Princess Eugenie royal wedding 2018: The young royal’s struggles before she met Jack

PRINCESS Eugenie celebrated one of the happiest days of her life when she married her handsome fiance at Windsor Castle. But life hasn’t always been rosy for this minor royal.

SHE’s the ninth in line to the British throne, a princess with a title who lives in a palace but has no royal salary.

Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie must curtsy to her cousins, Prince William and Prince Harry.

She will never reign over the Commonwealth, and will forever be in the shadow of the more senior royals, dropping further down the line of succession as William and Harry’s families grow.

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A younger Princess Eugenie with her mother at a horseshow in the south of England. Picture: Getty

She’s royal enough that her every move and fashion choice is scrutinised and criticised, but not royal enough to earn a salary, so must find a respectable job to pay her way.

But life isn’t all bad for the 28-year-old princess. She lives in a cottage at Kensington Palace, in the heart of London, metres from her close friends Prince William and wife Catherine, and Prince Harry and wife Meghan.

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She enjoys fabulous holidays every year — including this summer to the romantic Amalfi Coast in Italy with her fiance Jack Brooksbank, who she met eight years ago when the pair were on holidays at the glamorous Swiss ski resort Verbier, beloved of celebrities and royals. They became engaged in Nicaragua in January.

Princess Eugenie gives her mum a peck as sister Princess Beatrice looks on during an annual ski trip at Klosters, Switzerland.

And she married her handsome fiance in a big royal extravaganza at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, complete with 850 guests including A-list celebrities, the Queen and the royal family in attendance, and a carriage-ride through the streets.

Her best friend and sister Princess Beatrice, 30, was by her side as maid of honour.

And even her mother Sarah Ferguson — “Fergie’’ the Duchess of York — is being welcomed back into the royal fold, albeit temporarily for the wedding, the tabloid scandals surrounding the end of her marriage of Prince Andrew back in the 1990s papered-over.

Charlie Proctor, editor-in-chief of the Royal Central online news portal specialising in European royalty, said Princess Eugenie was a “very down to earth person who I think is often misunderstood.’’

“Despite being a Princess, she does not carry out official royal duties on behalf of the Queen, and for that reason she and her sister Beatrice have struggled to find their place,’’ he told News Corp Australia.

“Eugenie is very entrepreneurial and currently works as a philanthropist. This is likely to be her focus going forwards as she won’t become a working member of the Royal family anytime soon.’’

Mr Proctor said he imagined it has been difficult for Eugenie to carve out a niche for herself as a working woman away from the Royal family.

“I think the best way to look at the difficulties she has faced is to compare and contrast Eugenie with Zara Tindall — Princess Anne’s daughter,’’ he said.

Prince Andrew with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and daughters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice at Wentworth Golf Club in 1996.

“Eugenie has been a Princess since birth, and as such is known formally as ‘HRH Princess Eugenie of York.’ But when Princess Anne gave birth to her children, she refused to let them have titles, therefore Zara was born as plain old Miss Zara Phillips.

“When you are a Princess, it is much harder to carve your own way as you will always have your title with you.

“I think Eugenie has worked hard in business, but it will never be good enough for some people because they argue that she is only in the job she is in because of who she was born to.’’

Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena of York was born on March 23, 1990, in Portland Hospital in London, the second daughter to Prince Andrew and his then-wife Sarah.

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, is the second son and third child to Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip.

A Princess Eugenie mask is displayed for sale in the window of a souvenir shop ahead of the wedding. Picture: AP

Her mother Sarah Ferguson is a commoner who became Her Royal Highness when she married Andrew in 1986, but lost her royal title after their divorce in 1996 and now goes by the title Sarah, Duchess of York.

At the age of 12 years, Eugenie underwent surgery to correct scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and had metal rods inserted in her back.

She graduated from Newcastle University in 2013 with degrees in art history and English literature, and embarked on a career in the art world, spending two years living in New York and working for online auction house Paddle8.

Princess Eugenie opens the new Children's High Dependency Unit during a visit to Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital on April 2, 2014 in Stanmore, Greater London, England. Picture: Getty

She is currently associate director at Hauser & Wirth, a contemporary art gallery in London.

She supports a number of charities including fundraising for the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, where she underwent her scoliosis surgery as a child, and is a patron of the Elephant Family, a charity campaigning to protect the Asian Elephant and their habitat.

She supports teenage cancer charities, is patron of the Coronet Theatre, and supports other young patrons who work to conserve important historic works of art.

She has A-list friends including Holly Branson, daughter of the Virgin billionaire Richard Branson, the singer Ellie Goulding, and models Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne, many of whom were at her wedding.

Despite all this, the public and media were never quite sure how to feel about Prince Andrew’s daughters, and this has been shown in the fact the BBC, the state broadcaster and staunch supporters of the monarchy, have declined to broadcast the wedding live, leaving Prince Andrew to lobby rival commercial network ITV, who agreed to a three-hour broadcast on Friday morning (London time).

Princess Eugenie of York with her fiance Jack Brooksbank in the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace in London. Picture: AFP

There have long been reports of a rift between heir to the throne Prince Charles and his younger brother Prince Andrew, over Charles’ refusal to allow the York daughters to become working members of the royal family.

Instead, Charles pushed ahead with his plans for a “slimmed-down monarchy’’ — and that left Beatrice and Eugenie needing to find a job.

The sisters have scarcely put a foot wrong during their young lives — keeping good company, doing charitable works, and trying to find jobs that don’t clash with their roles as junior members of the royal family.

And yet they are often mocked, particularly for their fashion choices, most noticeably at the wedding of their cousin Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, when Eugenie wore a clunky blue hat and Beatrice wore an outlandish design likened to a toilet seat.

The pair have had difficulty with the balancing act required by virtue of their birth, and acknowledged this in a rare interview with British Vogue in September.

“It’s hard to navigate situations like these because there is no precedent, there is no protocol,” Beatrice told the magazine.

“We are the first: we are young women trying to build careers and have personal lives, and we’re also princesses and doing all of this in the public eye.”

Mr Proctor said Eugenie has never been embroiled in a scandal or embarrassed the Royal Family.

“Some people who don’t know better might see the York family as a toxic brand after the exploits of Andrew and Sarah a few years ago,’’ he said.

“Mud sticks, but I don’t think Eugenie has done anything to undermine the family. The closest she has come to embarrassing the royals is when she and Beatrice had their ‘hatgate’ moment at the 2011 royal wedding, but that was all in good fun.

Princess Eugenie and her sister Princesses Beatrice, right, and their father Prince Andrew wearing a turban during holiday in India as featured on their mother’s Christmas card one year.

“The whole York family is very close. Despite her parents divorcing many years ago, they still share a home and go on holidays together with their daughters. They are probably the world’s most friendly divorced couple and I wouldn’t bet against Andrew and Sarah getting remarried at some point.

“Eugenie and Beatrice are very close, and are often joined at the hip. Beatrice will be Eugenie’s maid of honour at her wedding — nobody is surprised by that news.’’

Mr Proctor said the BBC had decided not to broadcast the wedding because there wasn’t enough interest to justify the expense.

“Nobody will wish her unwell, but to be honest, most people in the UK are indifferent to her wedding,’’ he said.

“Despite it being a royal wedding, many people simply do not care.

“That being said, the people who are interested are very vocal in supporting Eugenie and Jack and have been sending their best wishes to the couple.

“Many people will be lining the streets of Windsor on Friday, and although the event won’t be as big as Harry and Meghan’s, for royal watchers it will be a big day.’’