If there was one accessory guests needed at Saturday's royal wedding, it was a sturdy umbrella. As the royal family descended on the Cotswolds to watch Peter Phillips wed NHS nurse Harriet Sperling, so did sheets of torrential rain and wind.
However, spirits weren't dampened by the quintessentially British weather and under the cover of white umbrellas, King Charles, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Zara and Mike Tindall, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh mingled with Harriet's friends and family inside Kemble's All Saints' Church.
The senior royals gathered to celebrate both Peter and Harriet's second time walking down the aisle, after the King's nephew divorced his first wife, Autumn Phillips, in 2021. Playing bridesmaids for the big day, his daughters, Savannah and Isla, joined forces with their new stepsister, Georgina, to protect Harriet's lace train from the rain.
© Lucy NorrisHELLO! was reporting on the ground at the exciting event, which also saw Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's children, Princess Eugenie and Beatrice, make an appearance with their husbands. Here's what really happened…
Friday - arriving in Kemble and a star-studded rehearsal
Our train pulled into the quaint village of Kemble just before 10 am, the morning before the big event. Departing the station, we quickly realised we were underprepared for countryside living and scrambled for a bar of service to call an Uber to our hotel in the nearby South Cerney - the town locals later told us Harriet grew up in.
Dropping off our bags in the gorgeously homey rooms of the Eliot Arms, we headed back to Kemble and located All Saints' Church, the venue for the royal nuptials planned to take place the following day. Joining the horde of press photographers who had been camped outside the tiny village church's walls since earlier that morning, we learned the florists had been busy at work decorating the inside of the building since around eight o'clock.
© Isabel DruganTo the naked eye, it appeared to be village life as usual for most of that day; however, on closer inspection, a hive of activity was taking place around Limes Roads and its surrounding junctions as plainclothes security detail did their rounds and other members of the press hovered, waiting for any giveaways they could report on ahead of the wedding.
Wandering down to the village's lone pub, The Tavern Inn, we learned from a lovely bar tender that rumours had been swirling amongst locals which suggested fellow Cotswold homeowners, David and Victoria Beckham, would make an appearance - alas, they never showed, but it was a fun piece of local gossip to be a part of. She also mentioned the impact the wedding was having on the area, telling us food trucks had to relocate due to road closures and sharing the pub's own worries about the potential of a busy rush for food and drink as outsiders descended on the area with hopes of glimpsing the King and his children.
© Getty ImagesWe learned from a lovely bar tender that rumours had been swirling amongst locals which suggested fellow Cotswold homeowners, David and Victoria Beckham, would make an appearance.
After returning to our post at the church wall and wolfing down chicken sandwiches, we got chatting to a husband and wife who were tasked with pulling the bells as the newlyweds exited the church. The man had been living in Kemble for 80 years and had been bell pulling for 50 of those. Expressing their excitement, they explained how the whole wedding preparations had been a community effort, as Harriet used to live in the village and frequented the church during that time, as she is very "Christian-minded". The man said she lived in the cottage that his uncle lived in before, and her godmother lived on the road that the church is on - Church Road.
They revealed the venue had a 150-person capacity for the wedding, as an altar in the church from the Ewen chapel was moved to make space. Cars arriving with guests in the morning would travel along the farm track at the bottom of the village and park next to the equestrian centre, according to the friendly locals.
Moving on to the vicar, who was set to play a big role in the ceremony, the couple revealed that locals call him DJ Steve, as his hidden musical talent had been debuted at their village fete. "He was very good," they remarked about his DJing abilities. During our chat, they told us he is a newly appointed vicar and that he was a curate at Tetbury before coming to Kemble. "His wife is very bubbly," they added before stating he is the youngest one they have ever had at the parish.
© Isabel Drugan
© Lucy NorrisA few more hours went by before a rush of commotion resulted in the arrival of the bride and groom for their rehearsal at the church before their big day. At around six pm, Harriet, Peter and their three girls, who would be bridesmaids, landed and were spotted practising their entrances and exits from the building via a side entrance. They were joined by Peter's sister Zara Tindall, who dressed down for the rehearsal in jeans and a grey bomber jacket.
Saturday - the big day
After all the anticipation of Friday, it was exciting to wake up in the Cotswolds for the big day. While the weather didn’t seem to have got the celebratory memo, it hadn’t lessened the enthusiasm of the small crowd who gathered for a glimpse of the bride and the royal family.
I spoke to one lady in the crowd who had travelled down that morning with her husband all the way from Nottinghamshire. Even though she was a big royal fan, she hadn’t seen the royal family in person before, and was duly excited.
We had a front-row seat for the arrivals and departures of the guests in a media pen opposite the entrance to the church, which had gained a beautiful archway of greenery since we had been there the previous day.
© Isabel DruganGuests for the wedding began to arrive in a flurry of bright colours and summery outfits, slightly offset by the umbrellas necessary to battle the elements.
Of course, the excitement really ramped up as the royal family began to arrive, with the crowd cheering as each car arrived. Despite the relative privacy of the occasion, the royals still acknowledged the gathered admirers, waving to the crowds before going inside.
© Getty ImagesI loved seeing Prince William at the wheel as he and the Princess of Wales pulled up outside the church. For me, it cemented their reputation as a more relatable branch of the royal family, and it was sweet to see Prince William gently place his hand on Kate’s back as the pair headed towards the church.
But, of course, one of the most special moments was the arrival of the bride. The anticipation was palpable as the car pulled up and we couldn’t wait to see how Harriet Sperling looked as she stepped into a new chapter of her life.
One member of security told me later that, as he’d caught sight of Harriet in the back of the car, she’d seemed “nervous”. It struck me how privileged we were to be privy to this special day - a reminder of the human side to the grandiose royal institution.
Harriet, of course, looked stunning in her Emilia Wickstead gown, accompanied by her angelic-looking bridesmaids. There were three cheers for the bride as she entered the church, and more for the happy couple when they emerged from the church just over an hour later, complete with that newlywed glow despite the pouring rain.
© Lucy NorrisWe enjoyed a short exploration of All Saints Church after the ceremony alongside royal fans who had waited outside the venue. There were many exclamations of delight as we took in the gorgeous array of foliage and flowers that decorated the venue. It was, as I heard one local lady say, "like a garden in a church".
The dark wood of the beams and pews highlighted the verdure of the decoration, with the whole venue maintaining the core feeling of a quaint countryside wedding. Every detail had been thought out too. Small bottles of water and packets of tissues had been set out for guests amid the emotions of the day.
It was clear that a lot of thought and care had gone into the big day for a couple who have long been at the heart of this community. For all the grandeur of royalty and monarchy, at its heart, this truly felt like a special day among family and friends.
