Glamorous guests have arrived in the Cotswolds for the royal wedding of Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling today.
Dressed in all their finery, attendees put on a vibrant show as they made their way into Gloucestershire’s All Saints Church ahead of the arrival of the King’s nephew, 48, and his 45-year-old NHS nurse bride.
A host of royals are expected to join Princess Anne‘s son at the intimate ceremony, including King Charles and Queen Camilla, and the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
Zara, 45, and her husband, former rugby ace Mike Tindall, will also support the groom, whilst it’s suspected Peter’s daughters Isla, 14, and Savannah, 15, by former wife Autumn Kelly, and Harriet’s 14-year-old daughter from her first marriage, Georgina, will be bridesmaids.
However, one member of the Royal Family will be noticeably absent from the celebrations, as Prince Harry is not expected to attend.
The Montecito-based Duke of Sussex , 41, is said to have ‘not spoken in years’ to Peter, and sources say the presence of his estranged brother, Prince William, at the event will also inevitably have played a part.
Meanwhile, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was reportedly not invited to the ceremony as the monarchy continues its efforts to distance itself from the fallout surrounding his long-running scandal linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein .
Harriet Sperling and Peter Phillips attend day four of Royal Ascot 2024
Despite the prospect of torrential downpours, scores of fans took their place hours before the wedding of Peter and Harriet, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Royals.
Many of the royal watchers were locals, but James and Jane Cahill travelled 120 miles from Newark, Nottinghamshire, to make sure they were in place three hours before the ceremony started.
‘I was dragged out of bed for this,’ joked James, 80, admitting that Jane, 75, is the fervent royalist of the family.
‘I love everything to do with the royal family,’ she said. ‘I was in London for the King’s Coronation and it’s not that often you get a chance to see so many royals at once at close quarters.’
Sue Hooper, 65, from Tetbury, is virtually a neighbour of King Charles at nearby Highgrove, and said she shook hands with the monarch two years ago at a Buckingham Palace garden party.
‘I’m a member of Tetbury Art Society, and the King is patron’ she said, ‘and that’s why I was invited to the Palace. It’s great to be able to see the King and the other members of the Royal family today, even if it does rain on us, as seems likely.
‘Events like this show the human side of the Royals and even younger people get to see them. My grandson is definitely interested that I came down here today.’
Locals Jez and Sarah Smith only had to walk less than a mile with their dog Ziggy to claim a front row spot behind the barrier outside the church.
IT professional Jez, 51, said the couple had tried to bring their two children aged 16 and 20, to watch the arrivals, but without success.
‘I guess it’s a generational thing,’ he said, ‘but having said that I can see a fair few younger people here today – just not our kids.’
Primary school administrator Sarah, 52, said events like the wedding were an antidote to the depressing backdrop of world events at the moment.
‘There’s just so much bad news right now, it’s great that we can all come together and celebrate something happy,’ she said.
Molly Hurrell, 27, was hoping to see the King again, having met him once before as a nursery school pupil more than 20 years ago.
‘He came to my school, Tigger’s Nursery, to open a new building, and my photo with him appeared in the national papers’, she recalled.
She brought her aunt Claire Johnson, 56, and her daughter Nala, two, along to see the event.
‘It won’t mean much to Nala today,’ said Molly, ‘but one day I’ll be able to tell her about this special occasion when she saw the King and Queen.’
Aunt Claire admitted she ‘loves’ the royals and wasn’t going to miss the chance to see them today, whatever the weather. ‘I’m expecting a bit of rain, but it won’t dampen our spirits!’ she said.
College student Lyla Scovell, 17, from nearby Stroud, described herself as a ‘royal fanatic’ and attended the King’s Coronation in London.
‘I share the same birthday as the late Queen Elizabeth,’ she said, ‘so maybe that accounts for why I’m so passionate about them.
‘To see so many royals all together was too good a chance to miss. Most of my friends don’t feel as enthusiastic about them as I do, but I think they’re one of the best things about Britain.’
Today’s festivities were organised by Bentley’s Entertainments, a blue-chip firm which oversaw David and Victoria Beckham’s wedding, multiple parties for Sir Elton John, Princess Eugenie’s Windsor nuptials to Jack Brooksbank and Peter’s 2008 ceremony to his first wife Autumn Kelly.
Peter, who publicly announced his divorce to Autumn in 2020, found love again in May 2024 with fellow divorcee Harriet, who has a 14-year-old-daughter Georgina, from a past relationship.
The bride herself boasts wealthy connections, sharing a relation to the Duke of Gloucester through her late father, Rupert Sperling.
Born Harriet Eleanor Sander to Mary Hoskins and Rupert Sanders, the 45-year-old, who has three siblings, Nicholas, Louisa, and Rebecca, works as a paediatric nurse specialist for the NHS.
Peter, 19th in the line of succession, popped the question in August 2025 with a sparkling ring which boasts a subtle but touching tribute to his beloved grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II. It was designed by the same jeweller behind her 1946 ring.
