Harriet Phillips Becomes Patron of Home-Start Cotswolds
Harriet Phillips, wife of Peter Phillips, has been appointed patron of Home-Start Cotswolds, a charity that supports families with young children. She announced the role in an interview and photoshoot with HELLO! magazine, published on 2 November 2026.
A patron is a figurehead who lends their name and public profile to a charity, usually without running it day to day. Home-Start is a charity that sends trained volunteers into family homes to offer practical and emotional help to parents of young children.
Phillips worked as a specialist nurse for 24 years before leaving the National Health Service (NHS), the publicly funded health service in England. According to HELLO!, her work focused on infant mental health and on supporting young families across London and Gloucestershire. She had worked with Home-Start as a specialist nurse in Gloucestershire and referred families to the charity.
The charity then asked her to consider the patron role, HELLO! reports. She is also starting a new job focused on early childhood development, alongside her patronage.
Before her marriage she was known as Harriet Sperling. She trained at St Mary's University in London and worked as a paediatric nurse specialist, a nurse who cares for children. The engagement to Peter Phillips was announced in August 2025, according to the BBC. The couple married in June 2026 in an intimate ceremony in the Cotswolds, in Gloucestershire. Their wedding had been scheduled for Saturday 6 June at All Saints' Church, Gloucestershire, HELLO! said before the day.
Peter Phillips is the only son of Princess Anne and a nephew of the King. He is the King's nephew and the eldest grandchild of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The couple have also featured in rankings this year. Tatler's Social Power Index 2026 placed Peter and Harriet Phillips at the top, GB News reported in July. The Express later named them among the most socially significant people in Britain for 2026.
The new patronage gives Phillips a public role with a charity where she has already worked. Her work with Home-Start began on the front line, with families she referred to the service. Her new role adds a public face to that work.
