Queen Elizabeth II's grandson Peter Phillips and wife Autumn reportedly split

Peter Phillips, son of Princess Anne and the eldest grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, is reportedly separating from his wife Autumn Phillips.

Autumn Phillips has told her husband Peter Phillips that she would like to separate after 12 years of marriage, which has left the royal shocked, reports The Sun.

A friend of the royal said: "He is devastated."

The news comes a month after Peter attracted criticism for starring in a Chinese advert for a milk company that promoted him as a British royal family member.

Queen Elizabeth II is also believed to be "upset" after Autumn who is a "favourite" of the queen expressed her desire to end her marriage with the 42-year-old.

Another of Peter's friends revealed to the outlet: "She (Autumn) is a favourite of the Queen and I'm sure Her Majesty will be very upset by this as well. It's the last thing she needs after all her recent troubles and you get the feeling that the Royal Family is falling apart a little bit."

"Peter is absolutely devastated by this and just didn't see it coming. He thought he was happily married and had the perfect family with two lovely daughters. But he is now in total shock," the source added.

The mother-of-two reportedly wants to follow in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's footsteps and move to Canada, her native country. In fact, the move taken by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could have even hastened Autumn's decision to break ties.

The 41-year-old shares two children with the Sport marketing consultant- Savannah, nine and Isla, seven. Savannah is also the monarch's first great-grandchild. Both the daughters are believed to have dual Canadian citizenship, which means they can easily move to Canada if Autumn decides to return.

A pal of the British royal said: "What worries some of us is that Autumn may want to go back to Canada. Maybe she has been influenced by Harry and Meghan's departure. Perhaps she thought if that can happen then I can leave as well? That might be unfair on her but you have to consider it."

Peter met Autumn in 2003 in her home city Montreal at the Formula One Grand Prix where they were both working. They were in a relationship for six weeks before Autumn came to know that Peter was a royal when she saw a picture of him on television.

They tied the knot at St George's Chapel in Windsor in 2008, a year after Peter proposed. Over 300 guests including the British monarch and Prince Philip were present on the occasion. Autumn who was raised as a Catholic, had to convert to Church of England for the nuptials so Peter could stay in the line of succession, where he is currently 15th.