Queen heartbreak: What Queen told Autumn Phillips months before split from Peter
QUEEN ELIZABETH II urged Autumn Phillips not to make a "hasty decision" months before the Canadian-born royal and Peter Phillips announced their divorce, a royal expert claimed.
Queen to ‘reassess’ royal family after Phillips split says expert
The Queen intervened in her “favourite” grandson's marriage crisis at its early stages, having a private chat with his then-wife, it has been claimed. The monarch was told about Autumn and Peter’s decision to separate late this summer, when they paid her a visit at Balmoral, according to royal expert Richard Kay.
And the Queen didn’t refrain from expressing her opinion on the split, the commentator added.
Autumn and the Queen have been spotted more than once heading to church together while at Balmoral.
During one of these brief trips to church, the Queen urged Autumn and Peter “not to make a hasty decision”, according to Mr Kay.
The couple, who announced their intention to split yesterday with a joint statement, were later seen together in public in September, when they attended the Braemar Gathering Highland games.
By then, Mr Kay claimed, the couple had already informed their respective parents about their decision.
Both Autumn and Peter are believed to be very close to the Queen’s heart.
A source told Mr Kay: “She’s a great mother and everyone thinks she has fitted in really well.
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“She's a favourite of the Queen — but then so is Peter.
“He was her first grandchild, the first to marry and the first to make her a great-grandmother.”
The couple married in 2008 after five years of dating and have had two daughters, Savannah and Isla.
Speaking about the divorce’s arrangement, a spokesperson for the couple said: "They had reached the conclusion that this was the best course of action for their two children and ongoing friendship.
"The decision to divorce and share custody came about after many months of discussions and, although sad, is an amicable one.
"The couple's first priority will remain the continued well-being and upbringing of their wonderful daughters, Savannah and Isla.
"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 have remained in Gloucestershire to bring up their two children where they have been settled for a number of years."
As neither Peter nor Autumn are working royals, their split won’t have any impact on the structure of the Royal Family.
Royal expert and commentator Marlene Koenig tweeted about the reported royal split.
She wrote: "A reminder Peter Phillips may be the son of a Princess, but he's not royal, his marriage has nothing to do with monarchy, he carries out no royal duties, no £ from the Sovereign Grant.
"He is private citizen whose granny happens to be queen."
Peter is to become the first among the Queen’s grandchildren to divorce.
On the other hand, all of the monarch’s children have divorced in the past decades, with the exception of Prince Edward, who remains married to Sophie, Countess of Wessex.