Autumn Patricia Phillips (born Autumn Patricia Kelly on 3 May 1978) is the wife of Peter Phillips, who is the only son of The Princess Anne, Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips, and the oldest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

After graduating from McGill University in 2002, Kelly met Peter Phillips in her birthplace and hometown of Montreal, Quebec; their engagement was announced in July 2007, and they married in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, on 17 May 2008. She currently lives with her husband in Hong Kong.

Early life

Kelly was born, along with her twin brother Chris, in Montreal, Quebec, to Brian Kelly, an electricity company executive, and his wife Kitty, who both already had a son, Kevin. She was baptised on 18 June 1978, at St. John Fisher Parish Church, and raised in Cedar Park, Pointe-Claire, in the English speaking West Island region of Montreal. Though her parents divorced when Kelly was eight years old, after which her mother married commercial pilot Ron Magas, Kelly's family continued to live in the Pointe-Claire area, where she attended a Roman Catholic primary school, and then the St. Thomas High School, alongside friend and actress, Casey McKinnon, and where Kelly excelled at sports. Kelly then attended McGill University, during which time she worked as a bartender, model, and actress, appearing in the 1996 film Rainbow, taking the non-speaking, though credited, role of Tigrette Number 3, and later in the television series Sirens. Kelly graduated from McGill in 2002, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in East Asian studies, whereupon she started a career as a management consultant.

Relationship with Peter Phillips

Kelly attended the Canadian Grand Prix in 2003, where she met Peter Phillips who was, at the time, working for WilliamsF1 though she did not know until six weeks later, when she saw him on television, that he was part of the extended royal family. She then moved to the United Kingdom, living with Phillips in a Kensington, London, apartment and a cottage on the Gatcombe Park estate, and, though before meeting Phillips she had accepted a job with an American computer firm in England, Kelly later worked as a personal assistant to broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson, while also attending royal events, such as the dinner party at the Ritz Hotel for the Queen's 80th birthday.

Kelly's engagement to Peter Phillips was announced by Buckingham Palace on 28 July 2007, and the Queen subsequently gave her consent to the union in a meeting of her British Privy Council on 9 April of the following year. Prior to the marriage, Kelly converted from Roman Catholicism to Anglicanism; had she remained Catholic after her marriage, her husband would have lost his place in the line of succession to the throne, per the provisions of the Act of Settlement 1701. This scenario drew attention to the Act of Settlement's bar on Catholics ascending to the throne, and prompted calls in both Canada and the United Kingdom for the respective prime ministers to address the issue. Some reported unease was also caused in royal circles when Kelly and Phillips were interviewed and photographed by Hello magazine, for an apparent fee of £500,000.

The couple married on 17 May 2008, at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, the service conducted by David Conner, Dean of Windsor, and Kelly's dress designed by Sassi Holford. Her six bridesmaids included Zara Phillips. Since August of that year, the now Autumn Phillips has lived with her husband in Hong Kong, where he gained a job with the Royal Bank of Scotland, heading their sports sponsorship activities in the region.

References

External links