What will Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling’s wedding look like? Queen Elizabeth’s ‘favourite grandson’ could take inspiration from his mother, Princess Anne, or his uncle, King Charles, for his big day

new royal wedding is on the way, as Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling announced on Friday that they will be tying the knot in the near future. The son of Princess Anne, often dubbed Queen Elizabeth’s ‘favourite grandson’, confirmed the good news in a statement given to Hello, which noted that, ‘the King and Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales have been informed of the announcement,’ but also that ‘no date has been officially set for the wedding.’

No doubt Peter Phillips and his bride-to-be will celebrate the big day in style, but what could the ceremony (and the all-important afterparty) actually look like? The answer may well lie in his royal predecessors, those members of the Firm who, like Peter Phillips, married for a second time in the wake of a divorce. Phillips was previously married to Autumn Kelly in a 2008 ceremony, making him the first of the late Queen’s grandchildren to say ‘I do’.

The soon-to-be bride and groom, pictured here at Ascot this Summer, announced that they were engaged last week

 Chris Jackson/Getty Images

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Like many of his royal relatives, Peter married at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, with a reception at Frogmore House (later the home of the Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle). The Firm turned out in full force for the nuptials, with Queen Elizabeth joining Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Prince Harry, Zara Tindall and her then-boyfriend Mike, and a young Kate Middleton. Prince William, though known to be close with his cousin, was unable to attend due to a prior engagement abroad.

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Phillips first married Autumn Kelly in a full display of royal pomp and circumstance in 2008

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A dazzling affair indeed (though the cause of some controversy at the time, thanks to Peter and Autumn’s decision to run a 100-page exclusive in Hello). The pair divorced, however, in 2021, with a statement that read: ‘Whilst this is a sad day for Peter and Autumn, they continue to put the wellbeing and upbringing of their wonderful daughters, Savannah and Isla, first and foremost.’

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For centuries, the matter of remarriage following a divorce has been a tricky one for the royal family. The monarch is the head of the Church of England, which, until 2002, had forbidden divorced people to remarry in a church. It meant that Princess Anne, following her separation from Peter’s father, Mark Phillips, in 1992, was forced to plan an unorthodox ceremony for her wedding to Sir Timothy Laurence in December of that year. For a start, the big day could not be held in England, due to the ruling of the Church, so the Princess Royal settled on Crathie Kirk, the royal family’s go-to church during their stays on the Balmoral Estate.

Princess Anne married Mark Phillips in 1973

 Hulton Deutsch/Getty Images

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While Anne’s first wedding had been a traditional royal ceremony – held at Westminster Abbey and televised to an estimated audience of 100 million – her second was more toned-down. Just 30 guests were invited to the tiny church, with Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, the Queen Mother, the then-Prince of Wales, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward all making their way to Scotland for the occasion.

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While the Princess Royal donned an intricate Tudor-style gown with medieval sleeves by Maureen Baker when she tied the knot with Mark Phillips, her outfit for her nuptials with Sir Timothy Laurence was less conventional. Opting instead for a knee-length white midi dress and white jacket, Anne proved that ultra-formality is by no means a prerequisite for a royal wedding. Could her son take a leaf out of that playbook when it comes to planning his own wedding?

Or could he perhaps take inspiration from his uncle, King Charles, who also navigated the complex path of a second royal wedding when he married Queen Camilla in 2005.

The wedding was held at Windsor Guildhall, making the future King the first member of the British Royal Family to marry in a civil ceremony. Due to the fact that both the bride and groom had previously divorced, it was deemed appropriate that the ceremony should be kept strictly legal, and the nuptials were held accordingly. Charles had previously been married to Diana, Princess of Wales, from 1981 to 1996, while Camilla had been married to Andrew Parker Bowles from 1973 to 1995.

King Charles and Queen Camilla became the first wedding to marry in a civil ceremony in 2005

 Anwar Hussein Collection/Getty Images

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Camilla did not wear a tiara for the service as the couple were not marrying in a church. Instead, she opted for a white hat by designer Philip Treacy for the official ceremony and for the blessings she wore a headpiece constructed of dramatic gold feathers. The bride chose two outfits for the day, both designed by Anna Valentine and Antonia Robinson. For the service she wore a cream silk dress, followed by a pale blue chiffon gown with a long-sleeved, gold-embroidered coat over the top.

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh did not attend the ceremony but were present for the blessings and photographs at Windsor Castle. Naturally, there will be less pressure on Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling’s wedding day; 19th in line for the throne, there is no concern that Phillips will one day be king, after all. What these two ceremonies prove, however, is that there is no necessary blueprint for a royal wedding, and that, however the happy couple tie the knot, the Firm will no doubt back them fully.