THE Kingâs nephew Peter Phillips will today tie the knot with fiancĂ© Harriet Sperling â having quickly become âsmittenâ with the NHS nurse and self-proclaimed former âIbiza party girlâ.
The couple were first seen together walking hand-in-hand at Badminton Horse Trials in May 2024 â just a month after the 48-year-old royal had ended his three-year relationship with Lindsay Wallace.
They officially announced their engagement last August and will today tie the knot in the Cotswolds.
Sources close to the couple confirmed they needed the sign-off from a local vicar to wed at All Saints Church, Kemble, near Cirencester, because both are divorcees.
With there being no automatic right for divorced couples to marry in a church, despite rules being relaxed in 2002, a source said: âThey have the vicarâs permission.â
King Charles and Queen Camilla, as well as Prince William and Princess Kate are all expected to be in attendance. Meanwhile, yesterday afternoon, flowers were seen being delivered outside the church, with a large convoy of police on motorcycles also nearby.
Harriet, 45, is a paediatric specialist nurse and freelance writer, as well as mum to daughter Georgina from a previous relationship.
With long blonde hair and dark eyes she bears a striking resemblance to both his last girlfriend Lindsay and Peterâs ex-wife Autumn Kelly, 46.
Peter and Canadian-born Autumn â who share daughters Savannah and Isla â wed in 2008.
But in February 2020 they confirmed they had split the previous year.
Their 13-year marriage ended with divorce in June 2021.
Peter then met Lindsay, an ex-classmate of his sister Zara Tindall, at £45,000-a-year Gordonstoun School in Moray, Scotland.
They reconnected at a 2019 reunion and The Sun revealed they had started dating in March 2021.
The relationship became so serious that Lindsay was introduced to his gran, the late Queen Elizabeth II, at Windsor Castle in January 2022.
However, the couple split early 2024 and businessman Peter, the son of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, was seen strolling hand-in-hand at Badminton with Harriet weeks later.
A source told The Sun: âThey looked completely smitten and he was grinning from ear to ear.â
âHe looked like the cat that got the cream and acted without a care in the world. He didnât seem to mind who saw them together.
âShe looked very happy and relaxed in his company and pleased to be shown off at one of the biggest social events in the equestrian world.
âHis love life has certainly taken some very public twists and turns in recent years.
âBut they looked extremely close and seemed like they had known each other for some time.
âThey certainly seemed very happy and appeared to be over any past relationship woes.â
Harriet has worked at Evelina London Childrenâs Hospital for over a decade after she packed away her partying shoes in favour of church pews.
The now-devout Christian once described herself as a âreal party girlâ but added: âMy faith was always in me, but it was kind of dormant.
âSomehow it didnât seem relevant to my life in London; going to famous nightclubs and spending a lot of time in Ibiza during the summer,â she said.
âI was a real party girl. 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 in my life.
âI pray not only on Sunday, but all the time, often just quietly to myself.â
She also spoke about how her relationship with God helps her deal with the stress of her life-saving job. During a 2009 Daily Mail interview, she added: âIt helps a lot, especially with my work.
âI am an intensive care childrenâs nurse at Guyâs Hospital which can be quite stressful and emotionally engaging.â
Harrietâs mother Mary is in the ministry team of her local church, All Hallows in South Cerney, and her father Rupert, who died last year, was a partner in a local solicitors firm.
Medic hero Harriet was a key part of a huge team that saved the life of immunocompromised baby Phineas Cockerham in 2010.
Critically ill Phineas was rushed to the Evelina Childrenâs Hospital, where Princess Kate has been a patron since 2018 and also opened a new childrenâs ward in December.
After a team of 63 hospital workers worked tirelessly to save his life, Harriet praised the response time of the team. She said: âJust 20 minutes after receiving the call to collect Phineas, the retrieval team were on our way in an intensive care ambulance.â
Harriet has spoken out about the âstigmaâ of raising a child as a single mum.
In an article about raising her child with no âmaterial security,â she described finding âstrengthâ through the close bond she has with her little girl.
She wrote: âIn the earlier years of my journey as a single mother to my daughter, resources were scarce, and the future was uncertain.
âYet, in the absence of material security, I discovered the strength and life that comes from true selfless love.
âA love that is able to be solely devoted to your child.â
