While some royals rarely out of the public eye, others, like Princess Anne's son Peter Philips live a bit more under the radar. But in the aftermath of Queen Elizabeth's death, the entire royal family was in the spotlight, including the Queen's oldest grandchild, Peter Philips. Here, what to know about him.
Peter Phillips is Queen Elizabeth's oldest grandchild, and Princess Anne's only son.
The Queen's first grandchild was born to Princess Anne and her first husband Captain Mark Phillips on November 15, 1977 at St. Mary's Hospital. Since hereditary titles are passed down through the male line and Captain Phillips does not have a royal title, Peter did not inherit a royal title at birth. According to the BBC, Peter's parents "are said to have rejected an offer from the Queen of titles which would have enabled their children to be born into the peerage." They reportedly thought it would help their child to lead a more normal life.
His sister Zara Phillips Tindall was born just a few years later in May of 1981. He also has two half sisters, Stephanie Phillips and Felicity Tonkin.
He is currently 18th in line to the throne.
At the time of his birth, Peter Phillips was 5th in the order of succession, but as the Queen's younger sons, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew had children (and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie had children of their own), the rules of primogeniture called for those heirs and their descendants to bump Princess Anne's children down the line.
That won't happen to Princess Charlotte and her future children. Thanks to the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, Charlotte will keep her place in the line to the throne regardless of whether her parents have any additional male heirs; however the law was not applied retroactively.
In 2008, Peter married Canadian Autumn Kelly at Windsor Castle.
They have two children together, Savannah and Isla, but in February of 2020, they confirmed the news that they had separated.
"After informing HM The Queen and members of both families last year, Peter and Autumn jointly agreed to separate. They had reached the conclusion that this was the best course of action for their two children and ongoing friendship," reads the couple's statement in part.
"Both families were naturally sad at the announcement, but fully supportive of Peter and Autumn in the joint decision to co parent their children. Both Peter and Autumn will remain in Gloucestershire to bring up their two children where they have been settled for a number of years." Read the statement in full here.
He has since started dating one of Zara's school friends, Lindsay Wallace. The two made an appearance together at the Coronation Concert in May 2023.
Peter has been called the Queen's "favourite grandson."
In 2016, the Telegraph described him as such. Phillips spoke to the paper about his relationship with the Queen. "I’ve always been very close to my grandmother, and we speak often. She has been an inspirational person throughout my life," he said.
Over the course of his career, Peter Phillips has had multiple jobs.
Peter is not what's known as a "working royal." He's held positions at Jaguar, Williams F1 racing team, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and most recently SEL UK. Debrett's also has reported that he has "his own sports management company."
