End of the fairytale for former Budweiser girl who fell for her Prince Charming BEFORE realising he was a royal – after year that saw him slammed for advertising MILK on Chinese TV
- Peter and Autumn met at 2003 Montreal Grand Prix where they were working
- The couple dated but Autumn says she didn't realise who he was for six weeks
- Autumn renounced Catholic faith so Peter didn't have to give up claim to throne
- They are now set to split, with friends saying Peter has been left devastated
Peter Phillips was left devastated after his wife of 12 years Autumn said she wanted a divorce, according to friends.
The couple married in 2008, with Autumn, now 41, renouncing her Catholic faith shortly before their wedding so her husband-to-be did not have to give up his claim to the throne.
They met during the 2003 Montreal Grand Prix, where they were both working, with Autumn working as a Budweiser girl.
She said she did not realise Peter, now 42, was the Queen's grandson until six weeks into their relationship.
Last night, friends claimed that Peter was caught unawares by Autumn's request to separate, adding he was in 'total shock'.
The split comes a month after Peter attracted criticism for starring in a Chinese advert for a milk company.
Peter and Autumn Phillips on their wedding day at St George's Chapel in Windsor on May 17, 2008. They have now separated. The couple sold pictures of their 2008 wedding to Hello! Magazine for £500,000, causing outrage withing the royal family
The couple met during the 2003 Montreal Grand Prix, where they were both working, with Autumn working as a Budweiser girl. Pictured at Ascot while they were dating
Autumn Phillips and daughters Isla Phillips (left) and Savannah Phillips (right) eat ice creams as they watch the show jumping during the Gatcombe Horse Trails at Gatcombe Park, Minchinhampton on March 25, 2016
In the television advert for Bright Dairies, shown only on Dragon TV in China and , Peter is seen being brought a glass of milk by a butler.
'This is what I drink,' he says as the tagline reads: 'British royal family member, Peter Phillips.'
After meeting in 2003, the couple dated for a few years before Peter popped the question with her father's permission.
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Mr and Mrs Phillips attracted media attention when they sold their wedding photos to Hello! magazine in May 2008 for a reported £500,000.
The episode provoked claims the couple had exploited their Royal status.
Photos of the couple on honeymoon on safari in South Africa were also released to the press, arising suspicion they received the £1,000-a-night accommodation for free - or at least at a knock-down rate - in return for their co-operation.
Autumn, a former PA, was born in Montreal.
She was raised in a modest cottage in the suburb of Pointe-Claire with her twin brother, Chris, a bricklayer and roofer, and their other sibling, Kevin, a chef.
Peter Phillips attracted criticism in January for starring in a Chinese advert for a milk company
Her parents divorced when she was eight and her mother is now remarried to Ron Magos, an airline pilot. Autumn's uncle used to run a strip club.
As a young girl growing up in a modest detached house in Pointe-Claire, a suburb of Montreal, Autumn's friends expected her to 'make it big'.
'She was destined for the spotlight from an early age,' said one.
At her local state school, St Thomas High, Autumn was widely considered the class beauty, and excelled at sport, particularly football and ringette, which is similar to ice hockey.
Classmates remember her being at the centre of a clique of 'snooty' young girls, however, who called themselves The Get-Along Gang.
'They thought they were better than everyone else and could be quite bitchy. Autumn was her own number one priority. She'd throw hissy fits if she didn't get her own way and could be moody and self-involved. But she did have a generous side and could be a good friend when she dropped her airs and graces,' recalls one.
She was also regarded as a party animal, 'buving' (the local slang for drinking) and smoking with her mates.
Autumn has a degree in East Asian studies from Montreal's McGill University, which was funded through her work as a model and barmaid.
She had a turn as a Budweiser girl at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2003, where she met Peter.
She claimed she had no idea he was a royal until six weeks into the romance, when she saw him while watching a TV programme about Prince William with her mother.
By the time of their 2008 wedding, Autumn had a job as a personal assistant to broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson.
Today, the couple live in Gloucestershire with their two daughters: Savannah, nine, and Isla, seven.
They're regulars at the traditional 17th-century stone-built pub, the Ragged Cot Inn in Minchinhampton — which was also the favourite drinking hole of Peter's parents decades ago.
Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly pose for pictures on the cross country course at the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park in Gloucestershire in 2007
Peter Philips, Autumn Phillips and children Savannah and Isla at the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London in June
Autumn's immaculate blonde hair is done at top salon Michaeljohn in Mayfair, and her wardrobe filled with dresses by the Marylebone-based designer Savannah — prices start at £1,000.
She is a director of the business SCGB — the initials stand for Super Cars Great Britain — which offers guided driving holidays for supercar owners.
Set up with friend Rachael Thomson, their last jaunt in June 2018 took the super-wealthy from Split in Croatia to Venice. The entrance fee is £8,500, with additional expenses on top. Peter's friend, Johnny Hon, also took part.
Autumn and Ms Thomson are described in the company literature as 'elite events professionals with more than ten years' experience with High Net Worth Individual events'.
Sadly, the figures are far from impressive. Micro accounts filed in June 2019 state that the company has net assets of just £1,670 and owes £63,000.
Autumn is also the director of two other businesses. First, APP Consultancy Limited, so-called because of her initials (her middle name is Patricia), which was set up in September 2014 and is run from 600-acre Aston Farm, home to both Peter and Autumn as well as Zara and her family.
Peter Phillips and Autumn Phillips looking cosy at the Cheltenham Festival on March 15 last year
Happier times: Peter plants a cheeky kiss on his wife's cheek at the Cheltenham festival in 2018
Peter, meanwhile, does not have a royal title as his mother declined to give her children the HRH title at birth.
The Phillipses lived in Hong Kong after he moved jobs within the Royal Bank of Scotland to head their sponsorships activities in the region.
Peter rarely makes public appearances and is a 'working royal,' meaning he takes no money from the taxpayer.
After graduating from the University of Exeter with a degree in sports science, the son of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips worked for Jaguar as a corporate hospitality manager before taking a position at the Williams Grand Prix Engineering team.
He spent the first 11 years of his career in Formula One, before heading to Williams where he spent three years as a senior account manager looking after the team's main sponsors.
In 2005, Peter took up a position at the Royal Bank of Scotland, where for over seven years he designed their first ever global Formula One sponsorship programme.
In June 2012, he set up Sports & Entertainment UK Ltd [Sel] in London, where he remains director today.
The company focus on increasing the 'commercial value for both sports and entertainment rights holders in the UK,' according to their website.
They also stage events, and Peter has the Queen on his client list, after putting on her 90th birthday party.
Peter's home on Aston Farm is situated on the 730-acre Gatcombe Park estate, which was a gift from the Queen to her only daughter in 1976.
Princess Anne and her second husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, live in the manor house.
His sister Zara and her family also live on the farm estate, homes which are presumably rent-free.
Peter says that he is a Bear Grylls-style countryman, opining: 'I'm a bit of a hunter-gatherer. My wife gets slightly upset when I bring a rabbit back and skin it on the kitchen table.'
Peter is reportedly among the beneficiaries of a £19 million trust fund set up by the Queen Mother.
Some two-thirds of her fortune were reserved for her great-grandchildren as a tax-exempt gift. How large a chunk went to each great-grandchild has never been established — but the share given to William and Harry was said to be £6 million in total.
The other beneficiaries are said to be Peter and Zara, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and Sarah Chatto and Viscount Linley, the children of Princess Margaret. If the remaining portion was equally divided, Peter would have inherited £2.16 million at the age of 21.
