Princess Anne is set to witness her son, Peter Phillips, marry his fiancée, Harriet Sperling, at All Saints Church in Kemble, Cirencester, on 6 June. But before then, the sister of King Charles has to make a decision.
Whether Peter’s fiancée, NHS nurse Harriet Sperling, will be given permission and access to a tiara for her big day is yet to be determined. Though Harriet is marrying into the royal family, Peter does not have royal titles himself after his mother declined them upon his birth in 1977. Harriet will, therefore, not gain a royal title when she marries Peter, despite being the daughter-in-law of a princess.
© UK Press via Getty ImagesPeter Phillips and Harriet Sperling are set to tie the knot on 6 June
Peter Phillips’ ex wore a bridal tiara
Harriet does not carry an aristocratic title from her maidenhood either. The same was true of Peter’s first wife, Autumn Kelly, whom he divorced in 2021.
© GettyAutumn Kelly wore the antique Festoon Tiara when she married Peter Phillips in 2008
However, upon their marriage in 2008, Autumn did in fact wear the antique Festoon Tiara, a piece she borrowed from Princess Anne.
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Did Princess Anne wear a bridal tiara?
The piece has been in Anne’s collection since 1973, when she received it as a gift from the World-Wide Shipping Group after she christened one of their ships. Meanwhile, for her first wedding in 1973, when she married Captain Mark Phillips, Anne wore Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara, which was a Russian-style kokoshnik tiara crafted from 47 diamond bars.
© PA ImagesPrincess Anne borrowed Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara from the Queen Mother
It was Anne’s something borrowed as the piece was on loan from her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. In 1992, when she married her second husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, the Princess chose not to wear a tiara, opting to add flowers to her hair instead.
Harriet’s sister-in-law’s bridal diadem
The fact that Peter’s sister, Zara, also wore a tiara when marrying retired rugby star Mike Tindall in 2011 also suggests that we may see Harriet sporting a diamond diadem. Zara, who also is without a royal title, wore Princess Andrew’s Meander Tiara.
© Getty ImagesZara’s tiara was also a borrowed piece
This distinctive headpiece features a Greek key design punctuated by a central laurel wreath element and two honeysuckle elements. Worth an incredible £280,000, the tiara is truly a piece of royal history, with the earliest photos of Princess Alice wearing the tiara dating back to 1914.
© Chris Jackson/Getty ImagesKate wore a royal tiara on her wedding day despite not having a traditional aristocratic or titled background
Meanwhile, other royals in Zara’s generation to wear royal tiara on their wedding day include her cousins, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, as well as the Princess of Wales, the wife of Zara and Peter’s cousin, Prince William.
Beatrice chose the Queen Mary Diamond Fringe tiara, while Eugenie donned the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara, and the Princess of Wales’ head was adorned with the Cartier Halo – all pieces from the royal vault.