When U.K. tabloid the Sun broke the news that the Queen’s grandson Peter Phillips was divorcing his wife of 11 years, Autumn, a source told the paper that Peter was “absolutely devastated by this, and just didn’t see this coming.” Sources close to the couple tell Vanity Fair, however, that the split was in fact long in the works.
“This is something of a conscious uncoupling,” a family friend told Vanity Fair Tuesday. “There is no acrimony, very sadly they have grown apart. The idea that Peter was blindsided isn’t correct. They have been having discussions about their marriage for some time and the family have been aware that things haven’t been going well since last autumn.”
Peter, the only son of Princess Anne and cousin of Prince William and Prince Harry, married Quebec native Autumn Kelly in 2008. Their daughters Savannah and Isla have been frequently photographed playing with Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and though Peter made history as the first grandchild of a monarch in 500 years to go without a formal royal title when he was born in 1977, his family has remained closely connected with the royals.
Those close family connections will continue, says the family friend. Autumn is close to Peter’s sister, Zara Tindall, and will continue to work with Zara’s husband Mike on his celebrity golfing events. “She sees Mike and Zara every day and that won’t change. They’re all very close,” the source said. “The family are sad but supportive of the situation. As for Peter and Autumn, they are taking it step by step.”
The couple has broken the news to their children, but for now continue to share a home as they work out the details of their separation. “At the moment they are still sharing the marital home in Gloucestershire and there are no plans for a quickie divorce, there’s no rush and there is no suggestion of Autumn going to Canada,” the family friend said. “Their home is here and the children are in schools here.”
With Meghan and Harry now in Canada and no longer senior royals, and the controversy around Prince Andrew continuing, the Phillips divorce is yet another blow to the Queen, who is said by the Sun to be “upset” by the news. If Peter and Autumn follow in the footsteps of the original conscious uncouplers, however, they might be a model for amicable divorce in the royal family—a process that’s famously gone much worse in years past.
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