For a newcomer to royal life, there can be few better examples to follow than the Princess of Wales – and Harriet Sperling appears to have been paying close attention.
The 46-year-old former NHS specialist nurse married Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips on June 6 at All Saints Church in Kemble, Gloucestershire, describing the occasion as a “slice of heaven”.
In her first interview since the royal wedding, Harriet told Hello! magazine that she has developed a close bond with the future queen and often looks to the “open-hearted” Kate for “advice and guidance”.
There were also clear echoes of Kate in Harriet’s interests, from her enthusiasm for wild swimming and breaks in Balmoral to her commitment to early years development.
Harriet, who specialised in infant mental health, selected Home-Start Cotswolds as her first royal patronage after leaving the NHS. She said the role felt like a “natural step, rather than a complete change of direction”.
From her clothes to her charitable work, Harriet appears to be finding her place in the royal family with the future queen serving as an influential example.
The Princess of Wales remains one of the royal family’s most influential role models. Catherine is pictured with Prince William, then the Duke of Cambridge, during the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022
Harriet Sperling wore a yellow dress with clear Kate-inspired touches at Royal Ascot last year
Kate and Harriet come from similar backgrounds, having grown up in upper-middle-class families in neighbouring Berkshire and Gloucestershire. They are also close in age.
Fashion is another shared interest, with both women favouring labels such as Beulah, ME+EM and Self-Portrait.
Their professional interests overlap, too. Kate has made childhood development the focus of her Early Years work, while Harriet spent 24 years in healthcare and specialised in infant mental health as a paediatric nurse.
In 2010, Harriet was part of a medical team of doctors, clinicians and other specialists who helped save the life of Phineas, a critically ill baby who contracted a deadly virus at just three weeks old.
Harriet is also an accomplished freelance writer. She recently published a candid essay in Woman Alive about her experience as a single mother and the central role of her Christian faith.
“My daughter and I journeyed 10 years with only each other. I liken us to an island and it has often felt hard to imagine anyone joining that island,” she wrote.
“The unique relationship between a single mother and her child is forged in the fires of struggles and victories. It’s a bond characterised by love and survival against the odds.
“This journey has deepened my faith, teaching me to trust in God’s plan and to find strength in his love.”
Left, Harriet at the 2025 Royal Ascot. Right, Kate at the Order of the Garter service at St George’s Chapel around the same time. The pair share a notably similar approach to fashion
Kate has demonstrated her own writing ability, contributing a moving essay titled The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World through the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.
Written with Harvard professor Robert Waldinger, the article examined the potential damage caused by smartphones and social media, describing the resulting isolation as an “epidemic of disconnection”.
Now a familiar face at events including Wimbledon and Cheltenham, Harriet has also attracted attention for outfits that appear to take inspiration from the Princess of Wales’s polished royal wardrobe.
For her first Easter service as a royal, Harriet followed a distinctly Kate-like formula, bringing together pieces from four of her favourite brands.
The former NHS nurse looked elegant in a blue polka-dot two-piece by Beulah London, a label Kate first wore six months after her wedding to Prince William and has continued to revisit.
Harriet’s outfit also recalled the blue-and-white Jenny Packham dress Kate wore as she left St Mary’s Hospital after the birth of Prince George in 2013.
She finished the Easter look with jewellery from Kate’s favoured designer Kiki McDonough, Emmy London heels and a hat by the princess’s go-to milliner, Jane Taylor.
Her wardrobe includes many labels that have benefited from the “Kate effect”, among them Self-Portrait, Me+Em, Suzannah London, Penelope Chilvers and Aspinal of London.
The similarities were especially noticeable at Royal Ascot in June, where Harriet made her first public appearance after marrying Princess Anne’s son.
The meeting was significant for Kate, too, as she returned to the Berkshire racecourse for the first time since completing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.
Catherine’s white lace wedding dress from 2011 became one of the most recognisable royal bridal gowns, while Harriet’s dress featured several strikingly similar details
Sharp-eyed observers noticed that both women carried clutches by Anya Hindmarch, offering a carefully coordinated fashion moment. Yet their common ground extends well beyond style.
Kate spoke about her fondness for wild swimming during an appearance on Mike Tindall’s podcast, The Good, The Bad And The Rugby, in 2023, saying that “the colder, the better”.
“Cold swimming – the colder, the better. I absolutely love it. Slightly to the point where William’s [saying] ‘You’re crazy’ and it’s dark, and it’s raining. I will go and seek out cold water. I love it.”
It seems Kate has found another member of the family who shares that enthusiasm. Harriet told Hello! that taking a cold dip is one of her favourite ways to relax.
In the same interview, her first since marrying the King’s nephew, Harriet revealed that she had become a patron of Home-Start Cotswolds, which supports families with young children in the local community.
Kate has described early years development as her “life’s work” and launched the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood in 2021.
The centre says its work is built around three priorities: researching the importance of the early years, working with public, private and voluntary organisations to share knowledge, and raising awareness of the issue.
As part of her campaign to improve young people’s wellbeing, the princess wrote a heartfelt letter in 2022 about the importance of nurturing and understanding children during their earliest years.
Since returning to public duties after cancer treatment, Kate has focused on broadening the work of the “landmark” centre.
Last month, she held private discussions with Melinda, Bill Gates’s former wife, about possible cooperation on projects supporting the development of young people.
The talks explored potential links between Kate’s Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood and Pivotal, the investment and philanthropic organisation Melinda founded in 2015 to support women and young people.
Harriet could now become a valuable ally, with Princess Anne’s daughter-in-law describing her first royal patronage as a “completely natural fit”.
“Over time, I’ve become increasingly passionate about the importance of promoting healthy brain development. If we can support parents during this critical early period, we have an opportunity to make a lasting difference for children.
“Moving on feels like a natural step, rather than a complete change of direction – it’s a chance to take everything I’ve learnt and use it in a new way.”
Harriet may be only five months into her life as a royal, but she already appears to have absorbed one of the institution’s most important lessons.
With the Princess of Wales as her example, she seems well placed to make a confident start in the royal fold.
