With the wedding of Princess Anne’s son, Peter Phillips, and NHS nurse and freelance writer Harriet Sperling upon us, many eyes are on Phillips’s first wife Autumn Kelly.
The couple confirmed their separation in 2020 and finalized their divorce the following year. However, Kelly certainly hasn’t disappeared from the royal scene, and appears to have remained close to her former in-laws in the years since her marriage to Phillips ended.
Here’s what you need to know about Autumn.
Autumn Kelly was born in Montreal, Quebec, on May 3, 1978 to Kathleen “Kitty” and Brian Kelly
Her parents divorced when she was young, and she has two siblings, her twin brother Chris and an older brother named Kevin, as well as two half-siblings from her father’s second marriage, Jessica and Patrick.
At first, she didn’t know Peter was a member of the royal family.
Autumn and Peter met at the 2003 Montreal Grand Prix, a Formula One motor race, where they were both working. But she didn’t realize he was the Queen’s grandson until she saw a picture of him on TV. “Mum said ‘Oh Autumn! What have you gotten yourself into?'” she told Hello! magazine.
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Autumn with Zara and Princess Anne.
He proposed a few years later, after getting permission from Autumn’s father.
“I certainly didn’t see the question coming,” Autumn revealed to the Telegraph. “I looked horrible in my wellies with wet hair. I said yes straight away though.”
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While Autumn was raised Catholic, she converted to and was accepted into the Church of England before the wedding, so Peter would not have to give up his place in the line to the throne.
“They were very welcoming when I first came in,” Autumn told the CBC, “They’re just a family, they’re happy, they have great relationships with each other — they’re very close,.” She added that Queen Elizabeth knew “more about Canada than I ever will.”
In February 2020, Autumn and Peter confirmed their separation.
“Both families were naturally sad at the announcement, but fully supportive of Peter and Autumn in the joint decision to co parent their children,” read a statement from the couple at the time. “Both Peter and Autumn will remain in Gloucestershire to bring up their two children where they have been settled for a number of years.”
“After informing HM The Queen and members of both families last year, Peter and Autumn jointly agreed to separate,” reads their statement in part. “They had reached the conclusion that this was the best course of action for their two children and ongoing friendship.”
Read their full remarks here.
She and Peter have two children.
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Savannah was born in December of 2010 and Isla arrived on March 29, 2012.
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Autumn, Isla, Peter, and Savannah attending church services at Sandringham in 2017.
Caroline Hallemann is the Digital Director at Town & Country, where she covers culture, society, and entertainment, as well as the British royal family, among a variety of other topics. Caroline is also the author of the forthcoming book, The Kennedys and the Windsors, out in 2026. Prior to leading the digital team at T&C, she served as the brand’s Senior News Editor and Digital News Director, and has previously held positions at Travel + Leisure, DailyCandy, and Parenting Magazine. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and their son, Tommy. You can find her on Instagram at the handle @challemann and on TikTok at @carolinehallemann.