Princess Anne’s Son Peter Phillips Announces Engagement to Harriet Sperling

Princess Anne’s son, Peter Phillips, is engaged to Harriet Sperling after one year together.

“Mr. Peter Phillips, the son of HRH The Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips, and Ms. Harriet Sperling, daughter of the late Mr. Rupert Sanders and Mrs. Mary Sanders of Gloucestershire, have today confirmed their official engagement,” read a statement released to Hello! Magazine on Friday, August 1. “Both families were informed jointly of the announcement and were delighted with the wonderful news of their engagement.”

King Charles III and Queen Camilla along with Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton were “informed of the announcement,” the statement continued. “No date has been officially set for the wedding.”

Photos obtained by Hello! on Friday showed Peter, 47, smiling widely while Harriet looked at him lovingly. A second image showed the couple looking at each other with Harriet’s engagement ring on display.

Princess Anne’s Son Peter Phillips' Family Album With His 2 Daughters

Harriet stunned in a white ensemble, proving that she was meant to be a bride. Peter opted for a blue and white checked button-down shirt for the occasion.

Peter’s upcoming nuptials to Harriet will be his second marriage. He and ex-wife Autumn Kelly got married in 2008. Throughout their marriage, they welcomed daughters Savannah (born in December 2010) and Isla (born in March 2012). Autumn, 47, announced in 2020 that she and Peter had split. Their divorce was finalized in June 2021.

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It’s been reported that Peter moved on with Harriet in 2024. She is an NHS pediatric nurse and freelance writer. Details about her past relationships have not been made public but she is the mother of a daughter named Georgia and spoke candidly about being a single mom in a March 2024 essay written for the U.K.’s Women Alive.

“In the earlier years of my journey as a single mother to my daughter, resources were scarce, and the future was uncertain,” she wrote at the time. “Yet, in the absence of material security, I discovered the strength and life that comes from true selfless love. A love that is able to be solely devoted to your child.”

Prince William and Cousin Peter Phillips' Relationship Through the Years

Harriet added, “The unique relationship between a single mother and her child is forged in the fires of struggles and victories. It’s a bond characterized by a love and survival against the odds.”

Peter and Harriet took their relationship public in May 2024, when attending the Badminton Horse Trials. Royal watchers looked on in June of that same year as Harriet crossed paths with Charles, 76, at the Royal Ascot.

While the couple stays mainly out of the public eye, unlike their royal relatives, Peter and Harriet did make a rare appearance at Wimbledon together last month.