The Princess of Wales attended the nuptials of Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling on Saturday, where her former boyfriend from her university days was also on the guest list
Princess Kate attended the charming and intimate wedding of Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling on Saturday, as the future queen and her husband Prince William joined the rest of the Royal Family – such as King Charles, Queen Camilla, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh – at All Saints Church in Kemble, Gloucestershire.
And while the Prince and Princess of Wales looked more loved up than ever, a former boyfriend from Kate’s past was also in attendance at the nuptials. Rupert Finch, who once dated the Princess during their university days, was spotted among the distinguished guests at the small church in Cirencester.
The 47-year-old was one of the first guests to arrive, accompanied by his wife, Lady Natasha Rufus Isaacs, who is a fashion designer and founder of Beulah London.
Mr Finch and Kate were romantically involved for nearly a year in 2001 while both studying at the University of St Andrews. At the time of their brief romance, Mr Finch was a fourth-year student and aspiring lawyer, later completing his legal training at the College of Law in Guildford.
Their fleeting relationship coincided with Kate’s now-famous 2002 charity fashion show appearance, where she reportedly caught Prince William’s attention for the first time.
The brief romance was dramatised in the sixth series of Netflix’s The Crown, with actor Oli Green portraying Mr Finch opposite Meg Bellamy as the young Catherine.
Despite the passage of time, the former couple appear to have maintained an amicable relationship, as they have crossed paths at various past events, with Mr Finch even being among the guests invited to William and Catherine’s lavish Westminster Abbey wedding on April 29, 2011.
The lawyer has consistently declined to discuss his past romance with the future Queen. “It’s not something I’ll ever talk about. It’s between Catherine and me and was a long time ago,” he previously stated.
William and Catherine went on to date for nearly a decade before their engagement in October 2010, eventually celebrating 15 years of marriage this April. Meanwhile, Mr Finch wed Lady Natasha, daughter of the 4th Marquess of Reading, in Cirencester in June 2013.
Natasha has her own history with the Princess of Wales, as the future queen has previously been spotted wearing designs from her label Beulah London, while Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, and Princess Beatrice have also been supporters of the fashion designer.
In an exclusive interview with HELLO! Magazine, in 2020, Natasha said of Princess Kate: “It’s always lovely to see the Duchess in Beulah. She’s a wonderful ambassador for British brands and that is more important than ever at the moment.” For Peter and Harriet’s wedding, Natasha naturally sported one of her own designs, a blue patterned maxi dress, which was also worn by Kate for a polo match in 2023.
