With Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling set to tie the knot, the first major British royal wedding in years is now on the horizon.
The couple, who have been dating for a little over a year, officially announced their engagement on Friday – and it’s likely royal fans will be in for a treat when their wedding rolls around.
Princess Anne‘s son and NHS nurse Harriet have both been married before – Peter to Autumn Kelly, and Harriet to a fitness instructor – leading some to question whether their nuptials may look slightly different to what the nation is accustomed to when it comes to royalty.
However, former royal butler, Grant Harrold, believes that the couple won’t be held back by royal protocol like King Charles and Queen Camilla once were because it is ‘very different times’ now.
Grant told Femail: ‘Historically, yes, royal weddings, if you’re divorced and you got married again, it was always a much more low key affair.’
He said: ‘I still think [Peter’s] will be an all-white wedding. I think he’ll still want to do things even though he’s the divorcee. I still think it will be a full blown white wedding affair. I think it’s very different times, so they can either go for a low key or a high profile. It’ll be entirely up to them at the time.’
It is also thought that Princess Anne’s ex-husband and Peter’s father, Captain Mark Phillips, will be in attendance. Mark – who got divorced from the Princess Royal in 1992 – was seen at Peter’s first wedding in 2008 and even posed for a family portrait alongside his former wife.
So, what might Harriet and Peter’s wedding look like? Femail takes a look below…
With Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling set to tie the knot, the first major British royal wedding in years is now on the horizon
‘Charles and Camilla-style’ divorcee wedding?
As both Peter and Harriet have been married before, their upcoming nuptials may look slightly different to most royal weddings.
Princess Anne’s son was previously married to Autumn Kelly for 12 years, with whom he shares two daughters, Savannah, 14, and Isla, 13. Harriet, 45, meanwhile has a daughter Georgina, 13, from her first marriage to a fitness instructor.
After his split from Autumn Kelly in 2020, Peter then had a three-year relationship with Scottish divorcee Ms Wallace.
The Anglican church has allowed divorcees to marry again in a church since 2002.
Similarly, marrying as a divorced person is still a relatively new concept for the royals – only happening in the last 20 years – meaning there’s no clear and established path.
In fact, Queen Elizabeth’s uncle Edward famously abdicated the throne in 1936 in order to marry Wallis Simpson, a divorced American woman. When Princess Margaret hoped to marry divorced Peter Townsend, it was forbidden by the Church of England.
The couple is yet to confirm any details of the wedding – but they could opt for a style similar to King Charles and Queen Camilla when they married in 2005.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are pictured at their wedding in 2005, a couple of years before Peter got married
The Queen and Prince Philip did not attend Charles and Camilla’s civil ceremony – but did join the couple at their religious blessing
The King and Queen – who first dated back in the 1970s – tied the knot in Windsor on 9 April that year.
The couple’s big day was noticeably less lavish than King Charles’ wedding to Princess Diana in July 1981 – which was held at St Paul’s Cathedral and watched by over 750m people from around the world.
Instead, Charles and Camilla – who had both been divorced – opted for a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall which was followed by a religious blessing.
Unlike Charles’ first wedding, the couple’s civil ceremony was kept private, and Buckingham Palace announced that there would be no music or readings featured in the order of service.
But royal expert Phil Dampier told Femail that it is likely Harriet and Peter won’t be held back by royal protocols like Camilla and Charles were.
He said: ‘I think Peter Phillips’ wedding will be fairly low key but not because he is divorced. After all the first marriages of the King, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew all ended in divorce as well, so the stigma that there was in the 50s is no longer there.
‘Peter Phillips is not a working royal so he can pretty much do what he wants.
‘I’m sure senior royals will be invited and will attend but we probably won’t see any big parade or carriage procession.
Peter Phillips is pictured with his ex-wife Autumn Kelly during their wedding in 2008 at St George’s Chapel
Peter Phillips is pictured with his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth, during Ascot in 2014
The couple have already made their debut at a number of high society events. Pictured attending Wimbledon together last year
‘He is well down the pecking order in the line of succession and so it will be very much done as he and his fiancée want.
‘In that sense, it won’t be very different from his first wedding. Ironically, his first wife switched from being a Catholic to the Church of England so that he wouldn’t lose his place in the line of succession, but the rules have now been changed and he is so far down to be irrelevant now.’
When Prince Harry married Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel in Windsor in 2018, the wedding was as lavish as ever – despite the Suits actress having been married previously to Trevor Engelson from 2011 to 2013.
More than 120,000 people descended on Windsor that day, with hundreds of VIP guests.
As the son of Princess Anne and being himself the King’s nephew Peter Phillips’s wedding will likely be one to remember – but the extent of the celebrations will be down to the discretion of the couple themselves.
Will Harry and Meghan be invited?
While a guest list and a date have not officially been set for the wedding, many royal fans may wonder whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will get an invite to Harriet and Peter’s royal nuptials.
Former royal butler, Grant Harrold, also believes that Harry will be in attendance.
He said: ‘One thing I do know is obviously the King and Queen and his cousin Prince William, and possibly Prince Harry, who’s also very close to him, would be there.’
Prince Harry attended Peter Phillips’ first wedding in 2008 to Autumn Kelly and is seen pictured smiling in pictures alongside his grandparents, the late Queen and Prince Philip.
Peter Phillips and his sister Zara Tindall are pictured with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in June 2022
Peter and Harriet enjoy a drink and a chat at Ascot in 2024
It appears Harriet has been fully welcomed into the royal fold, as she embraced Zara upon arrival at the Berkshire racecourse
The Duke of Sussex, along with his brother William, were raised in Gloucestershire, just a few miles from where Peter Phillips and his sister, Zara Tindall, grew up and the foursome appeared to share a close bond.
