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Queen’s Eldest Grandson Peter Phillips and Wife Autumn ‘Jointly Agreed to Separate’ Last Year
Say it isn’t so! Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson Peter Phillips has split from his wife of 12 years, Autumn Phillips, Buckingham Palace revealed on Monday, February 10. “After informing HM The Queen and members of both families last year, Peter and Autumn jointly agreed to separate,” they said in a statement to The Daily Mail. “They had reached the conclusion that this was the best course of action for their two children and ongoing friendship.”
Luckily, it seems like the former flames — who share daughters Savannah, 9, and Isla, 7 — are keeping things cordial. “The decision to divorce and share custody came about after many months of discussions and, although sad, is an amicable one,” the statement continued. “The couple’s first priority will remain the continued well-being and upbringing of their wonderful daughters, Savannah and Isla.”
Peter and Autumn’s respective families “were naturally sad at the announcement” but are “fully supportive” in their “joint decision to coparent their children,” the palace added. “Both Peter and Autumn have remained in Gloucestershire to bring up their two children where they have been settled for a number of years. Peter and Autumn have requested privacy and compassion for their children while the family continues to adapt these changes.”
Peter, 42, and Autumn, 41, usually stay out of the spotlight, and the last time they were seen together in public was at the annual Highland Games Gathering in Braemar in September 2019. The duo did not attend Christmas Day services at Sandringham, but Peter was spotted at church on the Norfolk estate without his wife last month.
The sports marketing consultant — his parents are Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips — was brought up without royal titles, so he could try to live a normal and low-key life. So much so, when Peter met Autumn at the Montreal Grand Prix in 2003, she didn’t even know he was the Queen’s grandson. The couple later got married at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle — the same place Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot in May 2018 — in 2008 in front of 300 guests including the Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Harry.
After her nuptials, Autumn revealed what it was really like to have royal in-laws. “They’re just a family, they’re happy, they have great relationships with each other. They’re very close,” she said in an interview with Canada’s CBC News in June 2016.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry, 35, and his wife, Meghan, 38, shocked the world in January when they announced they would be spending more time in Canada and stepping back from royal duties. Now, the 93-year-old queen is hoping Autumn doesn’t follow in Harry’s footsteps up north — it’s believed the daughters have dual citizenship — The Sun reported.
It’s been a rough couple of months for the royal family, to say the least.
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