Peter is the eldest of the late queen’s grandchildren

Nov 10 2025

Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne, is a key part of royal life, despite being 19th in line to the throne.

However, the king’s nephew could go down a different path should Prince William follow through with his plans to slim down the monarchy, according to a former royal butler…

Inside lesser-known royal Peter Phillips’ life

Speaking on behalf of OLBG, former royal butler Grant Harrold has shared some insight into a perhaps lesser-known royal.

At 47 years old, Peter is the late queen’s oldest grandchild and is nephew to none other than King Charles. He is a cousin of Prince William and Prince Harry.

His sister is Zara Tindall, who now shares three children with Mike Tindall.

When he was born, Peter was 5th in line to the throne. However, over the years, he has seen his position in the line of succession slip further and further down.

Though entitled to the title of prince, his mother, Princess Anne, opted not to give him a royal title. Peter has enjoyed a career in business, working for companies like Jaguar, Williams Racing, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and Wasserman, to name but a few.

However, he has made appearances at royal events, notably the queen’s funeral in 2022. He was also at the king’s coronation in 2023.

He has two children with ex-wife Autumn Kelly – Savannah Anne Kathleen, 14, and Isla Elizabeth, 13. He is now engaged to NHS nurse Harriet Sperling.

Peter Phillips plays ‘key role’ in royal family life

Speaking on behalf of the bookie, Harrold said: “He’s very close to his uncle, the King. The King enjoys spending time with Peter and his sister Zara, which we see whenever they attend public events together. The King has a lot of time and love for him. I remember the King hosting Peter Phillip’s engagement party ahead of his wedding to Autumn.

“Princess Anne purposely didn’t give him a title when he was born so that he didn’t have such a public profile. Even though he’s a member of the Royal Family and he’s in the line of succession, he doesn’t have any official responsibilities. But he’s still a close family member and a key part of the more private side of the family’s life,” he then continued.

‘The king has a lot of time and love for him’

Harrold then went on, saying: “He’s had quite an active role in royal events over the years. He was on the committee for the late Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. When it comes to family activities he’s very involved. When Prince William talks about a slimmed down monarchy, that’s definitely a branch that will go in a different direction. But he will be absolutely fine with that. He’s a businessman, he does his own thing and enjoys his own life away from the spotlight.

“He’s very calm and very cool, and he has a great sense of humour. He’s very unassuming. He’s almost an unknown member of the family and he keeps out of the spotlight a lot,” he then said.

“He had a very similar sense of humour to Princes William and Harry, they all have really good banter. They all love practical jokes. I remember getting the train up to London with him and he would just talk about his ‘granny’, who was of course the late Queen.”

Read more: ‘Real risk’ behind Prince Harry’s possible attendance at cousin Peter Phillips’ wedding 

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