Why Peter Phillips' Upcoming Second Wedding Would Have Been Unthinkable for Earlier Royals
Why Peter Phillips' Upcoming Second Wedding Would Have Been Unthinkable for Earlier Royals
Erin HillTue, June 2, 2026 at 3:16 PM UTC
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Harriet Sperling and Peter Phillips on March 13, 2026 at Cheltenham Racecourse; Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles at their 2005 wedding
Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty; ool Photograph/Corbis/Corbis via Getty
When Peter Phillips marries Harriet Sperling on Saturday, June 6, it will mark more than just the next major celebration for the royal family.
The wedding of Princess Anne's son and his fiancée will also underscore something that would have been difficult to imagine for previous generations of royals: a second chance at love after divorce.
As the grandson of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Peter grew up in a royal family that spent decades grappling with changing attitudes toward marriage. Today, however, his upcoming wedding reflects a modern reality embraced by many members of the House of Windsor, including his uncle King Charles.
Peter, 48, announced his engagement to Harriet, 45, in August 2025 after making their public debut as a couple in 2024. Both come to the marriage with children from previous relationships, creating a blended family that includes Peter's daughters, Savannah, 15, and Isla, 14, and Harriet's daughter, Georgina, 13.
Isla Phillips, Georgina Sperline and Savannah Phillips on April 5, 2026
Credit: Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty
In many ways, their family dynamic reflects a version of royal life that would have seemed almost unimaginable a century ago.
For much of the 20th century, divorce carried a significant stigma within royal circles. The crisis surrounding King Edward VIII's abdication in 1936 to marry the divorced Wallis Simpson cast a long shadow over the institution and shaped royal thinking about marriage for decades.
More than 80 years later, Prince Harry's marriage to the previously divorced Meghan Markle was viewed as a matter of personal happiness rather than constitutional crisis — a sign of just how dramatically attitudes had evolved.
Still, the shift did not happen overnight.
Related: Will Peter Phillips' Half-Sisters Attend His Upcoming Wedding to Harriet Sperling?
The 1990s brought what Queen Elizabeth famously described as her "annus horribilis," as the marriages of then-Prince Charles, Princess Anne and the former Prince Andrew all collapsed. Divorce was no longer something happening on the fringes of royal life. It had become impossible to ignore.
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Princess Anne's wedding to Timothy Laurence in 1992
Credit: Raw/Nre/Shutterstock
Long before Peter found himself navigating life after divorce, his mother had already helped chart a new course. Following the end of her marriage to Captain Mark Phillips, Anne married Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence in 1992, beginning a second chapter that has endured for more than three decades.
The path to acceptance was not always smooth. The breakdown of Charles' marriage to Princess Diana and his eventual union with then-Camilla Parker Bowles became one of the defining royal stories of a generation, sparking years of debate about divorce, remarriage and the future of the monarchy.
When Charles married Camilla in 2005, their union signaled a major shift in how the royal family approached love, marriage and second chances. What was once controversial gradually became accepted.
Harriet Sperling and Peter Phillips attend day three of Royal Ascot on June 19, 2025 in Ascot, England.
Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty
Peter's own story reflects that evolution.
He and his former wife, Autumn Kelly, announced their separation in 2020 after more than a decade of marriage and finalized their divorce the following year. Throughout the transition, the former couple remained committed to co-parenting their daughters.
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Now, as Peter prepares to marry Harriet, the focus is not on the fact that it is a second marriage. Instead, it is on the future they are building together and the family they have already begun blending.
Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling attend The Easter Sunday Church at Windsor Castle on April 6, 2026
Credit: Shutterstock
Their wedding is expected to bring together relatives from across the royal family for what is shaping up to be one of the family's biggest celebrations of the year.
What once might have sparked controversy is now simply another royal love story. And another chance at happily ever after.
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