Latest news with #HarrietSperling
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Royal wedding puts King Charles to the test
COMMENT So one minute you're capital 'N' normie – a paediatric nurse working in the UK's decaying National Health Service and a single mother – and then several short months later you are in the Royal enclosure at Ascot yuking it up with King Charles and praying your fascinator stays put. Such is the story of Harriet Sperling who this week added 'royal bride' to her CV with the announcement of her engagement to Princess Anne's son Peter Phillips. However, this lovely jubbly news was not revealed via thick white paper borne aloft by a Buckingham Palace footman but was exclusively splashed all over Hello!, with Peter and Harriet duo posing for exclusive photos for the magazine like a couple of bonafide Love Islanders with a fresh sideline in waist trainers. And therein lies the rub. Just as the royal family's wedding apparatus rustily cranks into gear and a courtier Googles who has the royal warrant for bonbonerie, King Charles could be about to be sorely tested. His Majesty has six nieces and nephews who live civilian lives and have civilian bills to pay – and for whom their most bankable asset is their royal status. The exclusive right to a Windsor wedding could be worth millions, even if the groom is only 19th in line to the throne and is so far down the line of succession he needs a decent pair of field glasses to see to the front of the queue. How does the King handle this given his own son and daughter-in-law have been selling their own (much better) story for more than five years now? This very issue overshadowed Peter's first wedding to Autumn Phillips in 2008 when the couple sold exclusive access to the family celebration to Hello for £500,000 ($AUD1 million), all unbeknownst to the late Queen. On the day Her late Majesty, Prince Philip and now King Charles all turned up to what was supposedly a private affair only to later find out that four snappers from the mag and a journalist had been on hand to capture the Windsors off-duty and in the vicinity of an open bar. The end result: A glossy 59-page spread including 10 photos of the late Queen alone. However the real 'get' for Hello was the first photos of royal girlfriends Kate Middleton and Chelsy Davy bonding with their potential in-laws. One was decidedly not impressed. 'Aides let it be known that [the Queen] was deeply unhappy with the decision, while senior members of the Royal Family spoke about feeling 'betrayal',' the Daily Mail 's royal editor Rebecca English later reported. So in 2008, after Peter and Autumn's Hello fiasco, Her late Majesty imposed a ban on family members monetising events such as weddings and christenings. Except, that was under the old regime. And that was long before the King's own son took himself off to California to tell his story and to reveal family details far, far more intimate than a shot of Charles eating a vol-au-vent or something. Can or will the King maintain the late Queen's photo deal ban given what Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's have been doing with themselves for the last five years? Compared to Netflix and Oprah, a cheery spread of photos of, say, Peter and Harriet on a matrimonial high on their wedding day seems a nearly quaint idea. (If not downright attractive. Anything that pushes the idea of a functioning, affectionate and united royal family couldn't hurt.) However, nor can he risk it looking like he is letting his siblings' children make bank off their royal family status even if they do have to financially fend for themselves. Complicating things further is the fact that Charles risks looking deeply hypocritical if suddenly came over all stern about his nieces and nephews undertaking paid media outings, – but nor can he let them unabashedly go forth and commercially exploit the accident of their birth. For Peter and sister and brother-in-law Zara and Mike Tindall and cousins Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lady Louise Windsor and James, The Earl of Wessex, they now find themselves between a rock and tax bill: None of them do royal duties and therefore none receive any palace funding while their adjacency to the throne and royal lustre must be worth a bomb on the open market. In January 2020, the same month that the Sussexes were relocating their matching yoga mats to North America Peter controversially starred in a TV ad for a Chinese state-owned dairy, posing in front of a grand home (actually the Marquess of Bath's historic Longleat) with a replica of a royal carriage and while totally-normally clutching a large glass of milk. 'As children, we used to spend a lot of time down at the dairy. There was a herd of Jersey cattle at Windsor and we were brought up on it,' he said in the ad. 