Amid mounting speculation over the guest list for Peter Phillips’s wedding to his NHS nurse fiancée, Harriet Sperling, on Saturday, there is one family member who will no doubt be invited to play a very supportive role.
Whilst Prince Harry is not expected at his cousin’s big day as they have ‘lost touch’, fans can likely count on the groom’s lesser-known half-sister, Stephanie Phillips, to attend the ceremony at All Saints’ Church in Kemble, Gloucestershire.
Stephanie is the daughter of Princess Anne’s first husband, Captain Mark Phillips and his Hawaiian-born second wife, Sandy Pflueger. The American equestrian was married to Mark from 1997 until 2012, when the pair parted ways.
Married to William Hosier, an agricultural graduate, it is believed Stephanie, 28, enjoys a close relationship with both Peter and the Princess Royal’s daughter Zara Tindall.
She largely keeps a low profile, having not made any public appearances with her siblings since her 2022 wedding in Tetbury, where Princess Anne was typically graceful as she watched her ex-husband Mark walk his daughter down the aisle.
Zara’s daughters, Mia and Lena, joined their cousins, Peter’s daughters with his ex-wife Autumn Kelly, Savannah and Isla, as flower girls at the nuptials. Meanwhile, Stephanie was also a flower girl at Zara’s 2011 wedding to Mike Tindall.
The Worcester-based eventing pro seems to share an especially warm relationship with Peter, with Stephanie describing him as ‘the best big brother out there’ in a post on Instagram, where she also previously shared photos of herself on exotic trips to glamorous destinations.
Like her parents and older sibling Zara, Stephanie is a keen equestrian – having posted pictures of her beloved horses online, while she also grew up a stone’s throw away from them on Aston Farm, on the Gatcombe Park estate.
Zara Tindall (left) and Peter Phillips with their half-sister Stephanie during a New Year’s Eve celebration
Stephanie described Peter as the ‘best big brother out there’ in a post on Instagram
However, her career as an eventing pro has not quite matched up to that of Olympic silver medallist Zara.
Stephanie attended the prestigious Dean Close School in Cheltenham, where fees cost up to £13,900 per term.
After achieving CCD at A-Level, she went on to study Business Management at the University of Worcester and graduated in 2021.
Despite her royal connections, Stephanie remained out of the spotlight during her time at school and even worked as a barmaid at a local pub.
She completed both the bronze and gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards on the scheme, which was founded by her half-sister’s grandfather.
She has since followed in the footsteps of her Olympian sister to become a sportswoman.
An accomplished rider, she’s competed at Barbury International, Wellington International Horse Trials and the West Wiltshire trials. She’s sponsored by saddle maker Voltaire Design and is often seen in trendy equestrian designs.
While Stephanie has not posted anything on her official Instagram account since September 2022, she has previously shared an adorable snap of her niece, Isla, at Peppa Pig World when she was a toddler.
In one image of the youngster wearing Easter bunny ears, Stephanie wrote: ‘Cutest Easter bunny ever.’
Peter’s ex-wife and Isla’s mother, Autumn, responded: ‘She loves her aunty Steph!’
Before Covid-19 forced the world into lockdown, she was also regularly seen with her siblings at eventing competitions, including one sweet snap where she gave her brother-in-law Mike a piggyback.
Should royal family ties or personal relationships matter most when deciding who is invited to weddings?
Stephanie, then 23 – pictured on holiday in her mother’s native Hawaii – is the daughter of Captain Mark Phillips and his second wife Sandy Pflueger
While keeping a relatively low profile, the equestrian has been pictured at some royal events, serving as a flower girl at both Zara’s 2011 wedding to Mike Tindall and Peter’s 2008 wedding to Autumn Kelly. Pictured in green on the right
In another, she’s seen hugging Zara, the picture of sisterly love despite their 17-year age gap.
The bond Peter and Zara share with Stephanie will likely also shape the relationship between Savannah, Isla and their future step-sister, Harriet’s 13-year-old daughter Georgina, after the wedding.
Georgina made her public debut when she joined the Royal Family’s traditional Easter service at St George’s Chapel on April 5, when Peter’s daughters from his first marriage walked alongside Georgina in a touching display of sisterly solidarity.
Isla and Savannah appeared determined to follow in their father’s footsteps when it comes to fostering a friendship with Georgina, with both Peter and Zara believed to be close to Stephanie.
Stephanie is also close to her father, Captain Mark Phillips, writing in one Facebook post that she ‘loves him loads’.
It comes after a source told the Daily Mail that Prince Harry will not fly to the UK for Peter’s wedding next month after the pair ‘lost touch’.
A friend close to The Princess Royal’s son said: ‘Peter and Harry haven’t spoken for several years and have simply lost touch, so he hasn’t been invited.’
‘Peter and Harriet’s wedding is an intimate occasion with their close friends and immediate family around them in the Cotswolds. It’s an area where they grew up and is very special to them both,’ a pal said.
Before the Covid-19 lockdown, she was also regularly seen with her siblings at eventing competitions, including in one sweet snap where she gave her brother-in-law Mike Tindall a piggyback (right). In another she’s seen hugging Zara, the picture of sisterly love despite the 17-year age gap
All love! Stephanie is pictured in 2011 with Zara at the Burghley Horse Trials in Lincolnshire
Stephanie married her long-term boyfriend William Hosier in 2022
Adding to the sad situation, the groom-to-be once discussed how growing up alongside his cousins during family holidays to Sandringham, Balmoral and Windsor, ‘was a lot of fun’.
‘There was a lot of space for kids to run around in, and it wasn’t just us – it was the Waleses, Freddie and Ella Windsor, and the Gloucesters,’ Peter said during an appearance on Good Morning Britain in 2016.
‘So there was quite a gang of us growing up in that age, and it was a lot of fun. We caused quite a bit of mayhem and chaos, but fortunately, I don’t think we broke too much!’
But the cousins are unlikely to showcase that familiar bond at Peter’s wedding – with further drama surrounding the possible attendance of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
The daughters of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson are expected to join senior royals at the wedding in what will mark their first major public appearance in months.
Beatrice and Eugenie – who is expecting her third child – have kept a notably lower profile following renewed scrutiny surrounding their parents’ links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein earlier this year.
A source revealed: ‘The Royal Family needs good news and nothing unites like a big church wedding. Beatrice is going, and Eugenie is in the second trimester of her pregnancy but hopes to attend.
‘The King always wanted both to remain part of the family. He made it clear they are welcome at family events.’
