Peter Phillips, the eldest son of Princess Anne and her ex-husband Captain Mark Phillips, celebrates his 45th birthday today. While some royals thrust themselves into the public eye (like Peter’s brother-in-law Mike Tindall on this year’s I’m A Celebrity), Peter prefers to stay largely out of the spotlight, although he does join the Royal Family for major events like Royal Ascot. Here, to mark his birthday, Tatler reveals the seven things you need to know…
Born on 15 November 1977 at St Mary’s Hospital, London, Peter was the first-born child of Princess Anne and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, to whom she was married from 1973-1992 (the breakdown of their marriage is depicted in The Crown Season 5). Despite being the eldest grandchild of the late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, he was not given a royal title at birth because Princess Anne and Captain Phillips wanted their children to live as normal a life as possible. His sister, Zara, now married to ex-England rugby star Mike, followed in May 1981. He also has two half sisters, Stephanie Hosier and Felicity Tonkin, from his father.
Peter attended Port Regis Prep School in Shaftesbury, Dorset, which has appeared in the Tatler Good Schools Guide. He later followed royal tradition by attending Gordonstoun in Moray, Scotland, which counts several Royal Family members including his grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh and his uncles King Charles III, Prince Andrew and the Earl of Wessex among its former pupils. His sister, Zara, also attended. After school, Peter spent time travelling in Sydney and worked for Jackie Stewart’s F1 racing team. Stewart is a close friend of Princess Anne and remained one of the Queen’s inner circle until her death.
Both Peter and Zara grew up spending time with their cousins, Prince William and Prince Harry. Childhood photographs show the trio whispering to each other on the Buckingham Palace balcony during Trooping the Colour, and sharing a private word while attending the Christmas Day church service at Sandringham. In a continuation of their close bond, Peter’s daughters, Savannah, 11, and Isla, 10, enjoy a good relationship with William’s three children, Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4.
After his gap year, Peter enrolled at Exeter University where he graduated with a degree in Sports Science and played for one of the university rugby teams. He secured a job in hospitality management at Jaguar, before moving to Williams racing team as a sponsorship account manager. He left the world of racing for a position at the Royal Bank of Scotland, which would later take him and then wife Autumn to Hong Kong. In January 2020, Phillips appeared in an advertisement for Chinese company Bright Food. The move sparked criticism because he used his position as a member of the Royal Family to promote a commercial interest.
After two public relationships, Peter met his future wife, Montreal-born Autumn Kelly, at the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix, while Peter was working for Williams F1. Their engagement was announced in July 2007, and they married in May 2008, at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. The former couple have two daughters, 11-year-old Savannah and 10-year-old Isla, and the family lived on Princess Anne’s Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire.
Peter and Autumn have been separated since 2019, before publicly announcing early last year their plans to divorce. The divorce was settled on 14 June 2021. They said in their joint statement in February 2020 that ‘this was the best course of action for their two children and ongoing friendship’, describing the arrangement as ‘an amicable one’, and stressing that ‘the couple’s first priority will remain the continued well being and upbringing of their wonderful daughters’. The split is said to have been a personal loss to the Queen, who enjoyed a close relationship with her grandson’s wife.
The father-of-two has found love with Lindsay Wallace, an old school friend from Gordonstoun, who he went public with at the Epsom Derby. Rumours of a romance between Peter and Lindsay first emerged when he made a visit to see her in March 2021 - raising questions around whether he had broken lockdown restrictions. Eight months later, he showed he was serious about his new relationship when he brought Ms Wallace as his date to his nephew Lucas Tindall’s christening. then took the highly significant step of introducing Ms Wallace, the daughter of an oil tycoon, to his grandmother the Queen, who is said to have been 'delighted'. Ms Wallace was introduced to Her Majesty at a shooting party at Windsor and the encounter was described as 'warm' by a source at the time. In a sign of the seriousness of the relationship, Peter brought Ms Wallace as his date to some of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Although he stays largely out of the public eye, Peter Phillips played an important role in the funerals of his grandmother the Queen, and his grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh. Peter walked alongside his cousins, Prince William and Prince Harry, behind Her Majesty’s coffin as it processed through the streets of London in September. Owing to his position in the procession, his daughters Isla and Savannah were accompanied into the Queen’s Westminster Abbey funeral by their aunt and uncle, Zara and Mike Tindall.
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