Ex-royal harpist 'was vulnerable'

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An ex-royal harpist sentenced to drug rehabilitation for attempted fraud and handling stolen goods has been called a "vulnerable personality".

Jemima Phillips, formerly of Blaenau Gwent but now of Gloucestershire, had been addicted to drugs for five years.

Her brush with crime started with meeting a new boyfriend, another user.

Gloucester Crown Court heard despite her "spectacular talents" and playing for Prince Charles, Phillips had been scarred by troubles and tragedies.

She was appointed official harpist to Prince Charles in 2004 and played at his and Camilla Parker-Bowles' wedding reception the following year.

Phillips met her now ex-boyfriend William Davies, 41, at the start of 2009, whom she bought medication from to try to wean herself off her addiction.

She agreed to try to withdraw £500 from a branch of Halifax in Monmouthshire for Davies using a stolen pass book in order to prevent other addicts from going public about her addiction and the fact she had a royal connection.

Jemima Phillips, pictured with Prince Charles in 2004

However the cashier queried the signature. Phillips was also found with stolen goods including a flat-screen TV, mobile phones and two camcorders, but claimed Davies had told her they were his own.

Davies, of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years for burglary.

Phillips started playing the harp after her mother saw an advert for a harp in the music section of Exchange and Mart. She made her first public performance aged nine in the restaurant of St David's Hall in Cardiff during the World Harp Festival.

She later won the Under-19 Open Concert and Lever Harp section at the Bristol Eisteddfod and then gained a music scholarship to Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls.

She went on to attend the Royal College of Music on a four-year foundation scholarship.

She spent three years as Prince Charles' official harpist, performing at the wedding of the Queen's grandson Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly, and at the first concert to be recorded in the Buckingham Palace ballroom.

Phillips was taking drugs during her time as royal harpist

Phillips played at Balmoral Castle and Clarence House and at a reception hosted by the Queen for the 2012 Olympic bid.

After her term as royal harpist ended in 2007, Phillips continued to teach and play the instrument professionally.

But despite all her musical achievements, her barrister Paul Grumbar painted a picture of a young woman scarred by events from her early life.

He told the the trial at Gloucester Crown Court: "This is a very, very vulnerable girl.

"She had an appalling childhood, abuse, tragedy in her family, the death of her younger brother, the illness her sister suffers from - a dreadful life coupled with a spectacular talent, but a very weak personality and I would submit a very vulnerable personality.

"She has had disastrous relationships in the past. This was in a similar vein.

She fell for him (Davies), and went off the rails for a very, very short period."

Phillips split with Davies after her arrest and told police he had not revealed the items found in her possession were stolen.

Mr Grubar said she had made "valiant efforts" to shake her addiction and had now been drug-free for over three months.

"She's been consulting specialists, attending everything religiously and carrying on working," he added.

Phillips will now have to attend monthly reviews of her progress in rehabilitation with a group of other recovering addicts and provide samples to prove she is drug-free.