'This is what I drink'. The tagline billed him as 'British royal family member, Peter Phillips.' After facing accusations of cashing in, an insider told the Telegraph: 'He was asked to do it and he didn't really see it as being a major issue. People have done far worse … He regularly gets offers for reality shows but he doesn't see himself as a famous person.' (Well don't tell the Chinese dairy industry that.) While their cousin Prince William might be raking in more than $40 million-a-year thanks to the handiwork of a mediaeval King who set up the Duchy of Cornwall trust, Peter and Zara have to earn their own coin and both have inked deals over the years. In 2001 Zara and then boyfriend the jockey Richard Johnson sold an 'at-home' story to Hello for a £125,000 fee ($AUD256,000) and she and now husband Mike Tindall sold the photos of their first child, daughter Mia, to Hello for a reported £100,000 ($205,000). (In 2011, Zara and Mike ruled out selling their wedding photos for what would have been a reported $2 million.) In 2023, Mike Tindall starred in I'm A Celebrity, earning an estimated £150,000 ($307,000). So how will King Charles navigate things around Peter and Harriet's wedding? And who is going to foot the bill for the doves? One expense no one will have to worry about – the groom's mother buying a new frock. No one has ever done more for the mustard serge industry than Princess Anne.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Peter Phillips' subtle tribute to his granny: Fiancée Harriet Sperling's engagement ring has touching connection to late Queen Elizabeth
The ring Peter Phillips chose for his new fiancée, Harriet Sperling, has touching ties to his late grandmother. Royal fans were abuzz when Queen Elizabeth's eldest grandchild announced last Friday that he and his NHS nurse girlfriend were set to be married. Harriet's stunning sparkler was designed by the same jeweller behind Queen Elizabeth's 1946 engagement ring, reported Hello! magazine. Peter popped the question with the ring from Mayfair jeweller Pragnall, which is not only one of the top luxury jewellery outlets in the world, but also boasts many connections to the royal family over the past 90 years. Before starting his own company, George Pragnall personally tended to Queen Mary 's jewellery needs from 1930 until her death. He was also often instructed to entertain the then-Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret as their grandmother browsed jewels on display. As Pragnall's acclaim rose, he acquired companies, including Philip Antrobus, who Prince Philip had enlisted to create Elizabeth's 1946 engagement ring. When the soon-to-be-queen walked down the aisle, a year later, she matched the three-carat round diamond engagement ring with an Antrobus bracelet. Pragnall acquired company Philip Antrobus, who Prince Philip had enlisted to create Queen Elizabeth's engagement ring. Elizabeth later wore a bracelet from the designer at her wedding The bracelet was commissioned by Philip and made from antique diamonds taken from a tiara that once belonged to his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg. The touching tribute comes as no surprise, as Peter has long been suspected as the Queen's 'favourite grandchild' and he has previously spoken highly of his 'remarkable' grandmother. 'She was a figurehead that had been part of everybody's lives for as long as people could remember, ' he told Sky News Australia in 2024. 'Having her as a grandmother and a role model was unique.' Speculation has been swirling about the details of Peter and Harriet's upcoming wedding since their engagement announcement. The couple, who had been dating for less than two years, have both been married before, leading some to question whether their nuptials may look slightly different to what the nation is accustomed to when it comes to royalty. 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. 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.' 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. '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.' Peter and Harriet enjoy a drink and a chat at Ascot in 2024 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. Peter was the first of the Queen's grandchildren to tie the knot - making it a very special occasion. 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. 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. 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. Peter and Harriet's nuptials 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. 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. Discussing what the upcoming nuptials could look like, royal expert Ingrid Steward told FEMAIL: 'When Anne married Tim in 1992 – they married in Scotland partly as the Church of England wouldn't remarry divorcees in church and partly to keep it low key and private. 