The Princess of Wales is rather famously not a girl’s girl. Princess Kate does not get along well with most women, especially women she views as threats to her position or her marriage. Sources always claim that Kate has a handful of old Marlborough friends or St. Andrews friends, but I have my doubts. I think Kate’s social circle is basically her mother, her sister and (a few of) the wives of Prince William’s friends. Kate could have had an ally and friend in her sister-in-law, but unfortunately for everyone involved, Kate decided to be consistently horrible to the Duchess of Sussex for years and years. Well, now that Prince William’s cousin Peter Phillips will marry Harriet Sperling in a matter of days, it looks like Kate finally has the (white) sister-in-law of her dreams. Harriet, you in danger, girl.
Royal wedding bells will ring for Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling next weekend, marking not just the start of married life for the happy couple, but also the official arrival of a new, close companion for the Princess of Wales.
Take one look at the NHS nurse fiancée of Princess Anne’s son, and it’s not difficult to understand why she’ll be a celebrated new arrival for Kate. Not only are Kate and Harriet of similar backgrounds, with both hailing from upper-middle-class families in neighbouring Berkshire and Gloucestershire, respectively, but they’re also of a similar age, with Harriet being one year older at 45. Both also have a keen interest in fashion, each owning an unmistakably similar wardrobe filled with brands like Beulah, ME+ EM and Self Portrait.
Their interests, meanwhile, are similarly intertwined: Kate is an avid supporter of all things childhood development with her Early Years work, while Harriet is a trained paediatric nurse specialist – and according to an online bio, ‘passionate about early brain development in babies and seeing children thrive’.
Enter the future Mrs Phillips, a like-minded, discreet ally for Kate – a relationship she’s scarcely enjoyed, given Meghan is living in Montecito, having waved goodbye to royal life, while Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie have been shrouded in scandal since the House of York’s associations with paedophile financier, Jeffrey Epstein, came to light.
Harriet is a talented freelance writer and recently contributed a candid essay to Woman Alive, detailing her experiences as a single mother and her unwavering Christian faith. Writing is a skill Kate also possesses, having penned a moving essay, The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World, via the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.
Meanwhile, Harriet’s open-armed acceptance into the Royal Family ahead of her engagement last August appears similar to that of Kate’s experience. Harriet was seen laughing with King Charles and chatting with Zara Tindall at Royal Ascot last year. She was given the ultimate seal of approval as she arrived at the racecourse in Berkshire in the official carriage procession with senior royals. Kate, meanwhile, quickly gained a deep sense of respect from senior members of the Royal Family, including the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Now a regular at Wimbledon and Cheltenham alike, Harriet has earned praise for her fashion choices that appear to be inspired by the Princess of Wales’s immaculate royal style. For her first royal Easter service, Harriet took a leaf out of Kate’s playbook as she wore pieces from four of her favourite brands – and her wedding dress next weekend will no doubt be an even bigger hit.
