Last month, I expressed my surprise that the British tabloids weren’t doing more around Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling’s wedding, which is now coming up on Saturday. This is the only royal (adjacent) wedding of the year, and Peter’s first cousins are Prince Harry and Prince William. Surely, the Mail should have been wringing every melodrama out of this wedding for months, right? Instead, we only got a terse confirmation a few weeks ago that Peter had not invited Harry to the wedding and that they weren’t very close these days. Well now, just days before the wedding, royal commentators have only just realized that they could be making a meal out of it. In so doing, they’re basically admitting that Prince William threw yet another wedding tantrum about how people need to choose between him and Harry. Pitiful.
Prince Harry was left off the guest list for cousin Peter Phillips’ upcoming wedding to Harriet Sperling because the groom’s loyalties allegedly lie with Prince William. Royal commentator Emily Nash exclusively spoke with Page Six while promoting her upcoming appearance on the live recording of Hello! Magazine’s “A Right Royal Podcast” next Tuesday.
“I think it comes down to interpersonal relationships, doesn’t it?” Nash said. “What we were told was that Peter hadn’t spoken to Harry for the last few years. And so it sort of has been a natural cooling off and he wasn’t invited as a result.”
Nash explained that Phillips is, however, “very close” to the Prince of Wales.
“[Peter is] very loyal; he’s very protective. He’s been a very good sounding board to his cousin over the years,” Nash said. “So it absolutely makes sense that I think had both Wales brothers been there, it would have put a completely different slant on the whole event. And that’s not what you want on what should be the happiest day of your life, right?”
Page Six has reached out to representatives for Prince Harry but didn’t immediately get a response. Nash recalled Phillips, 48, being the “peacemaker” between the Duke of Sussex, 41, and his older brother, 43, during Prince Philip’s 2021 funeral.
“Peter was positioned between the two warring brothers,” Nash said. “He was sort of put right in the middle of them as the older cousin, and that must have been a really difficult moment for him.” She added, “Of course, a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then.”
Nash cited Harry’s tell-all memoir “Spare” and his and wife Meghan Markle’s Netflix docuseries — both of which laid bare the family’s private tensions — as more reasons for his falling out with Princess Anne’s son.
The Hello! Magazine editor believes it was a “smart” move that Harry was snubbed from the wedding.
“If that had been the case, that would have become the absolute focal point for Peter and Harriet’s special day, and there have been enough distractions, I think, from the good things about the royal family over the past year,” Nash said. “Hopefully, they can just have this one day to come together and celebrate someone’s happy news for a change.”
William and wife Kate Middleton are expected to attend the June 6 nuptials, and Nash believes King Charles III will also “make an appearance.” She also expects that the Prince and Princess of Wales’ kids could attend, and Phillips’ sister, Zara Tindall, and her husband, Mike, are a definite yes. Harriet’s daughter from her first marriage to Antonio St. John Sperling, Georgina, is expected to attend as well.
“There is a real family at the heart of it — and a blended one as well. So it really is reflecting the much more modern face of the royal family,” Nash said.
“That would have become the absolute focal point for Peter and Harriet’s special day…” As opposed to right now, when the focal point of Peter and Harriet’s wedding is still about how he did NOT invite Harry. That’s been the main story for two weeks now: Peter didn’t invite Harry, why didn’t he invite Harry, did William throw a tantrum about someone else’s wedding (again), did William threaten Peter over not inviting Harry. As always, I assume that this is ALL William and he’s regularly screaming at his relatives and trying to force them to “choose sides.” Pretty soon, we’ll hear about how Peter is actually the monarchy’s secret weapon AND the brother William needs right now (sorry to Mike Tindall).
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.
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- London, UK, 21 May 2024: Peter Phillips attends the Royal Garden Party organised by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace in London.,Image: 875182934, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Yui Mok/Avalon
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- Ascot, UNITED KINGDOM – Members Of The Royal Family attend day one of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse in Ascot, England. Pictured: Peter Phillips BACKGRID USA 17 JUNE 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: Zak Hussein / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Ascot, UNITED KINGDOM – Members Of The Royal Family attend day two of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse in Ascot, England. Pictured: Prince William, Prince of Wales BACKGRID USA 18 JUNE 2025 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Ascot, UNITED KINGDOM – Members Of The Royal Family attend day two of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse in Ascot, England. Pictured: Prince William, Prince of Wales BACKGRID USA 18 JUNE 2025 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Royal guests during day one of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse Featuring: Harriet Sperling, Peter Phillips Where: Ascot, United Kingdom When: 17 Jun 2025 Credit: Cover Images
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- Royal guests during day one of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse Featuring: Harriet Sperling, Peter Phillips Where: Ascot, United Kingdom When: 17 Jun 2025 Credit: Cover Images
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- 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
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- The Prince of Wales during his visit to officially open the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease at Seacroft Hospital in Leeds Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: Leeds, United Kingdom When: 20 Nov 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince of Wales during his visit to officially open the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease at Seacroft Hospital in Leeds Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: Leeds, United Kingdom When: 20 Nov 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince of Wales, patron of We Are Farming Minds, during a visit to a family farm in Herefordshire to highlight the importance of mental health support across the farming community. Where: United Kingdom When: 15 Jan 2026 Credit: Richard Pohle/The Times/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Racegoers attend day four, Gold Cup Day, of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival Featuring: Harriet Sperling, Peter Phillips Where: Cheltenham, United Kingdom When: 13 Mar 2026 Credit: Cover Images
The *fourth happiest day of his life, after the birth of his two children plus marriage No. 1.