'Things have changed, although the church of England and therefore its priests firmly believe marriage should be for life. Peter could get married anywhere he liked with the agreement of the priest, but I suspect he will want it to be relatively private to protect Harriet from the onslaught of social media criticism, which is inevitable.' She added that Peter was the late Queen's first grandchild, and he 'remained very much a favourite'. As a result, she said she is 'sure the private chapel at Windsor Castle would be made available for him. Or the Royal Chapel of All Saints, by Royal Lodge at Windsor or in his bride's local church'. 'He could also get married in a Registry Office,' Ingrid concluded. 'The rules of the past no longer apply, but having a lavish, expensive wedding like Harry and Meghan's would be unlikely.' Meanwhile, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams added: 'There was a long-standing prejudice against divorce in the royal family because of the monarch's position as Head of the Church of England. 'Since 2002, the Church of England has permitted marriage in church for those who have been divorced, even if their former spouse is still living, in certain circumstances.' He added that it 'has not been forgotten that Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson, who was twice divorced'. Richard continued: 'Princess Margaret's relationship with Group Captain Peter Townsend was especially complicated because he was divorced, which conflicted with church doctrine at the time. 'It would be fair to comment that royal divorce is allowed but not exactly encouraged. However, three of the late Queen's four children have been divorced. 'King Charles himself famously divorced Princess Diana in 1996 and remarried Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony in 2005, which was thought more appropriate, despite the change in the law in 2002 regarding church weddings for divorcees.' Summing up the relationship between the newly engaged couple, Richard said: 'Peter is divorced from Autumn Kelly, from whom he has two children, Savannah and Isla. Harriet Sperling is an NHS paediatrician and freelance writer who is also a single mother with a daughter, Georgia, which reflects contemporary Britain rather well. 'She is also reportedly devout. They have been dating for a year, and her appearance at Royal Ascot was seen as a pointer to an engagement. One thing, however, will not happen again. 'When Peter Phillips married Autumn Kelly in 2008, the exclusive rights were sold to Hello! Magazine for a reported £500,000 without consulting Queen Elizabeth. This was NOT appropriate.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Royal Girlfriend Harriet Sperling Hits the Polo Field in the Cool Girl Label Londoners Can't Stop Wearing
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. With appearances at Royal Ascot and Wimbledon, Peter Phillips's girlfriend, Harriet Sperling, has become a firm fixture in the royal fold this summer. The stylish NHS nurse—who was given the ultimate stamp of approval from King Charles by riding in a Royal Ascot carriage—wore a pale blue linen skirt set while taking in the tennis championships last week, and on Friday, she brought out one of summer's biggest dress trends at the Royal Charity Polo Cup 2025. Sperling joined Princess Anne's son at Guards Polo Club in a breezy ivory midi dress from St. Clair, a London-based label that's become increasingly buzzy among British it girls. I spotted numerous women in St. Clair dresses at Royal Ascot (and on the streets of London) this year, and Princess Kate's former personal assistant, Natasha Archer, regularly wears the brand. Sperling beat the heat in the label's Edwina sleeveless shirt dress, with the organic cotton design featuring a swirly skirt and an "antique-inspired floral embroidered yoke," per St. Clair. View Deal View Deal The dress follows in the footsteps of Princess Eugenie and Queen Elizabeth's cousin Flora Vesterberg, who both wore crisp white dresses to beat the summer heat over the past month. Sperling gave her look a pop of color with a deep purple Anya Hindmarch crossbody bag, and like she did at Wimbledon, the pediatric nurse wore a pair of Penelope Chilvers shoes. She swapped her chunky platform sandals for a Duchess Sophie-approved style, wearing tan leather espadrille wedges with a ribbon tie at the ankle. While Prince William competed in the annual charity polo event, the Princess of Wales skipped attending this year's match, which she last attended in 2023. Sperling's appearance marks the second time the royal girlfriend has attended the Royal Polo Cup after making her debut at the event with Phillips last summer. The couple made their first public appearance at the Badminton Horse Trials in May 2024 and have been going strong ever since, with her inclusion in a carriage at Royal Ascot said to be a marker that an engagement could be on the way for the couple. Shop Similar View Deal View Deal View Deal View Deal