I laughed out loud at “Writing is a skill Kate also possesses…” IS IT?? I said last year that the British tabloids’ coverage of Harriet showed multiple things all at once. One, the British press is starved for interesting, fashionable and attractive royal or royal-adjacent women, which is sort of an insult to Kate and her closet full of buttons and Victorian coatdresses. Two, that the excitement over Harriet’s arrival would irritate Kate to no end, and if Kate really starts to view Harriet as a threat to her turf, Kate would make Harriet’s life a misery. Kate isn’t going to like this “Harriet is the sister-in-law Kate never had” narrative, because Kate never wanted a sister-in-law of any kind.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
- The Princess of Wales during her visit to “Salvador Allende” Scuola dell’infanzia in Reggio Emilia, to view education in nature, on the second day of her visit to Italy. The visit to the area focuses on early childhood development and forms part of a high-level fact-finding mission to explore leading international approaches to supporting young children and those who care for them Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Reggio Emilia, Italy When: 14 May 2026 Credit: Cover Images
- Harriet Sperling and Peter Phillips attend the tenth day of the Wimbledon tennis championships held at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club Featuring: Harriet Sperling, Peter Phillips Where: London, United Kingdom When: 10 Jul 2024 Credit: Ray Tang/Cover Images **STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY**
- Royals during day one of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse Featuring: Harriet Sperling and Peter Philips Where: Ascot, United Kingdom When: 17 Jun 2025 Credit: Cover Images
- Royals during day one of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse Featuring: Harriet Sperling Where: Ascot, United Kingdom When: 17 Jun 2025 Credit: Doug Peters/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
- The Princess of Wales arriving for the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall, London Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 19 Nov 2025 Credit: Yui Mok/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
- Royals attending the Easter Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle Featuring: Harriet Sperling, Peter Philips Where: Windsor, United Kingdom When: 05 Apr 2026 Credit: Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR HELLO MAGAZINE**
- The Princess of Wales attends a wreath laying ceremony and parade commemorating Anzac Day at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, central London Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 25 Apr 2026 Credit: Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR HELLO MAGAZINE**
- The Princess of Wales during a visit to University of East London for the launch of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood social and emotional development guide Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 May 2026 Credit: Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR HELLO MAGAZINE**
- The Princess of Wales in Italy on the second day of her visit, visiting Remida, the city’s ‘creative recycling centre’, where she met with local business leaders who support early childhood by providing materials to use in pre-schools Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Reggio Emilia, Italy When: 14 May 2026 Credit: Cover Images






















Uh, isn’t her brother married? She already has a sister in law, and the wives of your husband’s cousins don’t count, surely?
Her 2 real sisters in law are much smarter than her. Her brother’s wife is apparently Head of Private Equity and Venture Capital in a finance firm. Kate can’t have smarter sisters in law.
If they keep up with these “Wonderful world of Harriet” articles Waity is going to bury her in horrible headlines.. I almost feel sorry for Harriet but history should have warned her away.
Hmmmm. Since Harriet and Peter will likely not ever be working royals, Harriet might be safe.
Also she’s not now or ever going to be Kate’s SIL or friend.
“Their interests, meanwhile, are similarly intertwined: Kate is an avid supporter of all things childhood development with her Early Years work, while Harriet is a trained paediatric nurse specialist” – comparing Sperling, who is a trained professional and has years of actual experience working, and Kate’s half-baked early years nonsense is just insulting.
Kate has already two sisters in law. Poor James Middleton, nobody cares about him
Kate and Harriet are cousins in law and Peter is 19th in line to the throne. Harriet poses no threat to Kate because where she and Peter are in the royal pecking order.
For Kate, any woman better than her who is around her is a threat to her, which is to say, every single one.
There’s a photo of William, Kate and Jason at some event and she’s jokingly shoving some kind of mould? in Jason ‘s direction. We all saw her trying to engross Roger Federer at Wimbledon and snub his wife at the same time. Is he okay joking with gay men and flirting with attractive men but doesn’t really do friendship with anyone?
Hah! Writing skill? IIRC Kate had to look at a crib note to write a sentence or two on a whiteboard, a simple sentence, nothing deep or thoughtful, Something along the lines of Kate was here. And the handwriting was appalling. I can’t remember the occasion but it was some kind of visit to a station or arena or something.
If I were Harriet, I’d start wearing a stab vest.
This “friendship” seems rather threatening, as another fulfilled woman with considerable professional achievements is joining the RoyalFamili, so Kate plummets again.
Nice try. KKKate and Harriet will not be hanging out. The woman is busy and has an actual life. They will run into each other tangientally at rare functions where the extended family show up. If anything, Harriet will bond with Zara more.
Hope this new White sister-in-law plays really dumb and kisses ass on a regular basis so as not to upset the airhead mean girl lol. Kant doesn’t like other women no matter who they are!!
Keen could have had the sister in law of her dreams, if she had not been such a mean girl to Meghan. She will be a mean girl to Harriet also. imo
The future Mrs. Phillips won’t be a working royal, her husband does not have a title. I doubt Keen wants to share her cause, “Early Years,” with anybody.