Next Saturday, Peter Phillips—nephew of King Charles III—will marry NHS nurse Harriet Sperling at All Saints' Church in Cirencester. but the wedding, expected to be graced by King Charles and Queen Camilla, is overshadowed by allegations from Sperling's ex-husband, fitness instructor Antonio 'Dino' Sperling, that he has been unfairly portrayed and excluded from their daughter's life for four years, according to a source speaking to the Daily Mail.

Four years without contact: Dino Sperling's struggle to see daughter Georgina

According to the Daily Mail, Dino Sperling has had no meaningful contact with his 13-year-old daughter Georgina for around four years. a source told the publication that it has been “mental torture” for him , and that he has “tried to establish a better relationship with Georgina many times but there’s been no interest .” Georgina is expected to attend the wedding after being seen at the royal Easter service alongside Peter Phillips's daughters from his first marriage.

The same source claims that Sperling feels his ex-wife has “completely written him out of the narrative,” portraying him as the sole cause of their marriage breakdown. The source added: “It’d be fairer to say that both of them were to blame.”

A generational rift: Domenico Di Martino's 25-year silence

The controversy extends beyond the ex-couple. Dino Sperling's father, Domenico Di Martino, 80, told the Daily Mail he has not spoken to his son for nearly 25 years after separating from Dino's mother. Di Martino was not invited to his son's wedding to Harriet and has never met his granddaughter Georgina. He suggested that his son's unresolved anger from that separation affected his marriage : “He was angry and brokeen and that affected his marriage.”

Di Martino's account adds a layer of intergenerational trauma that may explain some of the tensions. He asserted that Dino “wasn't happy in himself” rather than unhappy with Harriet.

Absent royals and a 'low-key' celebration

While the wedding is styled as an intimate affair compared to major royal weddings—with no carriage procession—the guest list still includes King Charles, Queen Camilla, and the Prince and Princess of Wales with their children. Notably absent, as reported by the Daily Mail, are Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince Andrew, and his family. Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling announced their engagement in August 2025, just over a year after making their relationship public at the Badminton Horse Trials.

The wedding will mark the Royal Family's second blended family, after Princess Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, who had a son. Harriet's daughter Georgina will join Peter's daughters Savannah and Isla in a new family unit.

Claims of a rewritten narrative: Who is the 'bad guy'?

The source quoted by the Daily Mail explicitly challenges the framing of Dino Sperling as the villain. Harriet has spoken in the past about struggling as a single mother, but the source insists Dino “has tried to hold out the olive branch many times over the past few years” and has been rejected. despite his pain, the source says Dino wishes his ex-wife and Peter Phillips well: “She's going to be a part of one of the world's most powerful families and he wishes her and Peter all the best.”

But the source also notes that Dino lacks closure, both over the acrimonious end of his marriage and his troubled relationship with his own father. The wedding next Saturday will proceed as planned, but the emotional disputes remain unresolved.