Sadness behind Peter Phillips’ wedding: Guest list lays bare the sorry state of relations between royal cousins who were once so close – as it’s revealed he’s not been in contact with Harry for ‘years’
It was the wedding of our current King and Queen and front and center in the picture were their royal cousins Prince William, Prince Harry, Peter Phillips, Zara Tindall and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie with smiles gracing their young faces.
The close bond between the giggling and grinning relatives was clearly visible as they walked side by side outside St George’s Chapel in Windsor in 2005.
But similar feel-good scenes between the cousins are unlikely to be witnessed at the wedding of Princess Anne’s son Peter, 48, and his fiancee, NHS nurse Harriet Sperling, at All Saints Church in Kemble, Gloucestershire, on June 6.
Instead, the nuptials will reveal the sad state of relations between royal cousins who were once so close and grew up together.
Prince Harry, who stands closest to Peter in the aforementioned photo from Charles and Camilla’s wedding, is not expected to attend his cousin’s big day next month as the pair have ‘lost contact’.
A friend close to the Crown Princess’ son said: ‘Peter and Harry haven’t spoken for a few years and have lost contact so he wasn’t invited.’
‘Peter and Harriet’s wedding is an intimate affair with close friends and family around them in the Cotswolds. “This is an area where they grew up and it’s very special to both of them,” a friend said.
To add to the sad situation, the groom once described growing up with his cousins as ‘a lot of fun’ during family holidays to Sandringham, Balmoral and Windsor.
It was the wedding of our now King and Queen in 2005, and front and center were royal cousins Prince William, Prince Harry, Peter Phillips, Zara Tindall and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, with smiles gracing their young faces.
During an appearance on Good Morning Britain in 2016, Peter said: ‘There was so much space for the children to run around and we weren’t the only ones doing it; There were also the Welshmen, Freddie, Ella Windsor and the Gloucesters’.
‘So we had a gang growing up in that era and it was a lot of fun. ‘We caused quite a bit of mayhem and chaos but luckily I don’t think we were too offended!’
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But the cousins are unlikely to display this familiar bond at Peter’s wedding; More drama is to come regarding Princess Beatrice and Eugenie’s possible involvement.
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s daughters are expected to join senior royals at the wedding, their first public appearance in months.
Beatrice and Eugenie, who are expecting their third child, have kept a fairly low profile following renewed scrutiny surrounding their parents’ connections to their children. convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein earlier this year.
A source said: ‘The Royal Family needs good news and nothing unites like a big church wedding. Beatrice is going and Eugenie is in her second trimester of pregnancy but hopes to attend.
‘The King always wanted them both to remain part of the family. He made it clear that they were welcome at family events.’
However, while King Charles is keen to ensure Eugenie and Beatrice are not punished for their parents’ sins, Queen Camilla is said to be among the ‘leading figures of the anti-York faction’, with Prince William following her closely, according to The Mail on Sunday.
The Prince of Wales remains furious that his uncle’s misdeeds have cast a shadow over the monarchy he will one day inherit, and concerns about the impact of the scandal on the Firm’s reputation remain high among senior members.
Peter Phillips, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Zara and Mike Tindall leave after attending the Mass of Thanksgiving for the late Queen at Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London on June 3, 2022.
Recently, Camilla is said to have expressed the view that Eugenie and Beatrice, who run Mayfair art gallery Hauser & Wirth, should stop using their titles, albeit voluntarily.
Prince William is also said to be concerned about his cousins’ connections to Epstein, both of whom have maintained an uncomfortable silence on the issue.
According to the source: ‘William was determined to keep the girls close and not let them be tainted by the sins of their father and the follies of both parents, but Epstein’s revelations mean he has abandoned that plan.
‘The fact that he and Kate haven’t publicly welcomed the baby news is a sign of how things have changed.’
Royal expert and biographer Phil Dampier said bluntly: ‘Relations between the Yorks and the rest of the royal family are at an all-time low.
‘If moves are being made to remove Andrew from the line of succession, there must be a possibility that his children, as well as Beatrice and Eugenie, will be forced out by completely puncturing the boil.’