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NHS Nurse Harriet Sperling Wears a Royally-Approved White Skirt Set to Announce Engagement to Peter Phillips
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Peter Phillips announced some happy news on Friday, August 1, sharing with Hello! magazine that he's now engaged to his girlfriend of one year, Harriet Sperling. This will be the second marriage for Princess Anne's only son, who divorced his first wife, Autumn Kelly, in 2021. In photos shared exclusively with the outlet, Sperling wears a zip-front white cheesecloth top by one of Princess Kate and Duchess Sophie's favorite labels, Me+Em. She paired the summery shirt with a matching elastic-waist skirt by the British brand, placing her hand on her new fiancé's chest in one sweet photo to show off her three-stone engagement ring. Harriet has also turned to other royally-approved brands like Penelope Chilvers and Aspinal of London during her outings with Phillips and the rest of the Royal Family. Phillips and Sterling started dating in spring 2024, making their first public appearance at the Badminton Horse Trials that May. Since then, Harriet has become a regular fixture at events like Royal Ascot and polo matches, and this June, she joined Peter in the carriage procession at Royal Ascot—seen by many as a clear sign of The King's approval and the seriousness of their relationship. View Deal View Deal A statement shared with Hello! read, "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." The statement continued that the couple's families "were informed jointly of the announcement and were delighted with the wonderful news of their engagement. Their Majesties The King and Queen, The Prince and Princess of Wales have been informed of the announcement." Sperling, who works as a pediatric nurse, has a pre-teen daughter named Georgina from a previous marriage and has written about her Christian faith in relation to parenting. Writing in Woman Alive, "My daughter and I journeyed ten years with only each other. I liken us to an island and it has often felt hard to imagine anyone joining that island." "But of course, beauty comes from relationships, relationships with our maker and relationships with each other," she added. "It is often tough parenting alone, but although there is a stigma to endure, God is able to step in and turn it for good." No date has been announced for a wedding just yet—but fans will surely be watching to see what the Royal Family's newest style star will wear on her wedding day.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jewelry Expert Calls Harriet Sperling's Engagement Ring From Peter Phillips "Timeless," as Former Employee Discusses Couple's "Full-Blown" Royal Wedding
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. On August 1, Princess Anne's son Peter Phillips announced his engagement to NHS nurse Harriet Sperling, following one year of dating. King Charles had already embraced Sperling in a show of "complete acceptance" into the family fold, making the royal engagement a true celebration. Now, a jewelry expert has weighed in on the "timeless" engagement ring Phillips gave to his new fiancée. Meanwhile, a former royal employee has mused on what fans can expect from the forthcoming royal wedding. An official statement announcing the happy news revealed, via Hello! magazine, "Both families were informed jointly of the announcement and were delighted with the wonderful news of their engagement." The statement continued, "No date has been officially set for the wedding." Tobias Kormind, co-founder and managing director of 77 Diamonds, told Marie Claire, "The ring appears to be a timeless trilogy design, likely showcasing a central oval or round diamond, flanked by trapeze-cut or triangular side stones." Kormind continued, "While an exact valuation would require a clearer image and knowledge of its provenance, a similar design with diamonds of comparable quality and size crafted at 77 Diamonds would typically be priced from around £10,000 [approx. $13,500], with the final price reflecting individual choices in cut, carat, and craftsmanship." Former royal butler Grant Harrold offered insight into Phillips and Sperling's forthcoming nuptials, which will be the groom's second wedding following his divorce from Autumn Phillips. Harrold told the Daily Mail, "Historically, yes, royal weddings, if you're divorced and you got married again, it was always a much more low-key affair." The former royal employee continued, "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." As for why he believes Phillips and Sperling will have a grand wedding, Harrold explained, "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." Solve the daily Crossword
