This Summer's "Low-Key" Royal Wedding Is the "Good News" Event the Royal Family Needs Right Now, Says Former Butler

Prince Anne’s son, Peter Phillips, has found love again with fiancée Harriet Sperling after his divorce from Autumn Kelly, and this week, a representative for the couple announced their anticipated wedding date. Harriet and Peter will walk down the aisle on Saturday, June 6, and former royal butler Grant Harrold says even though it will be a “smaller scale occasion,” the wedding will give the Royal Family a boost amid a turbulent time.

According to their rep, the couple’s wedding will be held at All Saints Church in the village of Kemble, England. Along with Princess Anne and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, fans can expect to see Peter’s sister, Zara Tindall, her husband, Mike, and their three children at the wedding. Other guests at the private ceremony will likely include Peter’s uncle, King Charles, and other senior members of the Royal Family such as Prince William and Princess Kate.

Speaking on behalf of CasinoHawks, Harrold—who served The King at Highgrove House between 2004 and 2011—says that Peter and Harriet’s countryside wedding won't be as grand “compared to other royal weddings, but there will still be excitement surrounding the event.”

“While still a much-loved member of the Royal Family, Peter isn’t a senior member and is low down the line of succession, so it won’t be anything like what we saw for Harry or Eugenie,” Harrold explains of Phillips, who does not hold a title at Princess Anne’s insistence.

“However it’s still a royal wedding, and we’ll still have the family out together—so there will be a lot of interest and media attention,” the former butler adds.

With a population of less than 1,000 people, the village of Kemble is a far cry from London or Windsor, but it’s just about a 20-minute drive from Princess Anne and Sir Tim Laurence’s sprawling estate, Gatcombe Park—an ideal choice for a wedding reception.

“Royal events in that area are normally quite lowkey, unlike the massive events we’ve seen at Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle,” Harrold says. “I imagine we’ll see photos of them arriving and leaving the event, and there will be official pictures released. I hope they share one big family photo, that would be lovely to see.”

After Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on February 19, there's been a heightened focus on the Royal Family and what they knew about his association with Jeffrey Epstein. Harrold points out that the wedding will be a happy moment during a stressful time for the family.

“The royals will be wanting some good news because there's been so much negativity recently, they need something positive,” the former butler says. “It is a reason to celebrate and they will want this to be picked up as a positive piece of news, despite it being a more private engagement.”