Peter Phillips' new fiancee Harriet Sperling reportedly scores invite to rub shoulders with royal family at Balmoral

Peter Phillips' new fiancee Harriet Sperling is reportedly undergoing an initiation of sorts this week having scored an invite to the royal family's summer retreat, Balmoral.

Located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, about 14km from the village of Crathie, where the royals go to church when in town, the castle springs to life at the end of each British summer when the royal family gathers.

Sperling has reportedly been invited to join her soon-to-be husband and his family for the annual getaway, which has long been considered a test for anyone who gets a coveted invitation.

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While in Balmoral, Sperling will rub shoulders with King Charles and Queen Camilla, her soon-to-be mother-in-law, Anne, Princess Royal, and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence, as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children, who were spotted driving to church over the weekend.

Prince Andrew and his former wife Sarah, Duchess of York, were spotted in Balmoral last week where they are likely to be joined by their daughters, princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and their children.

Peter's sister, Zara Tindall, her husband Mike and their three kids are also thought to be there.

Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, are also at the estate.

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King Charles' arrival in Balmoral on Monday, August 18, for the start of his summer residency was marked by a number of events.

The monarch was welcomed outside the gates of the Scottish Highlands retreat by hundreds of locals and tourists.

There was also an official welcome in the form of a military ceremony involving Shetland pony mascot, Corporal Cruachan IV.

A Guard of Honour was then held by Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland to officially welcome the King.

King Charles, as Colonel in Chief of The Royal Regiment of Scotland, wore a new tartan designed for his coronation.

It is a long standing tradition for partners to score an invite to Balmoral, usually only after an engagement has been announced.

Many royal brides have undergone the so-called "Balmoral test" while the late Queen also liked to extend an invitation to the British Prime Minister of the day, with mixed results.

Now Sperling will join a long list of royal brides-to-be at the initiation of sorts, including Princess Diana, the Duchess of York, the Duchess of Edinburgh and Catherine, the current Princess of Wales.

Reports first emerged of a relationship between Phillips and Sperling, a paediatric nurse in the British public health system, in May 2024 when she accompanied him to the Badminton Horse Trials.

Talk an engagement was imminent started in June when she attended Royal Ascot, where she rode in a carriage with Phillips. She was also pictured alongside him in the Royal Box at this year's Wimbledon tournament.

Their engagement was announced on August 1 in a statement ending with a nod to senior royals, "Their Majesties The King and Queen, The Prince and Princess of Wales, have been informed of the announcement. No date has been officially set for the wedding."

Balmoral has held a special place in the hearts of royal family members for almost 200 years.

The property was bought by Prince Albert for his wife Queen Victoria in 1852. The current castle was completed in 1856 and has become a much loved bolthole for the royal family, who typically spend summers there.

It is one of the few private royal residences, with ownership passing from monarch to monarch.

But while King Charles is the latest owner, he does not stay in the castle itself when in residence, preferring to stay instead in his home Birkhall, which he inherited from his grandmother the Queen Mother.

As well as providing many happy memories for the royal family, the castle also has some tragic links.

It was where the royal family was gathered when word came through that Princess Diana died following a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997.

Her sons William and Harry were asleep in the castle and were woken by their father after dawn to tell them the news.

It is also where the late Queen Elizabeth died on September 8, 2022.

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