A royal insider claimed that the Queen and William were pressing Charles for ‘clearer action to distance the institution from the entire York branch of the family’.
Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling attend the Cheltenham Festival
“The King still loves Beatrice and Eugenie very much,” the source added.
‘William isn’t as close to Beatrice and Eugenie as Harry is, but over the last few years, he has invited Beatrice and Eugenie, as well as other cousins, to help Catherine host one of Buckingham Palace’s garden parties.
‘They weren’t there one year this year. Only Zara was there among the cousins. ‘Their presence at any royal event right now will completely overshadow everything else.’
Mr Dampier believes that as future King and Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales ‘must separate themselves from any toxic relationships’.
He continued: ‘Kate hasn’t said anything publicly but her friends have told me; Although she is concerned about Andrew’s mental state and future, her attitude has hardened and she is fully supportive of anything William does to get away from them.’
On Peter’s wedding day, it looks likely that it will be the groom’s beloved sister Zara and her equally beloved husband Mike Tindall who will bridge the gap between the cousins.
Often seen as the glue that holds the Royal Family together, Princess Anne’s daughter and former rugby player husband is close to heir to the throne William, as well as sharing special bonds with Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
In fact, Zara was one of the few people who was entrusted with the latest news about Eugenie’s pregnancy and even persuaded her to write to the King before it was made public.
Those expected to attend Peter’s wedding include King Charles and Queen Camilla, the groom’s mother Princess Anne and Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Lawrence, as well as Zara and Mike Tindall.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, are also expected to attend the Gloucestershire ceremony.
But Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has reportedly not been invited to private weddings as the Firm continues to distance itself from the former prince amid the long-running scandal linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Peter, 48, and Harriet, 45, officially announced their engagement in August last year after first being linked in May 2024. In their statement to announce the good news, they said both families were ‘delighted’.
The wedding will mark a new chapter for Peter following the end of his marriage to Canadian-born Autumn Kelly.
They married in a lavish ceremony at St George’s Chapel in 2008 and later welcomed daughters Savannah, now 15, and Isla, 13, before splitting in 2019. Their divorce was finalized in 2021.
Harriet, who had a 13-year-old daughter, Georgina, from her first marriage, quickly became a familiar and welcome face in royal circles.
Last summer, she was seen laughing alongside the King at Royal Ascot after attending the official carriage ceremony for members of the Royal Family; This is a strong sign of how accepted he is within the Firm.
Earlier this year the couple looked happier than ever as they attended the Cheltenham Festival alongside Zara and Mike.
Harriet was created by the same jeweler behind the Queen’s iconic 1946 engagement ring, made by the late Charles II. Peter looked visibly impressed as he proudly showed off his engagement ring, a sparkling design said to be a touching tribute to Elizabeth.
Harriet herself has wealthy connections and has a relationship with the Duke of Gloucester through her late father, Rupert Sanders.
Royal biographer Richard Fitzwilliams has suggested the upcoming ceremony will be significantly different to Peter’s first wedding, leaving some sections of the Royal Family ‘bewildered’.
Harriet has spoken openly about the importance of faith in her life, previously explaining how Christianity helped her deal with the challenges of single motherhood.
He explained in an earlier interview that ‘he always had faith in me but it was kind of dormant.’
He added: ‘Somehow it didn’t seem to have much to do with my life in London. But the end of a seven-year relationship was the turning point for me. ‘I went to church because I felt something was missing.’
Writing in Christian magazine Woman Alive last year, Harriet spoke candidly about the difficulties of raising a child alone while finding solace in her faith.
According to her professional biography, Harriet lives in Gloucestershire and works as a pediatric nurse specialist in the NHS; here she is described as ‘passionate about early brain development in babies and seeing children develop’.
In 2010, he was part of a specialist medical team credited with helping save the life of a critically ill baby who contracted a deadly virus when he was just three weeks old.
With almost all senior members of the royal family now expected to gather in the Cotswolds this summer, Peter and Harriet’s wedding is set to be one of the most significant private Royal Family celebrations of the year.
