Harriet Sperling Gets Her First Balmoral Summer as a Royal Family Member

Harriet Sperling has arrived at Balmoral Castle for the royal family's annual summer gathering — her first time at the Scottish estate since marrying Peter Phillips in June.

The visit puts the newest member of the royal family inside one of the institution's most private traditions. Balmoral, a 50,000-acre estate in the Scottish Highlands, has served as the British royal family's summer retreat since 1852, when Prince Albert bought the property for Queen Victoria. Queen Elizabeth II was thought to consider it her favorite residence. She died there in September 2022.

King Charles has kept the custom alive, spending part of August and September at the castle each year. He had already been in Scotland for most of the month, starting at the Castle of Mey in Caithness before moving south to Balmoral, according to Town & Country.

Peter Phillips — the son of Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, and the King's nephew — married Sperling at All Saints Church in Kemble, Gloucestershire, in June. The couple made their newlywed debut at Royal Ascot later that month, arriving with Princess Anne. Phillips's two daughters from his previous marriage to Autumn Kelly, Savannah and Isla, were also at Balmoral. It was unclear whether Sperling's daughter Georgina joined them.

The family gathering brought out familiar faces from the wider royal circle. Peter's sister Zara Tindall and her husband Mike Tindall, along with their three children — Mia, Lena, and Lucas — were on the castle grounds to watch King Charles's formal arrival ceremony on a Tuesday. The King was welcomed by a Guard of Honour provided by the Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland. Charles serves as Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment.

Queen Camilla was spotted shopping in a village near Balmoral with her sister Annabel Elliot, her daughter Laura Lopes, and her granddaughter Eliza. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh were considered likely additions to the guest list, having spent much of August in Scotland attending events including the Edinburgh International Festival.

The Court Circular — the palace's daily record of official engagements — noted that The King received Mr. Bernard Flannery at Balmoral Castle on the morning of August 14, and that August 15 marked the birthday of the Princess Royal.

Sperling and Phillips were first seen together at the Wimbledon championships in 2025. People magazine reported at the time that her Balmoral visit was serving as an informal "Balmoral test" — a chance for the wider family to spend time with a new partner in the relaxed Highland setting. A year later, she is back as a married member of the family.

What makes this stand out is the ordinariness of it. The annual Balmoral gathering is less ceremony than family vacation — walking the grounds, shopping in nearby villages, children watching the arrival parade. For an institution often seen through the lens of state occasions, it is the quiet weeks in Scotland that reveal how the family actually works. Sperling's first summer there is simply the latest reminder that the royals, for all the pageantry, spend August much like anyone else: together, and largely out of view.