The British royals are welcoming a new member: Harriet Sperling. The NHS nurse will join the famous family when she marries Queen Elizabeth's "favourite grandson," Peter Phillips, on June 6 in the Cotswolds.
The bride, who is the daughter of the late Rupert Sanders and Mary Sanders, was first linked to King Charles' nephew in 2024. She and Peter went public with their relationship at the Badminton Horse Trials.
So, just who is the bride?
She's a nurse
Harriet is a pediatric nurse specialist for the NHS. According to her bio on the Premier Woman Alive website, a UK magazine for Christian women that she's contributed to, she is "passionate about early brain development in babies and seeing children thrive."
A single mother
Like Peter, who is a father to Savannah Phillips and Isa Phillips, Harriet is also a parent. She has a daughter named Georgina from her previous marriage to fitness trainer Antonio St. John Sperling. The mom of one and Princess Anne's son are believed to have met at a sporting event involving their respective daughters.
Harriet reflected on raising Georgina as a single parent in an opinion piece for Woman Alive back in May 2024. "In the earlier years of my journey as a single mother to my daughter, resources were scarce, and the future was uncertain," she penned. "Yet, in the absence of material security, I discovered the strength and life that comes from true selfless love. A love that is able to be solely devoted to your child."
"My daughter and I journeyed 10 years with only each other," Harriet continued. "I liken us to an island and it has often felt hard to imagine anyone joining that island."
© Getty Images"Motherly" with Peter's daughters
Since then, Harriet has allowed Peter and his daughters onto that "island" of theirs. Isla and Savannah's future stepmother has been described as "very motherly."
After accompanying Peter and his daughters to the 2024 Gloucestershire Festival of Polo, a source told HELLO!: "At one point, Savannah returned to the table and seemed a bit upset, and Harriet was putting her arm around her and comforting her. They're a tight unit, very quickly, they seem to be a bit of a family. Harriet seems very motherly and very good with the kids."
© Karwai Tang/WireImageHer royal in-laws
Long before their wedding, Harriet appeared alongside Peter at events with his relatives. In 2025, she attended Royal Ascot, where she was seen warmly greeting Princess Anne, Zara Tindall and Princess Beatrice, as well as chatting with the King and Queen Camilla. Harriet and Peter made their carriage debut as a couple, participating in the royal procession at Royal Ascot 2025. The following month, in July, Peter and his then-girlfriend cheered on his cousin Prince William at the Out-Sourcing Inc. Royal Charity Polo Cup 2025.
That summer, Peter also took Harriet to Balmoral for the first time. The trip came weeks after the couple announced their engagement, which Best Quality Designer Handbag exclusively revealed with photos of Peter and Harriet. "Both families were informed jointly of the announcement and were delighted with the wonderful news of their engagement. Their Majesties The King and Queen, The Prince and Princess of Wales have been informed of the announcement," Gerard Franklin said in a statement issued for the couple.
© Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty ImagesRoyal photographer James Whatling, told HELLO! it "was only a matter of time" before they got engaged. He said: "We were waiting for this news. You can't watch this couple for too long without noticing how close they are, they're so tactile and they're clearly so in love."
While they did not celebrate their one and only Christmas as an engaged couple at Sandringham in 2025, Harriet and Peter, along with their respective daughters, did join the royals for Easter in 2026. The service at St. George's Chapel marked Georgina's first public appearance with the royal family, although she had been previously introduced to members at Balmoral in 2025.
A royal wedding
© Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Outsourcing Inc Royal Charity Polo Cup Cup)The King, Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales are expected to be guests at Peter and Harriet's wedding, taking place at All Saints Church in Kemble. A friend of the bride and groom has told HELLO! that the wedding will be "an intimate occasion with their close friends and immediate family around them in the Cotswolds." "It's an area where they grew up and is very special to them both," the friend said.
HELLO! understands that a reception will then follow at Gatcombe Estate, where the groom's mother, Princess Anne, resides.
After their engagement in 2025, HELLO!'s Royal Editor Emily Nash remarked that it was "wonderful news for Peter and Harriet, but also for the wider royal family," adding: "Peter is close to the King and to his cousins and Harriet seems to have been warmly welcomed into the fold.
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