Peter Phillips’ fiancee Harriet Sperling is apparently acing the ‘Balmoral Test’

Peter Phillips’ engagement thunder was sort of stolen by the Prince and Princess of Wales, correct? Peter announced his engagement to Harriet Sperling on August 1st. The gossip about the engagement and wedding lasted less than a week, then the royalists moved on swiftly to talking about the Sussexes’ Netflix contract and the Waleses’ move to Forest Lodge. In any case, Peter and Harriet are still quite happy, and for the first time in their relationship, Harriet has been invited to Balmoral. She will have to survive the infamous Balmoral Test, where members of the Windsor clan “test” a woman to see if she’s horsey, sporty, outdoorsy and interested in shooting animals. Part of the test is also wardrobe-related – a woman is expected to know how to dress at any given point of the day. To be fair, I think the Balmoral Test is more lowkey these days, especially considering that King Charles doesn’t give a sh-t and he’s probably just staying in Birkhall, not the big house.

Future Royal bride Harriet Sperling is undergoing the “Balmoral Test” after being invited to the Scottish Highlands for the first time. The NHS nurse is set to marry the King’s nephew Peter Phillips, 47, after the royal revealed this summer he had already popped the question after just over a year dating.

Mum-of-one Harriett, 45, has joined the King and Queen in Scotland and has thrown herself into the famous family exam held at Balmoral’s 53,000 acre estate ahead of her Royal wedding. Insiders reveal she had been bonding with Zara Tindall and her children while enjoying rides on trips on electric-powered mountain bikes around the estates. She also joined the royals while horseriding in the estate this week.

Balmoral allows the extended Royal Family to gather for several weeks during August in one of only two times a year along with Christmas that they all enjoy a work-free get-together. The Balmoral Test lives in folklore within royal circles and Princess Diana’s wooing of the late Queen and Prince Philip was immortalised in Netflix show The Crown.

A source said: “Everyone knows Peter is smitten and his family have accepted Harriett into the set up so she will likely pass the infamous Balmoral Test with flying colours.”

[From The Sun]

“…To gather for several weeks during August…” During Queen Elizabeth’s reign, she loved to be in Scotland every summer for at least two months, which allowed the extended family to travel there at their leisure, and it wasn’t some big rush to ensure that everyone was in residence at the same time. Charles only arrived in Balmoral in the middle of August, but it looks like the whole family is there at the same time right now. As for Harriet passing the Balmoral Test… as I said, it’s not as rigid and bum-clenching as it was in QEII’s day. My guess is that the younger royals and royal-adjacents have the run of the big house, and so of course they’re having a nice vacation with little drama.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.