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Peter Phillips, the eldest son of Princess Anne, and his ex-wife Autumn Kelly got married in 2008. Their royal wedding attracted the attention of thousands of fans, so it’s no wonder Autumn later admitted her nerves.
The former couple, who announced their split in 2020, got married on May 17, 2008, at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
Members of the public flocked to the streets in their thousands to celebrate the happy occasion, but emotions were high behind-the-scenes for the bride.
“I was frightened of walking down the aisle. But when I got to the top of the stairs and saw how many of our friends and family had turned out to support us, I stopped being scared and actually enjoyed it,” she said at the time.
Although their nuptials were not as high profile as other royal weddings, the guest list still featured the likes of the late Queen Elizabeth II, the late Prince Philip, King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
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The groom’s sister Zara Tindall also had a special role in the wedding as she acted as one of Autumn’s bridesmaids, alongside her friends Jacqueline Aubie and Susannah Toynbee, who all wore pale green strapless Vera Wang dresses.
Meanwhile, the bride looked beautiful in a gown created by British designer Sassi Holford, which consisted of a fitted bodice made of lace, a silk duchesse skirt and a beaded French lace shrug.
Although it appeared to be bridal white from the outside, the frock also acted as her “something blue”.
The blue thread was stitched into the dress, which was new, just like the pearl and diamond necklace that Peter had sent to her at Windsor Castle the night before the wedding.
Autumn also wore a sparkling Festoon Tiara, which she borrowed from her mother-in-law Princess Anne.
Peter and Autumn announced their split in February 2020 and they were officially divorced on June 14, 2021.
They continue to co-parent their two children, Savannah, 12, and Isla, 10.
Peter is now in a relationship with Lindsay Wallace, whom he met through Zara, and she has accompanied him on several royal engagements such as Royal Ascot in 2022.
Autumn, meanwhile, went on to date Donal Mulryan, the founder of the UK development and construction company Rockwell.
Judi James, a professional body language expert, spoke to Express.co.uk to explain how the couple interact since their divorce.
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She claimed: “Of course, it is common for high-profile couples to claim their divorce is ‘amicable’ and that they remain ‘good friends’ and clearly when there are children involved, as they are with Peter and his ex-wife Autumn’s split, there are compelling emotional reasons to retain a sense of mutual respect and a lack of bitterness.
“But Princess Anne’s son and his ex-wife do seem to have nailed the body language rituals of friendship and even ongoing affection following their split.
“There is clearly something of a PR message or even stunt about these poses as they do seem to be performed directly and consciously to the camera but, having said that, they are well-defined enough to make anyone wonder why they even split up in the first place.
“‘Denial’ poses often include fake smiles and no subtler signals of genuine intimacy. Peter and Autumn’s smiles do look a little over-performed here considering they had only recently split, but their eye expressions and their spatial behaviours are making them look relaxed and even happy in one another’s company.
“Peter in particular seems to use some close-up and very fond-looking eye-gazing that signals flattering attention when Autumn speaks. He seems very keen to tune into her and to track her thoughts and emotions and her behaviour suggests she is comfortable with that level of attention.
“The way she dangles her glass over the balcony makes her look genuinely relaxed here and all the mutual grinning and the exclusive eye attention makes it almost look as though they are flirting with each other.
“If there were any residual bitterness or in-fighting you would expect to see less eye contact and a subtle hardening rather than a softening of the eye expression when they look at one another, as this couple have here. Peter in particular still looks pretty besotted with his ex-wife. These look like mutual signals, suggesting this could be that rare thing, an amicable split, with the co-parenting taking place without a struggle, too. Peter did have a strong role model, though. His own parents also seem to have managed an amicable divorce, often looking totally delighted and the best of friends when they are now seen to meet up in public.”
