Princess Eugenie’s real wedding competition is with her low-key cousin Zara Tindall

Forget wedding rivalries between Princess Eugenie and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. The real comparison is with Eugenie’s other cousin, Zara Tindall.

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Forget wedding rivalries between Princess Eugenie and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s weddings. The real comparison is with Eugenie’s other cousin, Zara Tindall.

Like Eugenie, Zara is way down the line of succession (Zara is 17th and Eugenie ninth in line to the throne), is a private citizen who works for a living and does not receive money from the Privy Purse.

Also, like Eugenie, Zara’s big day was overshadowed by the royal wedding of the year, when she tied the knot with Mike Tindall just a few months after Prince William wed Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge in Westminster Abbey in April 2011.

But that’s where the similarities end, as unlike Eugenie’s plans for Friday, Zara’s celebrations were private and low-key.

Here’s how the two compare:

Zara and Mike Tindall’s wedding was a private and low-key affair with flag-wielding supporters providing the pageantry at Canongate church, Edinburgh.

WHEN AND WHERE

Eugenie’s wedding takes place on Friday, October 12, at 11am in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, the same venue where Prince Harry and Meghan wed in May.

The wedding will be televised — not by the BBC, which declined, but by rival British network ITV. And like Harry and Meghan, Eugenie and new husband Jack Brooksbank will take a short carriage ride through Windsor afterwards.

Zara’s ceremony in July 2011 however, was a private event in Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh.

Zara had spent the previous night partying on the Royal Yacht Britannia and stayed at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen’s official Scottish residence. She arrived at the wedding in a black Bentley.

Eugenie and fiance jack Brooksbank will enjoy a carriage ride after the wedding just as did her cousin Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Picture: Getty

GUESTS

Like Harry and Meghan, Eugenie and Jack have invited 1200 members of the public to watch the event from the castle grounds as well as local children from two schools Eugenie attended and representatives of charities they support. They have reportedly invited 850 guests, about 250 more than Harry and Meghan.

Famous names tipped to be there include George and Amal Clooney, Robbie Williams and Ayda Field, Cara Delevingne, Ellie Goulding, David and Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.

Zara had about 400 guests. Other than the Royal Family, celebrities included racing driver Jackie Stewart along with former England rugby manager Clive Woodward, rugby players Lewis Moody, David Flatman and Paul Sampson, actress Katherine Kelly and pop star Una Healy.

The guest list is expected to include high-profile names such as David and Victoria Beckham who also attended the wedding of Harry and Meghan. Picture: Getty

THE DRESS

Eugenie says she wants a simple dress and told Vogue she will be wearing a British designer. “I’m not telling anyone who is making it,
but I can say it is a British-based designer,” she said.

The front-runners are Erdem, a label she has worn previously, as well as Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Emilia Wickstead and Ralph & Russo.

But it’s unlikely she’ll keep it as simple as Zara, who wore an off-the-peg gown by Stewart Parvin which she’d bought from a shop in Gloucestershire.

Zara Phillips bought her wedding dress off the rack from a shop in Gloucestershire. Picture: Getty

RECEPTION

Following Eugenie’s wedding there will be a reception at Windsor Castle, hosted
by the Queen and an evening event at Royal Lodge, her family home on the Windsor estate. Celebrations will continue for a second day, with an afternoon tea and funfair rides.

Zara, unsurprisingly, had a more modest do. The wedding took place at 3pm, after which guests went to the Palace of Holyroodhouse for drinks and canapes, followed by dinner and dancing.

Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William at the wedding of Mike and Zara Tindall. Picture: AFP

BRIDAL PARTY

Zara’s bridal party consisted of her maid-of-honour, horse trainer Dolly Maude, whose son Ted, was pageboy, with Zara’s half-sister Stephanie Phillips, Nell Maude, Jaz Jocelyn and Hope Balshaw, bridesmaids. They wore simple white frocks by a local dressmaker.

Eugenie no doubt will be looking more towards Meghan and Catherine’s bridesmaids and pageboys for inspiration. She has asked sister Beatrice to be her maid-of-honour and Prince George and Princess Charlotte are tipped to be in the bridal party, as is Robbie Williams’ daughter Teddy, Louis and Ines de Givenchy, the children of banker Olivier de Givenchy and his Australian wife Zoe and Maud Windsor, daughter of Lord Freddie Windsor and his actress wife Sophie Winkleman.

Richard Branson has reportedly offered Princess Eugenie and her new husband the use of his private resort on Necker Island. Picture: Twitter

HONEYMOON

While the couple’s honeymoon destination remains a secret, one possible location is Richard Branson’s Necker Island in the Caribbean. It has been reported he has offered the pair the use of the resort which has been rebuilt following the devastation of Hurricane Irma. Whatever they choose it will be more than Zara and Mike, who didn’t have one and went back to work on Monday.