Queen Elizabeth Was "Blindsided" By Peter Phillips's Wedding

Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly on their wedding day — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling announced their wedding date earlier this month, with Princess Anne's son and the NHS nurse set to walk down the aisle on June 6. But when Peter married his first wife, Autumn Kelly, in 2008, he caused a major controversy in the Royal Family.

Peter and his sister, Zara Tindall, don't have royal titles and as such, have been able to live more private lives, as well as carrying out commercial work like brand endorsements. But Peter's decision to sell his wedding photos to Hello! magazine for a reported £500,000 (roughly $673,000) ruffled Queen Elizabeth's feathers enough that Buckingham Palace released a statement on the matter.

Unbeknownst to the Royal Family, Autumn and Peter allowed Hello! unprecedented access to the wedding, resulting in a 100-page spread in the magazine featuring intimate photos from the ceremony and reception. Snapshots included never-before-seen photos from a royal wedding, such as Kate Middleton, who was still a royal girlfriend at the time, hitting the dance floor with Prince Harry's then-girlfriend, Chelsy Davy.

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Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip posing with Autumn Kelly and Peter Phillips, Princess Anne, Mark Phillips and in-laws on their wedding day — Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, Princess Anne and her ex-husband, Captain Mark Phillips, pose with Peter and Autumn and her parents and grandmothers.

As the Daily Mail reported, Queen Elizabeth and other senior royals "were allegedly less than impressed and felt blindsided by the publication of the pictures." Prince William is said to have been among those who were especially upset by the photos, since Kate was not a member of the Royal Family and had no idea she was posing for photos that would end up in a media outlet.

Members of Parliament even spoke out on the matter, with Labour MP Ian Gibson stating, "The British public would expect The Queen to rise above being pictured in the pages of Hello! She is the Queen, not a footballer’s wife."

Buckingham Palace also released a statement after Hello!'s story came out, "claiming that the deal was a 'serious error of judgement,'" per the Daily Mail.

As for Peter's second wedding, it's unclear if any official photos will be released, but it seems unlikely Mr. and Mrs. Phillips will be selling off the pictures this time around.

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Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.