Prince Harry is expected to be one of the most glaring royal no-shows at today’s wedding of his cousin Peter Phillips.
While Harry is said to have ‘not spoken in years’ to Peter, sources say the presence of his estranged brother Prince William and his wife Kate at the Cotswolds event will inevitably have played a part.
But the Daily Mail can reveal that Harry’s strained relationship with Princess Anne’s son largely stems from an incident some 18 years ago.
The prince was furious following Peter’s first wedding, to Canadian Autumn Kelly in 2008, after he struck a deal with Hello! magazine to sell the exclusive rights for an estimated £500,000 – without telling the family.
Harry was particularly annoyed because he had taken his then girlfriend Chelsy Davy as a guest and had decided that this was the moment he would introduce her to his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, for the first time – a sign that their relationship was getting increasingly serious.
Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling announced their engagement last summer
Bridesmaid Zara Phillips and Prince Harry attend the wedding of Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly in 2008
Zara is pictured with Isla Phillips (centre) and Savannah Phillips at a dress rehearsal on Friday
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 100 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.
Also present – alone – was Kate, who had agreed to attend while William was away in Africa at the wedding of another close friend. She was also meeting the Queen for the first time.
The two young women 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.
Harriet Sperling is pictured at a dress rehearsal for the wedding on Friday afternoon
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, delivers a speech during the Kyiv Security Forum on April 23
People gather for the run-through of the royal wedding on Friday
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 Sperling.
The bride-to-be, a single mother and NHS nurse, 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 Tindall, and other family and friends.
