The girlfriend of Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips has dramatically changed her religion, it was revealed last night — weeks before they wed.

It means Peter, 30, will now not lose his position as an heir to the throne.

The 11th in line would have had to give up his royal standing when he marries Autumn Kelly, 31, in three weeks if she had remained a Catholic.

But she has now become a member of the Church of England — of which the Queen is Defender of the Faith. Under the Act of Settlement of 1701, royals who marry Catholics are removed from the line of succession, like Prince Michael of Kent.

Buckingham Palace insisted that the decision to convert was Autumn’s alone – and took place several months ago. A spokeswoman said last night: “Autumn has been welcomed into the Church of England.”

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be the chief guests at the couple’s May 17 wedding in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. (via The Sun)

The last time she dressed up, royal bride-to-be Autumn Kelly sported a pair of Playboy bunny-style flashing ears for her hen night.

Now I hear Autumn, who marries the Queen’s grandson Peter Phillips next month, is planning something a little more sophisticated for a fashion shoot ahead of her Windsor wedding.

“A feel-good magazine is preparing a feature on Autumn’s style,” I am told. “Despite her demure appearance, Autumn is fashion-conscious. She wants to show that just because she’s from Canada, she’s still at home dressing in the top labels.”

Such a picture spread might mark a shift in attitudes towards Autumn and Peter, whose romance has rarely attracted the paparazzi.

Glossy magazines have enjoyed a close relationship with Princess Anne’s family over the years. Her daughter Zara Phillips has featured several times in Hello! (via Daily Mail)

When the ushers at St George’s Chapel welcome the 350 guests for what will be the most significant Royal wedding in nearly three decades, they will be extra careful not to stumble over their words.

After all, the two groups of relatives at the nuptials of Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly next month are such polar opposites that one slip of the tongue over the question, “Are you with the bride or groom?” could cause a few raised aristocratic eyebrows.

On one side of the chapel, set in the sumptuous grounds of Windsor Castle, they will seat Peter’s family, who include, of course, his grandmother the Queen, his mother the Princess Royal, and his cousins Princes William and Harry.

To the other, they will direct a decidedly different calibre of guest, in the form of Autumn’s family.

Having just flown in from her native Canada, they will be altogether unfamiliar with the subtle machinations of the Monarchy.

Among those invited on May 17 are her bricklayer brother, hairdresser mother and a wayward uncle who used to run a strip club.

In short, they are a collection of working-class individuals whose attitudes could well have some of their more blue-blooded fellow guests choking on their quails’ eggs if they cross paths at the reception.

Not since Diana tied the knot with Charles in 1981 has a new recruit caused such a stir.

Read entire article at The Daily Mail…

Keen to keep his wedding low-key — although a marriage ceremony in front of 350 guests including the Royal Family at Windsor sounds anything but modest — Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips has turned down the chance of a ceremonial presence.

“The Queen offered to have a dozen members of the Gentlemen at Arms on duty as ushers to show guests to their seats at St George’s Chapel,” I am told.

But 30-year-old Phillips, who will marry Canadian-born Autumn Kelly in May, has declined his grandmother’s generous offer.

“Peter and Autumn have told everyone they want to do their own thing. The ushers are standing down.” (via Daily Mail)

When the Princess Royal’s son, Peter Phillips, marries his Canadian fiancee, Autumn Kelly, at St George’s chapel in Windsor in May, he will give up any hope of being crowned king of England, Mandrake (The Telegraph) can disclose.

“Peter will renounce his place in the line of succession,” says Canon Ivor Smith-Cameron, a former chaplain to the Queen. “Given that he has slipped down the line after the birth of Prince Edward’s son, I’m sure that he is happy to agree to this.”

Her Majesty’s eldest grandson, who is 11th in line to the throne, has been forced to make the decision because Autumn was baptised a Catholic. It is a provision of the 1701 Act of Settlement, which enshrined the Protestant ascendancy, that monarchs and their heirs are forbidden to become or even marry Catholics.

“My understanding is that although they are marrying in an Anglican church, Miss Kelly will have a Catholic priest present at the wedding,” says Canon Smith-Cameron. “This will ensure that the marriage is recognised by the Catholic Church. I don’t know of any precedents for this in the Royal Family, but there are plenty of precedents for this happening elsewhere, such as in the Guards’ chapel.”

After the couple’s engagement was announced last summer, Autumn’s mother, Kitty, a divorcee, authorised the Church to disclose that her 31-year-old daughter had been baptised a Catholic and was proud of her religion.

Peter, 30, whose father, Capt Mark Phillips, divorced Princess Anne in 1992, will be following the example of Prince Michael of Kent, who renounced his place in the line of succession when he married Marie-Christine von Reibnitz, a Catholic divorcee, in 1978. They married in an intimate civil ceremony in Vienna. (via The Telegraph)