In a statement to announce their engagement, they said both families were ‘delighted’.
While few details are known about the plans for the wedding, Harriet herself has spoken openly about the importance of faith in her life, previously revealing how Christianity helped her through the challenges of single motherhood.
In a previous interview, she revealed that her ‘faith was always in me, but it was kind of dormant’.
She added: ‘Somehow it didn’t seem relevant to my life in London. But the end of a seven-year relationship was the turning point for me. I went to church as I felt there was something missing.’
Whilst today’s private ceremony was proudly attended by a host of royals, the groom’s first wedding to Autumn wasn’t as drama free – after Peter struck a deal with Hello! magazine to sell the exclusive rights for an estimated £500,000, without telling the family.
The 100-page feature 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.
William and Harry’s then-girlfriends, Kate and Chelsy Davy, also appeared heavily throughout the special, despite issuing previous complaints about privacy breaches.
Sources close to the royals told The Standard at the time that the princes were entirely unaware that the photos were going to be featured in the magazine, and that Peter’s HELLO! deal ‘had not gone down well at all’.
They added: ‘Neither Peter nor the magazine sought their approval – and if they had, it certainly would not have been given. They are unhappy about it.’
William, who has always been a fiercely loyal public defender of Kate’s privacy, was no doubt upset that he had not been present at the event to protect his future wife.
Instead, the future King jetted off to Kenya to attend the wedding of Batain Craig, his ex-girlfriend Jecca Craig’s brother, and sent his girlfriend Kate to attend the event on his behalf.
‘Prince William’s going to be out of the country on a long-standing prior engagement,’ a royal source explained at the time. ‘He spoke to his cousin Peter and he is fine about it. His girlfriend will go in his absence.’
Left in the trusting hands of Harry and his then-girlfriend Chelsy, Kate’s apprehension was no doubt worsened by the fact that the event would be the first time she would meet her future grandmother-in-law, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
During Kate and William’s engagement interview in 2010, the princess disclosed to interviewer Tom Bradby her nerves towards their first meeting and added that the monarch had been ‘very friendly’, given the unusual circumstances.
However, what the wedding is now most remembered for is the intimate snapshot it provided into the family life of the royals, thanks to the controversial magazine deal.
The sea of images which were soon spread around the globe were a far cry from the traditionally stage-managed wedding photographs released by the Royal Family.
But the spread was certainly not well received by the Firm, with senior members of the family – including the late Queen – allegedly less than impressed, having felt blindsided by the publication of the pictures.
Even politicians at the time also chimed in, with Labour MP Ian Gibson claiming the British public would be shocked to see their monarch in those pages. ‘She is the Queen, not a footballer’s wife,’ he added.
Yesterday, the Daily Mail revealed that Harry’s strained relationship with Princess Anne’s son largely stems from the incident some 18 years ago.
Discussing the Duke’s notable absence from today’s ceremony, a friend close to The Princess Royal’s son said: ‘Peter and Harry haven’t spoken for several years and have simply lost touch, so he hasn’t been invited.’
‘Peter and Harriet’s wedding is an intimate occasion with their close friends and immediate family around them in the Cotswolds. It’s an area where they grew up and is very special to them both,’ a pal said.
But the prince was furious following Peter’s first wedding over the Hello! deal. Harry was particularly annoyed because he had taken Chelsy as a guest and had decided that this was the moment he would introduce her to his grandmother for the first time – a sign that their relationship was getting increasingly serious.
While the prince was aware that a photographer was present and snapping away – even posing for pictures with Chelsy and the then Kate Middleton – he thought they were for Peter and Autumn’s private collection.
He had no idea that they would end up splashed across pages of the glossy celebrity magazine.
It also came at a time when he and his brother had been battling to preserve Chelsy and Kate’s anonymity, complaining that unofficial pictures of them were a violation of their privacy.
Harry was deeply nervous about the meeting with the Queen, admitting afterwards that while he was sure ‘granny would love her’, it was a huge step forwards in their four-year relationship.
Kate and Chelsy spent a great deal of time together during the course of the day, even the hitting dancefloor in the evening, where they were pictured throwing their arms in the air in delight.
Harry loudly complained later that the first he knew of the debacle was when a copy of Hello! was delivered a few days later to Highgrove, his father’s country home, and he saw it on the breakfast table.
Furiously, he tried to call Peter to have it out with him but his phone went straight to voicemail, he later said, as Peter had ‘buggered off on honeymoon’.
It is not known if the two ever had it out personally, but the deal sparked a massive public outcry about the ‘selling out’ of the royals.
It certainly appears to account for Peter’s decision not to negotiate a deal second time around for today’s wedding to Harriet.
The bride grinned broadly yesterday as she arrived for the wedding rehearsal in a striped jumper tucked into wide-legged linen trousers and flat espadrilles.
She and Peter were accompanied by her daughter Georgina and his daughters Isla, 14, and Savannah, 15, by former wife Autumn, as well his sister, Zara, and other family and friends.
