Harriet Phillips says she turns to 'open-hearted' Kate for advice in her first interview since marrying Peter Phillips

Harriet Sperling, the 46-year-old former NHS nurse who married Peter Phillips in June, has given her first interview since joining the Royal Family, telling Hello! magazine that Princess Catherine is "very open-hearted" and someone she would always feel comfortable approaching. The remarks directly contradict Meghan Markle's suggestion that Kate was cold and "jarring" when they first met at a dinner early in Meghan's relationship with Prince Harry.

Harriet and her daughter Georgina bonded with the Waleses on a Scilly Isles holiday, with the children 'all jumping into the water at the same time.'

She described meeting mother-in-law Princess Anne over cups of tea on garden benches at Gatcombe — 'very similar to when Peter met my family.'

Peter proposed with a diamond ring from Pragnell — the same jewellers who made Queen Elizabeth's 1946 engagement ring — after keeping the plan secret from the entire family.