Royal Historian Says Harriet Sperling Might Just Give Princess Anne Some "Competition" for One Royal Family Title

Harriet Sperling became the newest member of the Royal Family when she married Peter Phillips on June 6, and the NHS nurse has become a fast favorite among royal watchers. Harriet’s new mother-in-law, Princess Anne, has long been one of the hardest working royals, and with a pediatric nurse joining the family, she might just give the Princess Royal a run for her money.

Phillips and Sperling started dating in early 2024 when they met through their daughters’ hockey team. Harriet is the mother of a 13-year-old daughter, Georgina Sperling, from her first marriage, and her relatable life has endeared Sperling to royal fans, as royal historian Tessa Dunlop told the Sun.

“Here is a woman who, as a ­divorcee and single parent, speaks to modern, blended Britain, and likewise as a middle-aged nurse puts the public-sector worker into the royals’ famed life of service,” she said. “Harriet is the real deal—with her quiet Christian faith and NHS work ethic, she ­provides the blueprint for a ­modern, unshowy monarchy.”

Unlike his mother, Phillips doesn't hold a royal title—a decision that Queen Elizabeth was said to disagree with when Princess Anne insisted that her children would not be princes or princesses. Although Harriet will never take on full-time royal duties, her experience as a pediatric nurse follows in the footsteps of the Princess Royal.

“Harriet’s mother-in-law, Princess Anne, is known as the hardest-working royal, although now there is an intensive-care children’s nurse in the family, Anne might find she has competition for that title,” Dunlop said.

Queen Elizabeth's great-granddaughters Isla and Savannah Phillips have a new stepmom, and the historian pointed to the “warm friendship” between the three teenagers as “further evidence of a new contemporary model for ­Britain’s most famous family.”