Princess Eugenie royal wedding: What next for Jack Brooksbank?
THE newest member of the royal family Jack Brooksbank is no stranger to rubbing shoulders with celebrities. His nuptials to Princess Eugenie will further propel him into the public eye.
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THE newest member of the royal family Jack Brooksbank is no stranger to rubbing shoulders with celebrities and his nuptials to Princess Eugenie will further propel him into the public eye.
The former waiter, 32, married the Princess of York, 28, at St George’s Chapel in Windsor and while the couple’s lavish two-day wedding plans haven’t garnered the same excitement that Prince Harry and Meghan’s internationally-televised event did, many are eager to find out more about the royal romance.
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The couple met in 2010 at Verbier, a favourite skiing destination for royals and celebrities in Switzerland, while each was holidaying with friends.
Jack, who proposed to Eugenie in Nicaragua in January this year, has since described their first moments together as “love at first sight”.
It was instant attraction between the upper-crust young man and the junior royal, and they’ve been together for the past eight years.
Jack’s father George — a chartered accountant and company director, and his mother Nicola, have lived in a “gated period conversion (home) in Wandsworth”, south London since 2001, reported London’s Telegraph.
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The Brooksbank family tree reportedly boasts English and Scottish noble lines while the name is one of the oldest in the country.
The Telegraph also reported that Jack is a descendant of the Brooksbank baronets and a distant cousin of his now wife. However, he does not have a royal title, and won’t be getting one after marrying Eugenie.
Eugenie’s mother Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, is the great-great-granddaughter of Lady Julia Coke, who is the daughter of Jack’s great-great-grandfather, Thomas Coke.
The Brooksbank family is close and his parents said they were delighted with their son’s wedding.
“We are completely over the moon and are very excited for them both.”
Jack is the second commoner to join the royal family this year, following the wedding of American actress Meghan Markle to Prince Harry in May.
Jack and Eugenie already share a cottage together at Kensington Palace, making them near neighbours to cousin Prince Harry and Meghan and another cousin, Prince William and his wife Catherine.
Grant Harrold, an etiquette expert and former royal butler, told News Corp Australia it was “great” that Jack had no royal heritage.
“It shows you that there is no stipulation anymore as to who they (royals) might marry,” he said.
“You don’t have to be aristocracy, you don’t have to be royal, you don’t need to be a celebrity.
“Anyone can marry anyone in the royal family.”
(The Royal Marriages Act of 1772 actually states that those up to sixth-in-line to the throne must seek the Queen’s permission to marry. This did not apply to Jack and Eugenie, who is ninth-in-line.)
While he was educated at the elite Stowe School in Buckingham — which charges about $21,000 per term for boarding and counts billionaire Richard Branson among its alumni — Jack did not attend university after graduating.
Jumping straight into a bar job at the age of 18, he kicked off his hospitality stint as a waiter at Admiral Codrington pub in Chelsea, aspiring to later establish his own chain of traditional pubs.
“It has been my dream since I was 18,” Jack said in an interview in 2013.
“I have fond memories of Sunday roasts in pubs with log fires, and it’s something I want to recreate. I love pubs and often go to my local for a pint.”
He then moved to the posh Chelsea hangout the Markham Inn, run by restaurateur Piers Adam.
“At the Markham Inn I had to deal with lots of strange people, and everyone was demanding,” Jack said.
It was here that Jack had his first brush with royalty, meeting Prince Harry and his friend, nightclub promoter Guy Pelly.
He then moved to managing the Mahiki nightclub in Mayfair which boasts an upper-class clientele — princes William and Harry have frequented it, along with pop stars Rihanna, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga.
The tropical-themed club, situated opposite the Ritz, serves expensive cocktails that can be drunk out of novelty items like a child’s toy treasure chest or divers’ helmets.
However, for the past two years, Jack has promoted Casamigos Tequila on behalf of Hollywood heart-throb George Clooney, who part-owned the brand.
Casamigos was founded by Clooney, Rande Gerber who is married to former supermodel Cindy Crawford and Mike Meldman — however, the trio sold the company for almost $1 billion in 2017.
The Times has reported that Brooksbank considered a career in finance but later rejected the idea.
In 2016, he launched his own wine wholesale business — Jack Brooksbank Limited.
During their engagement announcement with the BBC earlier this year — which was Jack’s first television interview — the couple giggled and held hands.
“We met when I was 20 and Jack was 24 and fell in love and we have the same passions and drive for life,” Eugenie said.
She said Nicola and George Brooksbank were “already sort of parents” and Tom was like a brother.
“It was love at first sight,” Jack said.
“It’s very, very special I suppose to be a part of your (Eugenie’s) family now, but now it’s Jack and Eug I suppose.
“We’re just very, very happy and over the moon.”
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