Why the Queen's eldest grandson Peter Phillips doesn't have to follow royal protocol during his divorce
- Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly are getting a divorce — but they won't have to follow the same protocol as other royals.
- Already it's clear that the couple's split is being handled differently to other royal divorces.
- Buckingham Palace and the Queen have refused to make a statement on behalf of the pair, though one was made for both the separation of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, and Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York.
- This is because, although Phillips is the Queen's eldest grandson, he remains a private citizen and has no role within the monarchy, royal expert Marlene Koenig told Insider.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly announced on Tuesday that they are ending their 12-year marriage.
However, Phillips — eldest grandson to the Queen and son to Princess Anne — so far hasn't followed any royal protocol during the divorce.
Buckingham Palace has in the past announced divorces or separations within the family through an official public statement. For example, this was done for the separation of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, and Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York.
However, the palace did not comment on Phillips and Kelly's separation when contacted by Insider on Tuesday.
The Queen has not been publicly involved in the divorce
Instead, a private spokesperson issued a statement from the couple, where they confirmed that Phillip and Kelly actually split last year and were only announcing it now because it was leaked by a British tabloid.
During Charles and Diana's separation, it appeared that the Queen was heavily involved, as the palace issued a statement saying that the monarch had written to the couple and requested that they divorce, as reported by the LA Times.
It would make sense for the Queen to be involved in such matters. After all, it was only until very recently that members of the royal family were forbidden from divorcing their partners.
Queen Victoria did not allow her granddaughter, Princess Victoria, to split from her husband. The princess eventually did separate from him after the monarch passed away in 1901 — and that was the last royal divorce before Princess Margaret was given permission to divorce Lord Snowden 77 years later.
In comparison, Phillips and Kelly said in their statement this week that they had agreed to separate after "informing" Her Majesty.
Marlene Koenig, a royal expert for History Extra, told Insider that despite his relation to Her Majesty, Phillips remains a "private citizen" and so he doesn't carry out decisions in the same way that other senior members of the family would.
"Peter Phillips is not royal. He is the son of a princess, but his rank comes from his father, Mark Phillips," Koenig explained.
"To paraphrase the late Princess Margaret, when asked about her children, 'My children are not royal. They have an aunt who is queen.'"
"Peter and his family attend major events such as Trooping of the Colour and Thanksgiving Services as a wider group with royal relatives," she said.
Although Phillips and Kelly both appear alongside the Queen at public events, they do not carry out public duties on her behalf and so are not considered "working royals."
"He is the Queen's grandson but he has no role within the monarchy. He is a private citizen whose mom is a princess," she added.
Kelly won't have to give up HRH status, because she never had it in the first place
Phillips was born without a royal title and is currently in fifteenth place in the line of succession.
This means that Kelly was not given a title upon the marriage, unlike Meghan Markle who became the Duchess of Sussex, and Kate Middleton who became the Duchess of Cambridge.
When both Diana and Ferguson left the royal family, there was the matter of their royal titles, their HRH status, and their overall involvement in royal matters to be discussed.
Diana seemed to have a public disagreement with the royal family over whether she would retain her title after the divorce. In February 1996, the Irish Times reported that a spokesperson for Diana announced: "The Princess of Wales will retain the title and be known as Diana, Princess of Wales.
In response, a spokesperson for the palace said: "All the details on these matters, including titles, remain to be discussed and settled. This will take time."
Ultimately, both Diana and the Duchess of York were able to keep their titles, but were no longer allowed HRH status and were no longer considered senior royals.
However, Koenig said that royal protocol does not apply to divorce
"Protocols do not apply to divorces ... a word that is often misused when applied to royalty," she explained.
"Protocol is what you wear to a state dinner, who sits where, what medals one wears," she said.
"However, in the cases of the three divorces of the queen's children as well as Princess Margaret, they go through the same legal process as everyone else."
Three of the Queen's children — Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, and Princess Anne — have gotten divorced, as well as Her Majesty's sister, the late Princess Margaret.
Whether "protocol" is the correct terminology or not, there's no denying that the royals that came before Phillips and Kelly had to go through a slightly different procedure than everyone else when it came to separation.
But as Koenig said, the legal proceedings have remained the same as everyone else.
However, most families do not have to request the blessing of their mother or grandmother to officially separate from their partner.
Instead of requesting Her Majesty's guidance, Phillips and Kelly "informed" the Queen of their split last year.
Whether this was a product of a more relaxed institution or simply because of Phillips and Kelly's rank in the family, perhaps that is something we will not know for sure unless another more senior royal couple decide to separate.
Read more:
The Queen's grandson is getting a divorce. Here are 5 other royal couples who called it quits.
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