The royal cousins were often spotted chatting and joking at royal events, with William previously revealing how it was ‘hard to keep a straight face’ when sitting opposite his cousins in church.
Both Peter and Zara have been described as ‘peacemakers’ between William and Harry in the past, with the Prince of Wales asking his cousin to stand between the pair during Prince Philip‘s funeral procession.
However, sources told The Mail on Sunday that Harry has experienced ‘a great deal of frostiness’ from many of his relatives when he arrived in Britain for the event in 2021.
It was also claimed that Peter’s mother Princess Anne, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie failed to acknowledge Harry before or during the service. However, Peter or Zara was not mentioned.
Harry also has a close relationship with Mike, who is not a working royal but lives on Princess Anne’s Gatecombe estate.
The Duke of Sussex is even said to have introduced Zara to her now husband Mike Tindall. The former England Rugby pro was said to be ‘drowning his sorrows’ at a bar in Sydney after being cut from the world cup squad when his pal Harry introduced the pair.
Prince William, Prince Harry and Peter Phillips are pictured at Charles and Camilla’s wedding in 2005
Prince Harry attended Peter Phillips’ first wedding in 2008 to Autumn Kelly and is seen pictured smiling in pictures alongside his grandparents, the late Queen and Prince Philip
Such is the closeness between the cousins that they are all part of a WhatsApp group where they exchange messages on upcoming events and family news.
‘Me, my brother and then a few of Zara’s side like her brother Pete [Phillips] and the cousins are on WhatsApp groups,’ Mike once revealed. ‘I wouldn’t say we’re cutting edge, but it’s just easier for some reason on WhatsApp.’
He added on a separate occasion: ‘It’s just what you do to try and set up get-togethers and we are going to something that is the same.
‘If you are going to go, [we discuss things like] ‘Are you going to take the kids?’ Quite a lot of people have family WhatsApp groups.’
What was Peter’s last wedding like?
On May 17, 2008, Peter tied the knot with Autumn in a lavish affair at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle – the same venue where Meghan and Harry said, ‘I do’.
The former couple got engaged in July of 2007 and then married five years after meeting at the Montreal Grand Prix.
There were 300 guests at the wedding including 70 of the Canadian-born bride’s family as well as a number of British royals.
Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Princess Beatrice, and now-Queen Camilla were all there as well as Princess Anne and Princess Eugenie who read Shakespeare’s sonnet 116 at the ceremony.
On May 17, 2008, Peter tied the knot with Autumn in a lavish affair at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle
The couple reportedly signed a £500,000 deal with Hello! Magazine to give them exclusive rights to al the photos of the event
Prince Harry was in attendance with then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy and while Prince William was notably absent as he was in Kenya for a friend’s wedding, but Kate was there to represent him.
Peter’s sister Zara Philips was bridesmaid in a sage-green Vera Wang gown while his half sister Stephanie, then-11, was one of the flower girls.
The couple reportedly signed a £500,000 deal with Hello! Magazine to give them exclusive rights to all the photos of the event.
The deal earned them a huge spread in the publication with interviews from the bride, select guests and Autumn’s wedding dress designer.
Autumn wore a lace and bead embellished strapless gown with a cascading train and short-sleeved shawl by British designer Sassi Holford.
Sassi told Hello! At the time: ‘Doing such a gown does kind of encompass all the emotions the bride feels on her day – I was excited, then terribly nervous, then full of joy’.
Peter Phillips’ father Captain Mark Phillips is pictured next to his ex-wife Princess Anne during a family portrait at their son’s first wedding in 2008
Princess Anne lent the bride a sparkling tiara for her special day and Autumn also donned a pearl and diamond necklace gifted to her by Peter the evening before.
After the ceremony, the newlyweds and their guests flocked to the chapel’s stairs to pose for photos and wave to fans.
From there, Peter and Autumn boarded an open, horse-pulled carriage to their reception at Frogmore House a 17th century country estate offered to them for use by the Queen and Prince Phillip.
At Frogmore House, the family gathered for a portrait before heading to the party where guests danced the night away.
Peter and Autumn cut their three-tiered wedding cake with a sword belonging to Captain Mark Phillips and an usher’s girlfriend was the one who caught the bouquet.
Tributes to The Queen and Prince Phillip
The union between Peter and Harriet will be the first major British royal wedding since Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip passed away.
The royal couple would usually have played a major role in any ceremony – and in the years before their deaths attended the weddings of their grandchildren, including Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and Prince Harry.
Peter Phillips and his first wife, Autumn Kelly, are pictured lovingly gazing at each other during their wedding day in 2008
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are pictured at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018
In 2008, when he married Autumn Kelly, Peter was the first of the Queen’s grandchildren to tie the knot – making it a very special occasion.
The photographs at the time, which were signed with HELLO! Magazine, included remarkably candid shots of the royals including images of the family laughing and one photo of Prince Harry giving his grandmother – Elizabeth II – a peck on the cheek.
However, senior members of the family – including the late Queen – were allegedly less than impressed and felt blindsided by the publication of the pictures.
Buckingham Palace released a statement shortly afterwards claiming that the deal was a ‘serious error of judgement’.
Peter was long said to have been the late Queen’s ‘favourite grandson’ – so it’s likely a tribute to his grandmother could be on the cards, especially at an event where she would have no doubt played a major role.
