Last year, it became clear that Peter Phillips had fallen head-over-heels in love with Harriet Sperling. They attended all of the big summer events together, including Ascot and Wimbledon, and the British media was in a tizzy over Harriet. They gave her a full princess-to-be rollout. Peter soon popped the question, and Harriet was brought even further into the royal fold, even attending the royal Easter events at Windsor Castle. Royal sources swear that Peter and Harriet will be upgraded to semi-working royals after their June wedding as well. I’ve been fascinated by the over-the-top keenery of a normal, divorced, single mother marrying a royal-adjacent guy without a title. I hope the Windsors are paying attention to how the British media is absolutely starved for new blood and new storylines in the royal family. Speaking of new storylines, some people are wondering if Harriet will wear a tiara for her wedding.
With a royal wedding fast approaching, there is plenty of speculation about the pomp and circumstance surrounding Peter Phillips’ nuptials to Harriet Sperling. A friend of the couple’s recently told Hello! magazine that, despite involving many members of the royal family, the June 6 wedding is being planned as an “intimate occasion.” After all, Peter, 48, the eldest grandchild of the late Queen Elizabeth, has lived his life largely out of the royal spotlight and holds no official titles.
Additionally, this is the second wedding for both Peter and Harriet, 45. He was married to Autumn Kelly from 2008 to 2021, and the pair shares two daughters: Savannah, 15, and Isla, 14. Meanwhile, Harriet was previously married to fitness instructor Antonio St. John Sperling, with whom she shares a daughter, Georgina, 13.
Even if it is a lower-key affair, there is still plenty of speculation about Harriet’s style choices. Traditionally, the bride will accent her wedding gown with jewelry from the royal vault, including a tiara.
Peter’s mother, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, has multiple tiaras in her personal collection that she could potentially loan to Harriet.
The Festoon Diamond Tiara was a personal gift to Princess Anne — unlike many royal tiaras, which are passed down through generations. She received it from the World Wide Shipping Group of Hong Kong in 1973 when she christened one of their ships, and it quickly became a personal favorite. The Princess Royal wore the tiara in her 1973 engagement photoshoot with her first husband, Mark Phillips, the father of Peter and his younger sister, Zara. She has continued to wear it throughout the years, often pairing it with a festoon necklace she received from her parents, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, for her 18th birthday.
However, despite the tiara’s status as a favorite of the Princess Royal, 75, it is perhaps the least likely to be loaned to Harriet on her upcoming wedding day. Princess Anne previously loaned it to Peter’s first wife, Autumn Kelly, to wear for their May 2008 nuptials.
Another possibility from Princess Anne’s personal collection is an artifact of her Greek royal heritage, as the Meander Tiara was passed down by Prince Philip’s mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, to her daughter-in-law, then-Princess Elizabeth, on the occasion of her 1947 wedding to Philip. Queen Elizabeth never wore the tiara publicly, instead gifting it to Princess Anne on her 18th birthday in 1968. The Princess Royal has worn it frequently over the years and proved its special significance to the family when she loaned it to her daughter, Zara, for her July 2011 wedding to Mike Tindall.
Princess Anne also has the Pineflower Aquamarine Tiara, which entered the royal family as an anniversary gift from King George VI to his wife, Queen Elizabeth. The Queen Mother then gifted it to Anne, her granddaughter, on her 1973 wedding day to Mark Phillips.
Princess Anne has had the tiara modified over the years, removing stones to create complementary earrings and brooches, but she has frequently worn it to state dinners in recent years, including those welcoming leaders from Jordan, Germany and the United States. However, the Pineflower Aquamarine Tiara has yet to be worn by a royal bride.
I never realized that Princess Anne has private ownership of several tiaras, and that she has been gifted those pieces over the years and that she alone can decide to lend them out. I thought Anne’s tiaras were property of the Royal Collection, and that Queen Camilla’s keeper of the royal jewels would be the one determining who wears a tiara and who doesn’t. As we’ve seen, Camilla and her jewelry team run a tight ship, and they don’t like to pass out tiaras willy-nilly. But Anne is probably more generous, especially with her daughters-in-law. It just comes down to Harriet’s preference, I guess. Considering the wedding is a private affair in the Cotswolds – with no real “royal wedding” flummery – I would say that Harriet will probably opt out of wearing a tiara.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid, Buckingham Palace’s social media.