Yes, that struck me too!
Nothing says happy families like backstabbing & nasty gossip. If any of these people were loyal to anything besides opinion polls, these stories simply wouldn’t be circulating.
When the most interesting thing about your wedding is the cousin who is NOT attending….there’s no discussion about what Kate might wear, what Zara might wear, if there will be flower girls, etc.
It’s all just about the “irrelevant” one, Harry.
oh! Also worth pointing out that Peter and William can’t be THAT close since William blew off his first wedding. So Harry went to the first wedding and William goes to the second, lol.
They are so desperate to pretend that someone actually likes William and don’t realize that that story line is completely unbelievable. The fake journalists are always inventing friends for lazy and keen. Can you imgaine being in your 40s and having to constantly be propped up because you are so completely lazy and useless that there is not one decent thing to say about you??!!
“..and there have been enough distractions, I think, from the good things about the royal family over the past year,” Nash said” Why does Emily Nash think that a family reunion wouldn’t be a good thing for her royal family? Or is her brain broken by being a lap dog for the Windsors?
Peter and Harriet should have eloped
The media made them supporting characters at their own wedding.
William is very very “close” to everyone he doesn’t want harry close to. The same “close” he was when he was close to Harry. William was so so very close to Harry that he used to ignore him at school. That kind of “close”.
Willy has to be the most insecure adult male I have ever seen.. he literally has to have all the attention focused on him.. so now this wedding is all about how Willy is the most liked bestest buddy philllip has ever met in his life.. I seriously wonder if he has a lasting brain injury from that incident when he was a child that has prevented him from maturing like a normal adult, Because most people would be embarrassed to be briefing articles like this and Willy seems to think hes really hurting his brother somehow with this idiocy.
That time last year (?) where he was AN USHER to a wedding!!! Very importation, he’s very close to the groom!!!!
As far as needing to have all the attention focused on him, Charles has always been exactly the same. It’s the Windsor way.
And as far as being exceptionally insecure, Will has reason to feel that way at this point. He’s a man in his 40s who’s done nothing with his life. Nothing to show for years at school. Half assed later training obligations. Lip service to announced special projects where involvement is obviously superficial and just for PR. Only clear passion, Aston Villa. To be honest, it would be easy for anyone to feel insecure by comparison with what Harry’s accomplished, or for that matter – Charles. I’ve wondered if resentment against Charles was originally part of the reason for Will slacking off. Charles as POW (and Diana’s legacy) was always going to be a tough act to follow.
That was fine for an explanation through his 20s. But by his 30s, Will was married, a father, and most people would have gotten serious about their life. Instead, Will remained the epitome of the typical English gentleman aristocrat he really wants to be. That is the one choice he doesn’t have.
As far as any head injury, well, maybe it’s a factor. But as people have pointed out Will was already a bratty, temperamental child before that. Again, Charles (and Andrew) has shown that’s also in the Windsor DNA. Will lost his mother, had a neglectful father, and was influenced by the QM, quite a piece of work herself. Plenty of other reasons to be screwed up. For at least the last 10 years though, he’s had the example of his brother, who benefited from therapy to sort out his own issues.
Will’s always had choices. Yes, he’s stuck in that he’s always going to be king, eventually. But he has the absolute privilege, and money, to be able to create a more satisfying and meaningful life within that framework, as Harry did even before he and Meghan stepped back. He needs to use the huge amount of energy he’s investing in diminishing and sabotaging his brother and his brother‘s wife to create different circumstances for himself. His choice.
William bullying Peter to not invite Harry, Shades of the Grosvenor wedding. How childish of William.
So, Peter is William’s sounding board, is he? Good job, Peter.
The cousins are MINE, Harold!!! MINE!
I imagine the lack of energy towards Harry attending this wedding until now has to due with the fact that nobody cares all that much about Peter. It seems that now that the wedding is fast approaching, the media or maybe even the royals, is trying to drum up some interest using Harry’s non attendance.
