When Peter Phillips ties the knot with his NHS fiancée Harriet Sperling this weekend, Prince William will proudly be in attendance at the private Cotswolds service.

However, this is not the first time the son of Princess Anne has said ‘I Do’ – with his 2008 wedding day to Autumn Kelly famously associated with a controversial £500,000 HELLO! deal that left the Prince of Wales ‘deeply unhappy’ with his cousin. 

The Prince of Wales is said to share a ‘very close’ brotherly bond with Peter. The two are just five years apart, and Peter kept a close eye on him and Prince Harry in the dark days following the death of their mother, Princess Diana.

Yet William was noticeably absent from Peter’s extravagant nuptials at Windsor’s St George’s Chapel in 2008, while the controversial magazine deal the bride and groom signed was said to have left a rather bitter taste in his mouth. 

The 100-page exclusive feature from the 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. 

William and Harry’s then-girlfriends, Kate Middleton and Chelsy Davy, also appeared heavily throughout the special, despite issuing previous complaints about privacy breaches. 

Sources close to the royals told The Standard at the time that the princes were entirely unaware that the images were going to be featured in the magazine, and that Peter’s HELLO! deal ‘had not gone down well at all’.

They added: ‘Neither Peter nor the magazine sought their approval – and if they had, it certainly would not have been given. They are unhappy about it.’

When Peter Phillips wed Autumn Kelly in 2008, his cousin William (pictured) was ‘deeply unhappy’ with him due to a controversial £500,000 HELLO! deal

The 100-page exclusive feature from the magazine included remarkably candid shots of the royals, alongside Kate and Chelsy (both pictured)

Sources close to the royals told The Standard at the time that the princes were entirely unaware that the images were going to be featured in the magazine, and that Peter’s HELLO! deal ‘had not gone down well at all’

William, who has always been a fiercely loyal public defender of Kate’s privacy, was no doubt upset that he had not been present at the event to protect his future wife.

Instead, the future King jetted off to Kenya to attend the wedding of Batain Craig, his ex-girlfriend Jecca Craig’s brother, and sent his girlfriend Kate to attend the event on his behalf. 

‘Prince William’s going to be out of the country on a long-standing prior engagement,’ a royal source explained at the time. ‘He spoke to his cousin Peter and he is fine about it. His girlfriend will go in his absence.’ 

Left in the trusting hands of Harry and his then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, Kate’s apprehension was no doubt worsened by the fact that the event would be the first time she would meet her future grandmother-in-law, the late Queen Elizabeth II.

During Kate and William’s engagement interview in 2010, the princess disclosed to interviewer Tom Bradby her nerves towards their first meeting and added that the monarch had been ‘very friendly’, given the unusual circumstances.  

However, what the wedding is now most remembered for is the intimate snapshot it provided into the family life of the royals, thanks to the controversial magazine deal.

The sea of images which were soon spread around the globe, were a far cry from the traditionally stage-managed wedding photographs released by the Royal Family.

And the spread was certainly not well received by the Firm, with senior members of the family – including the late Queen – allegedly less than impressed, having felt blindsided by the publication of the pictures.

Even politicians at the time also chimed in, with Labour MP Ian Gibson claiming the British public would be shocked to see their monarch in those pages.

‘She is the Queen, not a footballer’s wife,’ he added. 

Peter Phillips and his then wife Autumn Kelly during their wedding day in May 2008. The 100-page exclusive feature from the magazine included remarkably candid shots of the royals 

Pictured: Kate and Chelsy at the wedding ceremony in 2008. The event was the first time she met the late Queen Elizabeth II

Willam did not attend Peter’s first wedding. Instead, the future King jetted off to Kenya to attend the wedding of Batain Craig, his ex-girlfriend Jecca Craig’s brother (both pictured), and sent his girlfriend Kate to attend the event on his behalf

Over 300 guests attended the ceremony including 70 members of Canadian-born Autumn’s family. 

Also in attendance was Zara Phillips’ now-husband Mike Tindall, Kate Middleton who was there despite William being away at another wedding in Kenya and Harry’s then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy.

Speaking to Hello! in 2008, Autumn said: ‘I was frightened of walking down the aisle. But when I got to the top of the stairs and saw how many of our friends and family had turned out to support us, I stopped being scared and actually enjoyed it.’

Her wedding dress was created by British designer Sassi Holford and consisted of a fitted bodice made of hand-beaded lace, a silk duchesse skirt and beaded French lace shrug.

Peter’s younger sister Zara was one of the bridesmaids, who all wore pistachio green strapless gowns designed by Vera Wang.

Autumn’s arrival in the Royal Family was seen as a sign of change. State school-educated, she grew up in a home where money was tight but was remembered at her old school as someone who liked to party

The couple have two children together. In 2010 they welcomed Savannah who became the Queen’s first great-grandchild and another daughter, Isla, in 2012.

However, in 2020 the couple announced their separation was ‘sad but amicable’ and said it was ‘the best course of action for their two children and ongoing friendship’. Their divorce was finalised in 2021.

Peter ties the knot with his NHS fiancée Harriet Sperling this Saturday – and William will proudly be in attendance at the private Cotswolds service

Pictured: Autumn and Peter’s wedding day. In 2020, the couple announced their separation was ‘sad but amicable’ and said it was ‘the best course of action for their two children and ongoing friendship’. Their divorce was finalised in 2021

Now, Peter has found love again with fellow divorcee Harriet, 46, who shares a 13-year-old daughter, Georgina, from her first marriage. 

She herself boasts wealthy connections, sharing a relation to the Duke of Gloucester through her late father, Rupert Sperling.

Peter, 19th in the line of succession, popped the question with a sparkling ring which boasts a subtle but touching tribute to his beloved grandmother – the late Queen Elizabeth II – having been designed by the same jeweller behind her iconic 1946 ring.

The couple, who have been dating since May 2024, officially announced their engagement in July – and much has been discussed about what their all-important wedding day could look like this weekend.

Royal biographer Richard Fitzwilliams has suggested the upcoming ceremony will be markedly different from Peter’s first wedding, which reportedly left sections of the Royal Family ‘bewildered’.

Meanwhile, there is also no magazine deal on the cards this time, with sources indicating that everyone wants to tread very carefully when it comes to being seen to commercially exploit Royal status, and that the landscape has changed particularly since Megxit and the money-spinning activities of Prince Harry and Meghan.

‘A magazine deal is out of the question as the issue is now very sensitive,’ says a source.

Festivities are being overseen by Bentley’s Entertainments, a blue-chip firm which oversaw David and Victoria Beckham’s wedding, multiple parties for Sir Elton John, Princess Eugenie’s Windsor wedding to Jack Brooksbank, and Peter Phillips 2008 wedding to Autumn Kelly.

The company has requested a number of road closures on the day.

While few details are known about the plans for the wedding, Harriet herself has spoken openly about the importance of faith in her life, previously revealing how Christianity helped her through the challenges of single motherhood.

In a previous interview, she revealed that her ‘faith was always in me, but it was kind of dormant’.

She added: ‘Somehow it didn’t seem relevant to my life in London. 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.’

Previously writing for Christian magazine Woman Alive, Harriet also spoke candidly about the difficulties of raising a child alone while finding comfort in her faith.

According to her professional biography, Harriet lives in Gloucestershire and works as a paediatric nurse specialist for the NHS, where she is described as being ‘passionate about early brain development in babies and seeing children thrive’.

In 2010, she was part of a specialist medical team credited with helping save the life of a critically ill baby struck down by a deadly virus at just three weeks old.