For those in the know, however, the real excitement at this royal wedding is a chance to see Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall’s rarely glimpsed half-sister, Stephanie Phillips. Should she attend, it’ll be a heartwarming reunion between the siblings, but who is the equestrian who grew up at Gatcombe Park?
Princess Anne welcomed Peter and Zara during her marriage to her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, which lasted from 1973 to 1992. Following the divorce, Mark found love once again, this time with a Hawaiian equestrian named Sandy Pflueger. Together, they welcomed a daughter, Stephanie Phillips, before separating on 3 May 2012.
Stephanie (far right) was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly in 2008
Pool/Tim Graham Royal Photos/Getty Images
Stephanie grew up alongside her siblings on the Gatcombe Park estate, and, like her siblings, she developed a love for all things equestrian. With an Olympic gold medallist for a father and a member of the US Olympic dressage team as a mother, it is perhaps no wonder that Stephanie developed a horsey streak.
Like her sister, Zara Tindall, Stephanie is an accomplished rider, competing in events such as the Barbury International, the Wellington International Horse Trials, and the West Wiltshire Trials. She served as a member of the dressage and eventing jury in the 2016 Olympics, lending her expertise to another generation of riders.
Stephanie has kept a surprisingly low profile considering her royal connections. She studied at Dean Close School in Cheltenham before reading for a degree in Business Management at the University of Worcester, working as a bartender to support her studies.