If your name is Queen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor today, I can bet that you're getting just a wee bit tired of the near-constant disastrous announcements your family members are making these days. By now, we all know that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have flounced. We know that Prince Andrew has messed up so royally that it almost derailed his daughter's wedding. And now! Just when it might be safe! We have yet another royal scandal: Peter Phillips, son of Princess Anne and grandson of Queen Elizabeth, is getting divorced.
While the divorce rate for general commoners each year in the UK is 7.5 per every 1,000 married people, for the royal family is basically Charles and Diana, Andrew and Fergie, and could we please never do this ever again. That's not quite true, and Princess Anne herself is divorced — divorce is just something that the royal family really tries hard to not do.
But, here we are anyway: Peter and his wife, Autumn, are splitting. What happened?
In a joint statement, Peter and Autumn announced their decision to separate in a royally appropriate way. A spokesperson for the couple told People, "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."
Peter and Autumn have two children together, daughters Savannah and Isla. Peter is also the Queen's first grandson, and she's extremely close to him. The news of their divorce follows a separation that the two entered into last year, and the Queen and other members of the royal family have known about the separation and possible split the entire time.
Peter is the first of the grandchildren to get a divorce, which definitely has to be upsetting for the Queen. Fortunately, Autumn, who is Canadian, is planning to remain in England so the pair can co-parent their children.
Peter and Autumn met in 2003 at the Montreal Grand Prix. Autumn didn't even realize Peter was a member of the royal family for six full weeks. She once shared that her mother simply commented, "Oh Autumn! What have you gotten yourself into?" upon finding out.
Peter proposed a few years after they met, and Autumn said it was a total surprise. "I certainly didn’t see the question coming. I looked horrible in my wellies with wet hair. I said yes straight away though."
The two got married on May 17, 2008, in St George’s Chapel, Windsor, where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got married, and where Princess Beatrice will get married later this year. In the same year, Autumn told Hello! that "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."
Nearly the entire royal family turned out for the event. The only person missing was Prince William, who was in Kenya at the time. Though he and Kate were not married yet, she attended the wedding alongside his family members, including Queen Elizabeth, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie.
While the split is reportedly amicable, friends of the couple have been saying otherwise. One source told The Sun that "Peter is absolutely devastated by this and just didn’t see it coming. He thought he was happily married and had the perfect family with two lovely daughters. But he is now in total shock. Autumn is a wonderful wife and mother and a very intelligent woman but she’s been telling her friends for some time that there were issues."
The same source continued, "She is a favourite of the Queen and I’m sure Her Majesty will be very upset by this as well. It’s the last thing she needs after all her recent troubles and you get the feeling that the royal family is falling apart a little bit."
Friends of the family are also worried that even if she says she won't, Autumn might be inspired by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and decide to return to her native Canada after all. "What worries some of us is that Autumn may want to go back to Canada. Maybe she has been influenced by Harry and Meghan’s departure. Perhaps she thought if that can happen then I can leave as well? That might be unfair on her but you have to consider it."
One thing everyone seems to agree on is that third parties are not involved in the split. "Certainly none of us think either Peter or Autumn are involved with anyone else. It just seems they have grown apart but it’s come as a bolt out of the blue for Peter and he’s very upset."
