**EXCLUSIVE: Prince Harry plans to duck cousin Peter Phillips’s second nuptials today after ‘intrusive’ Hello! magazine photographers were invited to first nuptials in 2008**

Prince Harry is expected to be one of the most glaring royal no-shows at today’s wedding of his cousin Peter Phillips in the Cotswolds, according to royal sources close to the Sussex family.

While the 42-year-old prince has long been estranged from Peter — who married Canadian-born nurse Harriet Sperling last summer after a whirlwind engagement — the Daily Mail can reveal the rift dates back 18 years to a deal struck without telling the wider family.

Peter’s first wedding to Autumn Kelly in 2008 saw him sign a lucrative exclusive rights agreement with Hello! magazine worth an estimated £500,000. Harry was particularly incensed because he had invited his then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy as a guest, intending the day to be a landmark moment: the introduction of Chelsy to his grandmother Queen Elizabeth for the first time.

He had no idea that the photographers present — even the ones he thought were for private family pictures — would end up splashed across 100 glossy pages of the celebrity magazine. Harry was furious when copies of the issue appeared at Highgrove, his father’s country home, only days later. He later told friends the first he knew was when he picked up the magazine for breakfast and saw it open to the wedding pictures.

The prince tried to call Peter immediately to confront him, but the phone went straight to voicemail as his cousin had “buggered off on honeymoon”. It is not known if they ever met to discuss it, but the deal triggered a massive public outcry about the “selling out” of the royals and left a bitter taste in Harry’s mouth.

Sources say the incident still rankles. Peter’s decision not to negotiate any similar deal for Harriet’s wedding today appears to be a direct consequence of the 2008 fallout.

The wedding itself is set to be a quiet, intimate affair at All Saints Church in Kemble, with around 300 guests including the King and Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Zara Tindall. Harry is not on the guest list and has no plans to attend, even in a spectator capacity.

Insiders say the presence of his estranged brother William and Kate at the reception will only make the situation more uncomfortable for Harry, who has been staying away from royal family gatherings for years.

The Daily Mail understands Harry’s strained relationship with Peter largely stems from that single moment of betrayal. While the Sussexes have not commented publicly on the second wedding, friends say Harry is “done” with the entire family drama.

The Cotswolds event is expected to be a low-key affair compared to the media circus of 2008, with floral arches and church flowers designed by Millie Richardson using locally sourced English blooms. The bride Harriet, 46, a paediatric nurse specialist and single mother, looked radiant at yesterday’s dress rehearsal in a striped jumper tucked into wide-legged linen trousers and flat espadrilles.

Her daughter Georgina, 14, and Peter’s teenage children Isla, 14, and Savannah, 15, held the train of her Emilia Wickstead gown alongside his former wife Autumn Kelly. The service will be led by the Reverend Dr Steve Bullock, with the marriage blessing by the Reverend Nicky Gumbel.

Harry’s absence is likely to be noted by the global press, but the family appear determined to keep today’s wedding focused on the newlyweds and their loved ones. No doubt the old Hello! controversy will linger in the background, a reminder of why some royal bonds remain broken.

With the bells of All Saints Church ringing out across the rain-soaked Cotswolds, Peter and Harriet will step into married life under a sky that, mercifully, cleared for the photographs.