Princess Anne’s Son Peter Phillips to Marry For Second Time this Summer

Born on November 15, 1977 at 10:46 a.m. in the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, Peter Mark Andrew Phillips was the first legitimate grandchild of a monarch to be born without a title in over half a millennium. His parents had married in 1973 and supposedly refused offers from the Queen to grant titles to their children. “She knew their lives would be simpler and probably be much happier if they didn’t have the problem of having to live up to a prince or princess,” royal biographer Ingrid Seward said as an explanation of the Princess Royal’s decision.

Titleless, yes, but by no means without royal pedigree, Peter Phillips was welcomed into the world with a 41-gun salute from the Tower of London. At his baptism on December 22, his godparents were named: his uncle, now King Charles III; his father’s cousin, Bishop Geoffrey Tiarks; Captain Hamish Lochore; champion equestrian Jane Holderness-Roddam; and Lady Cecil Cameron of Lochiel. At the time of his birth, Phillips was fifth in line to the throne, where he remained until the birth of Prince William in 1982. In 1981, Peter Phillips welcomed his younger sister, now Zara Tindall, and would go on to have two half-sisters, Felicity Wade (from his father’s affair with Heather Tonkin) and Stephanie Phillips (from his father’s second marriage to equestrian Sandy Pfleuger).

And while the circumstances of his birth may have been historic, Phillips’ education was traditional for the family, following in the footsteps of his uncle Charles and grandfather, Prince Philip, and cutting his teeth at Gordonstoun School in Scotland. King Charles famously loathed his time at the boarding school, but Peter seems to have thrived in the austere Scottish landscape, becoming head boy of the institution before graduating.

It would be on his gap year, however, that Phillips found his true passion. Spending his months before university in Sydney, the royal worked at Sports Entertainment Limited as well as Jackie Stewart’s Formula One racing team. He would return to the former, and, clearly inspired by his time in the industry, went on to study Sports Science at the University of Exeter, where he played for the rugby league team before graduating in 2000.

After university, Phillips took on a role with Jaguar, working as the luxury car brand’s corporate hospitality manager. He would no doubt use these skills when he organized the Patron’s Lunch in honor of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday in 2016, bringing together representatives of the late monarch’s patronages for a parade down the Mall and a picnic for 10,000 people. “We were incredibly lucky to spend a lot of our childhood time with her,” Phillips told Hello! of his grandmother, reminiscing on the days he, Zara, Prince William, and Prince Harry, spent in Sandringham and Balmoral. “She is such an inspiration not only to the country but to us as a family. Her work ethic and her dedication are something that the whole family has always aspired to get at least somewhere near.” He would go on to join Zara Tindall and his six cousins in standing vigil around the late Queen’s coffin during the lying-in-state following her death in September 2022.

After leaving Jaguar, Phillips worked for the Williams racing team, and during the 2003 Montreal Grand Prix, he met Autumn Kelly, a management consultant. The pair’s engagement was announced on July 28, 2007, coming after Phillips’ previous relationships with cod liver oil heiress Elizabeth Iorio and flight attendant Tara Swain. Phillips and Kelly tied the knot in 2008, making him the first of Queen Elizabeth’s grandchildren to say “I do.”

Like many of his royal relatives, Phillips married at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, with a reception at Frogmore House. 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.

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 would go on to welcome two children: Savannah, Queen Elizabeth’s first great-grandchild, in 2010; and Isla Elizabeth, named in the monarch’s honor, in 2012.

Phillips and Kelly divorced, however, in 2021, with a statement that read: “Whilst this is a sad day for Peter and Autumn, they continue to put the well-being and upbringing of their wonderful daughters, Savannah and Isla, first and foremost.”

A relationship would follow with Lindsay Wallace, a friend of his sister Zara’s from back at Gordonstoun. The pair took things public at the Epsom Derby in 2023, and during their relationship, Phillips took the highly significant step of introducing Wallace, the daughter of an oil tycoon, to his grandmother the late Queen at a shooting party at Windsor. In another sign of the seriousness of the relationship, Phillips brought Wallace as his date to some of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. She also attended the Coronation concert, sitting alongside Phillips’s two children from his first marriage, Savannah and Isla. Sources suggested Phillips was very content with Wallace.

Phillips “is in a great place at the moment and could not be happier in either his private or personal life,” an unnamed source told Hello! at the time. “Lindsay really is a breath of fresh air and it’s clear to see both Lindsay and Peter are loving life.”

The couple made their final public appearance at Wimbledon in 2023. They didn’t attend the royal family’s Christmas celebrations in Sandringham, and instead spent the holiday season near Wallace’s home in Scotland. The pair were pictured doing some last-minute shopping in a Tesco on Christmas Eve. However, by spring 2024, there were signs that the pair were no longer together. Phillips cut a solo figure as he joined other members of the royal family at the Cheltenham Festival in March, whilst his sister Zara Tindall was joined by her husband Mike, and his cousins Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie also bought along their plus-ones.