Peter Phillips and his wife, Harriet Sperling, have arrived at Balmoral Castle for the royal family’s annual summer gathering, joined by Peter’s sister and brother-in-law, Zara and Mike Tindall. The visit marks Sperling’s first time at the Scottish estate as a member of the royal family, following Sperling and Phillips’s Cotswolds wedding in June.
Per local news reports, the Tindalls and their three children—Mia, Lena, and Lucas—were on the castle grounds to watch King Charles’s formal arrival ceremony on Tuesday, in which the King was welcomed by a Guard of Honour provided by the Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland. Charles is the Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Regiment of Scotland. Phillips’s daughters from his previous marriage to Autumn Kelly, Savannah and Isla, were also present; it’s unclear if they were also joined by Harriet’s daughter Georgina.
The King has been in Scotland for most of the month already, spending the early weeks at the Castle of Mey in Caithness before moving to Balmoral. Queen Camilla was also recently spotted shopping in a village near Balmoral Castle with her sister Annabel Elliot, her daughter Laura Lopes, and her granddaughter Eliza.
Balmoral Castle, set on a 50,000-acre estate in the Scottish Highlands, has been the British royal family’s summer retreat since 1852, when Prince Albert purchased the property for Queen Victoria. It was thought to be Queen Elizabeth’s favorite residence, and it was where she died in September 2022. King Charles has continued the tradition of spending part of August and September at the estate.
More members of the British royal family are expected to arrive in the next week. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are likely additions to the Balmoral guest list, having spent much of August in Scotland already, attending events including the Edinburgh International Festival. The Prince and Princess of Wales also typically bring their children to Balmoral toward the end of August. It has also been reported that Andy Burnham, sworn in as British Prime Minister in July, has also been given an invite.