Engagement of Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling; 1 Aug 2025

[Kaye1850]

I think it has been said Harriet has spoken about being quite religious in the past so I think she would like to marry in a church if possible.

Yes, I have seen frequent mentions of her Christian faith:

Peter Phillips and His New Girlfriend Harriet Sperling Arrive at Ascot

Phillips and Sperling had a day out with several members of the royal family

www.townandcountrymag.com

 

[Princess_Eleanor]

Harriet is definitely religious, she wrote about it in an article for a Christian magazine... So I think there will be a church wedding, probably either in Gloucestershire (where Harriet is also from, if I remember correctly) or in Scotland.

If I had to guess, I would probably guess Gloucestershire, because I don't know if Harriet has a connection to Scotland. But who knows, she might have loved her trip to Balmoral last summer...

 

[tommy100]

I had read Harriet was religious or had talked about the importance of religion before, but that doesn't mean they'd definitely have a religious service, a blessing would certainly be an option.
Pure speculation but Charles could also possibly let them use Highgrove as a venue for a reception, it has the orchard room which was used to host a large dinner before the Italian state visit to is set up to cater for large numbers of people (which Gatcombe might not be).
That said, Gatcombe would obviously have much more of a personal connection. But Highgrove and Gatcombe are only 15 minutes away so any church close to Gatcombe is also close to Highgrove.

 

[Countessmeout]

I don't see why they would have a blessing. If they are religious enough to include it, they will have a church wedding. If not, have a civil ceremony. They are not in the position of Charles where he had to balance his role and expectations.

It seems Anne's family has a connection to St Nicholas in Cherington. Three of her five grandchildren were baptized here. (Mia, Lena and Isla)

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~engcots/CheringtonPhotos.html

As someone who is passionately out spoken about her faith, I doubt it won't be religious.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

In view of the Church of England's guidance on "further marriages" (remarriage of a divorcé(e) with a living former spouse), I think the Phillips-Sperling marriage is situated differently than the 2005 Charles-Camilla marriage some referenced abovethread.

Supplementary material | The Church of England

Supplementary material to the Canons of the Church of England.

www.churchofengland.org

The questions which clergy are advised to contemplate in deciding whether to officiate a further marriage include:

"(d) Would the effects of the proposed marriage on individuals, the wider community and the Church be such as to undermine the credibility of the Church's witness to marriage?
□ Would the new marriage be likely to be a cause of hostile public comment or scandal?

(e) Would permitting the new marriage be tantamount to consecrating an old infidelity?
□ While it would be unreasonable to expect that the couple should not even have known each other during the former marriage(s), was the relationship between the applicants - so far as you can tell from the information made available to you - a direct cause of the breakdown of the former marriage?"​

Anglican bishops could plausibly have believed (rightly or wrongly) that Charles and Camilla's marriage would "be likely to be a cause of hostile public comment or scandal" and that their relationship was "an old infidelity" and "direct cause of the breakdown of the former marriage" of Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles. According to the guidance, those factors would weigh against officiating her new marriage.

In this case of Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling, no one seems to be suggesting those factors are present.

 

[An Ard Ri]

I suspect they will have a quiet civil ceremony, followed by a reception on the Gatcombe estate.

I'm thinking that Peter is like his mother and doesn't like fuss!