Peter Phillips is one of those members of the British royal family who, surprisingly, the general public - especially outside the United Kingdom - does not know very much. Far from the dramas of Enrique and Guillermo's brothers or the pedophilia scandals that haunt Prince Andrew, Peter, 44, belongs to a generation that has been able to make a decision: be very famous or go completely unnoticed. In your case, you have chosen this second option. As a grandson of Queen Elizabeth (in fact, he is the eldest of the eight children of her children) he could have had the title of prince, like his sister Zara of princess. But neither his mother, Princess Anne, nor they themselves as adults claimed it.
One more symptom of this strange real normality has now arrived, when he has released a statement, as discreet as himself, where he gives details of his divorce with Autumn Kelly, who was his wife for almost 13 years and of which he announced that he was separated in February 2020. What in the case of almost any of his other cousins (Guillermo, Enrique, the princesses Eugenia and Beatriz) would have been cannon fodder for both serious media and tabloids, in this case has gone almost unnoticed. And that his details were striking precisely because of that, because of that low and conciliatory profile.
The Phillips, who have been trying for a year and a half to settle their divorce in court and with a pandemic in the way, with the times and burdens that any other British citizen faces, released a statement Monday afternoon to give account of your situation. "Messrs. Peter and Autumn Phillips are happy to report that the financial aspects of their divorce have been resolved through an agreement, the terms of which have been approved by the High Court today," they stated. An unusual way of expressing themselves among royals and that continued, also in an unusual way, to express their feelings: “Although this is a sad day for Peter and Autumn, they continue to put the well-being and upbringing of their wonderful daughters Savannah first. and Isla, this being the first and foremost ”.
“Both Peter and Autumn are happy to have resolved these issues amicably and with the girls at the forefront of their thoughts and decisions.
Both have asked for privacy and consideration for their daughters while the family adjusts to this new chapter of their lives ”, finished his words, collected by
Hello
, the already ex-married couple.
Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly, on May 17, 2008 at their wedding.POOL New / REUTERS
The couple met in 2003 and married in Windsor in 2008. Now, although their relationship has broken down (in fact, they had been separated for months when the divorce was announced), their tone is still cordial. But so are his gestures. The couple have continued to live together throughout this time for the sake of their daughters. It is also true that they do not do it in a small apartment, but in Princess Anne's large estate in Gloucestershire, called Gatcombe Park, two and a half hours west of London.
The place has more than three square kilometers and various buildings. In fact, Zara, Peter's sister, also lives there with her husband and their three children, Mia, Lena and Lucas. When she is not in London, Princess Anne also resides there, surrounded by countryside and her beloved horses, with her second husband, Admiral Timothy Laurence. Gatcombe was a gift from Elizabeth II to Anne, who bought the estate in 1976 for approximately half a million pounds. The princess went to live there in 1977 with her then husband, Captain Phillips, and in fact when they divorced he also continued to live there for a time with his second wife.
In this divorce the pandemic has caught its protagonists in the middle, and that is why Autumn has not traveled for a long time to her native Canada either. However, sources familiar with Kelly tell the British media that it is not his intention to return to his country after having made a life and a family in the United Kingdom. So she and her ex-husband therefore decided to live in Gatcombe for the sake of their daughters, ages 9 and 10. But it was not just out of obligation. Although Autumn has been seen hanging out with friends and spending weekends with them, her intention is still to share space with her ex-husband for the sake of the little girls. In fact, shortly after the announcement of their separation they were seen together at some public event, such as horse races accompanying Princess Anne.Autumn no longer attends the great family events (she was not at the funeral of Felipe de Edimburgo, where precisely Peter walked between Guillermo and Enrique). But it is still in the day to day of the little ones, the most important.