These people write constant articles about how Harry and Meghan attending some event would be a horrible distraction, then breathlessly asked if they’re going to show up, and then when they don’t come say how it was right that they didn’t come because they would be a horrible distraction. Just nonsensical.
I have to wonder if these people are even asking Harry and Meghan to come, or if they’re all just aware and in agreement that it’s not worth it. I can’t believe that William is actually very well liked, except for a small group that haven’t progressed and are as childish and petty as he is. Otherwise, it seems like he’s more tolerated by his family and aristocratic peers than embraced.
For all we know Peter might be a “royal source”. Anyway, Peter wouldn’t be able to invite Harry to his wedding because it would be a seen as a sign of disloyalty to the Royal Family. When Anne passes on he would need the support of the King.
I love how this is worded,”Peter is loyal, and protective”
It demonstrates Willy’s point of view: Harry was disloyal
Willy needs protection from Harry
Yet W wasn’t loyal enough to go to P’s first wedding. He chose to attend his ex girlfriend’s brother’s wedding instead of accompanying his current girlfriend to loyal P’s first wedding.
William is one heartbeat from becoming sovereign and all he shows is that he must have a chokehold over everything around him, especially family. The karma is the Andrew/Esptein mess – it’s not going away; and if it’s still swirling when William takes the throne it will be his responsibility to clean up the House of Windsor’s public image, starting with his own.
These people are so tacky.
Not to me-rail, but I don’t have a good relationship with one side of my family. I’ve been included and excluded from many “family” events over the years. But I’ve had a few cousins who have extended wedding invites to me. We both know I’ll never go. You couldn’t pay me enough to be in a room with my own left behinds, and I wouldn’t dream of causing any sort of issues for someone on their wedding day by bringing the awkwardness. But it’s a nice, polite gesture to be asked. I always send a present to those cousins.
All of this is to say, there’s no way Harry would have gone to the wedding, so why not just be classy and invite him and Meghan just to say you did? As I said, tacky.
This is @Everlore32, this is *exactly* how I feel about my family and how I have tried to manage in similar circumstances. Decline, and sent a really happy gift. It’s the best I can do for them. But I don’t want to be there, and they know exactly why. And attending would be to prove something and that’s not the right frame of mind. I express my happiness by contributing good vibes from far away.
Every time I see that first photo of Peggington, I get slasher movie vibes.
I found it weird that this source spent so much time and energy confirming that Zara and Mike will “definitely” attend (no duh, they’ll turn up at anything and she is Peter’s sister) but then Harriet’s own daughter, Georgina, is added as almost an afterthought, she is “expected”. Does Nash just have terrible instincts or do we think she is being essentially forced to repeat some approved talking points?
No royal gossip reporter worth their salt would be more excited about the Tindalls rather than focusing on the possible goldmine that would be “pretty young woman and her mom become part of the royal family”? I’m pretty sure that’s the stuff of rom coms! I believe Peter’s two daughters are roughly similar in age, too, right? Again, if you are in the business of getting clicks, the money shot is Harriet getting ready with the three daughters.
Neither Peter nor Harry have said anything about Harry, Meghan and their children attending Peter’s and Harriett’s wedding. It’s the BM constantly making the wedding about Harry attending or not and creating this circus.
Peter as the rest of the left behind Windsors know where there bread and buttter comes from. There is a report out today about accommodation/properties of the royal family and what rent they pay. Charles pays for a reduced rent for Eugenie and Beatrice accommodations in St James Palace and KP. I am wondering whatelse and who else of the working and non-working royals is bankroled by Charles as the Monarch.
When has there ever been a wedding, and a royal wedding to boot, where there has not been a single word about the bride’s preoaration: what her dress is likely to look like; the cake; the flowers; her bridal party…….etc.
And even a few articles about the groom and his preparation and activities leading up to the big day. I mean, I know they’re not spring chickens but it’s a wedding FFS!
Instead what we hv are these shitmedia ghouls persistent fixation on the Sussexes. And reminding us of the mentally deranged prince who can barely wait for his pa to die so he can live out his cruel fantasy of one-upping his superior brother once and for all.
Absolutely nobody have been confirmed as invited guess to that wedding. As it’s a private and family affair, it might be restricted for family members, not aunts, uncles and cousins. Everything will come out tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the wedding day of Philip and Harriet and as with any wedding the focus should be on the bride and groom now as about cousins!! I dread to think what the coverage of THEIR wedding will be like: one small photo and then endless drivel about brothers in arms Thug Tindall and Wilbur having drinking contests at the reception afterwards! Maybe they will also insist on having a lift by having a dwarf throwing match and bitching about Harry some more. I very much hope that Philip is loyal and protective of his new bride and doesn’t let their big day be upstaged by Thug and Sulk!!