NEED TO KNOW
- Prince William and Queen Camilla reportedly clashed over a wedding tiara for Harriet Sperling.
- William is said to have wanted Harriet given access to the royal jewellery collection.
- Harriet instead wore a headpiece loaned by jeweller Pragnell.
- The reported disagreement cast a shadow over Peter Phillips’ wedding day.
It wasn’t just the rain that dampened Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling’s wedding day. New Idea hears that there was a distinct chill in the air also, because the Prince of Wales and Queen Camilla had disagreed about the bride accessing a royal tiara prior to the big day, on June 6.
“Prince William was furious with Camilla for effectively blocking Harriet from accessing the royal jewellery collection,” a source tells New Idea.
“He wanted her to have that option, but Camilla objected.”
William, who turns 44 on Sunday, is very close to his cousin Peter, 48.
“He considers him a close ally and wanted to welcome Harriet to the family,” our source adds.
But because Peter, who is Princess Anne’s son, has no royal title and because it was a second marriage for both Peter and Harriet, our source adds that Camilla didn’t think it appropriate to grant the mum of one access to the royal tiara collection.
The Royal Insider Network also reported that Camilla blocked Harriet from the royal collection because she’s “not part of the royal bloodline”.
However, our source adds that none of the supposed reasons flew with William.
“In his view, it’s not Camilla’s job to police royal heirlooms,” our source adds.
Peter’s first wife Autumn Kelly wore Princess Anne’s Festoon Tiara at their 2008 wedding. His sister Zara Tindall also wore her mother’s Meander Tiara at her 2011 wedding to Mike Tindall.
But after allegedly being blocked by Camilla from using a royal tiara, Harriet, 45, instead diplomatically opted to wear a Pragnell headpiece, loaned to her from the same jeweller who created her engagement ring.
The NHS nurse, whose daughter Georgina, 13, was a bridesmaid alongside Peter’s daughters Savannah, 15, and Isla, 14, was widely praised for her elegant bridal look. Her gown was by Emilia Wickstead, one of the Princess of Wales’ favourite designers.
“The bride was happy on the day, and that’s the most important thing,” our source says.
“It was a lovely wedding, and everyone did their best to keep the focus on Peter and Harriet,” they add.
“But there was undeniably some tension between William and Camilla. They barely interacted at the ceremony.”
Camilla, 78, and King Charles, 77, didn’t stay on for the wedding reception after the ceremony at All Saints’ Church in Gloucestershire. Instead, they were rushed straight to a helicopter so they could attend another engagement, at the Epsom Derby races 160 kilometres away, shortly after the vows.
“That was probably for the best,” our source says.
“Camilla wasn’t happy that William tried to override her decision about the tiara, but in his view, he was well within his rights to challenge her on that call.”
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