Peter Phillips was born at 10:46am on
15 November 1977 at
St Mary's Hospital, Paddington in
West London. He was the first child of Mark Phillips and The Princess Anne, who had married in 1973. His parents were said to have refused offers from
The Queen that would have led to him being born in the
Peerage. As such, Phillips was the first royal baby to be born a
commoner, having not even a
courtesy style, for more than 500 years. At birth he was
fifth in line to the Throne, and remained so until
Prince William's birth in 1982. At the time of his birth, there was a
41-gun salute from the
Tower of London. He was baptised Peter Mark Andrew Phillips on
22 December 1977 by the then
Archbishop of Canterbury Donald Coggan in the Music Room of
Buckingham Palace.
His godparents were his uncle,
The Prince of Wales, the Rt. Rev. Geoffrey Tiarks, Captain Hamish Lochare, Lady Cecil Cameron of Lochiel and Mrs Timothy Holderness-Roddam. Princess Anne and Captain Phillips, who had a daughter
Zara in 1981, tried to ensure that their children were kept out of the limelight.
Peter Phillips went to
Port Regis Prep School in
Shaftesbury, Dorset before following other members of the
Royal Family by attending
Gordonstoun School in
Moray, Scotland, where he was
Head Boy. Then he went to the
University of Exeter and graduated with a degree in
sports science. A keen sportsman, Phillips played
rugby for the Scottish Schools team.
Following the
death of
Diana, Princess of Wales, Peter Phillips was known to be very supportive of his cousin
Prince William.