-to-be Harriet Sperling (Image: Victoria Jones/Shutterstock)
The King’s nephew Peter Phillips reportedly needed special permission to marry his NHS fiancee Harriet Sperling – and it wasn’t from his uncle. It has been announced that Peter, the son of Princess Anne, and Harriet will exchange vows in a private ceremony at All Saints Church in Kemble, Gloucestershire on June 6.
The couple say that the King and Queen as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales have been informed of the date and that further details will be announced in due course. Now sources close have said that in order for the wedding to take place at the church in Gloucestershire, they needed sign off from a local vicar as both are divorcees.
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Divorced couples have no automatic right to marry in an Anglican church but the rules have been relaxed. The source told The Sun: “They have the vicar’s permission.”
Peter, the late Queen’s eldest grandchild and a nephew of King Charles, announced his engagement to mum-of-one Harriet in August. It is not yet known who will attend the wedding although expected guests are his mother Anne, Peter’s father Captain Mark Phillips, and his sister Zara Tindall and brother-in-law Mike.
Other royals who could attend are his cousins Princes William and Harry, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie as well as Lady Louise Windsor and James, the Earl of Wessex. Among Peter’s aunts and uncles are disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson – although it is thought they are unlikely to attend given their banishment from the Royal Family.
The 48-year-old, who is 19th in line to the throne, was previously married to Autumn Kelly, with whom he has two daughters Isla and Savannah. He also dated long-term partner Lindsay Wallace before they split in 2024 and he later found love with Harriet, an NHS paediatric nurse, who has a teenage daughter called Georgia.
Most recently, Harriet joined the King, her new mother-in-law Anne as well as her husband-to-be’s aunt and uncle the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh at Sandringham in between Christmas and New Year, where they were seen attending church. Peter and Harriet did not attend the traditional royal celebrations on Christmas Day itself, with the couple instead spending it with her family.
They first made their debut as a couple in the summer of 2024 when they both appeared together at the Badminton Horse Trials, where Harriet mingled with Anne, sister-in-law to be Zara as well as Queen Camilla.
Last June, they appeared at Royal Ascot together where Harriet, who has also previously been married, made her debut in one of the carriages during the royal procession – with the move being seen as a significant sign of her moving into the royal fold.
Peter married his first wife Autumn back in May 2008 in a grand ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, with guests including the late Queen and Prince Philip as well as his cousin Prince Harry. Although Prince William was unable to make it, the Princess of Wales was invited, despite being unmarried at the time – and it is believed the wedding marked the first time she met the late Queen.
The couple spent time living in Hong Kong through Peter’s previous job with the Royal Bank of Scotland and eventually settled back in the UK with their two daughters Savannah, 15, the late Queen’s oldest great-grandchild and Isla, 14.
However, towards the end of 2019, the couple separated and revealed they had taken the difficult step in an emotional statement in 2020 – just weeks after Harry and Meghan Markle announced they were quitting their royal roles.
In 2021 the couple’s divorce was finalised “amicably” and they released a statement explaining “Whilst this is a sad day for Peter and Autumn, they continue to put the wellbeing and upbringing of their wonderful daughters Savannah and Isla first and foremost.”
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