Queen ‘delighted’ as Princess Eugenie announces pregnancy, but royal title off limits for new baby
Princess Eugenie has revealed why she doesn’t want a royal title for her baby when it is born, which has stunned royal watchers.
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Princess Andrew’s daughter Princess Eugenie says she won’t accept a royal title for her baby because it’s a “curse” and she wants her child to have an “ordinary life”.
The Queen’s granddaughter, 30, and her husband of two years Jack Brooksbank, 34, announced on Friday they are expecting the baby in early 2021.
A family friend of the couple has told Vanity Fair how titles don’t matter to the couple, who will raise the child at their home of Kensington Palace, and said they just want a happy healthy child.
Sources also told the Daily Mail that the couple will choose an ordinary name for their first born.
According to the regulations of the House of Windsor, Eugenie’s baby will not automatically be entitled to the HRH tag, which only extends to grandchildren of the monarch.
“Eugenie knows that a title can be a curse as well as a blessing and she and Jack want their child to live an ordinary life and eventually work to earn a living.”
The source said even if the Queen offered a title as a gift, it was not Eugenie or Jack’s desire for their child to have a title.
Despite having royal titles, Princess Eugenie and sister Princess Beatrice don’t carry out full-time duties on behalf of the Queen so they are not seen as senior working royals.
The sisters, who are ninth and tenth in line to the throne, both have full time jobs, and do not receive cheques from the Sovereign Grant, the government-supported fund that finances Queen Elizabeth II’s official duties.
Princess Eugenie works as a director for Mayfair-based gallery Hauser & Wirth and receives no money from the Queen.
Princess Eugenie’s cousin Prince Harry did not opt for a title for his and Meghan Markle’s son Archie.
The same is true of Zara Phillip’s children, Mia Grace Tindall and Lena Elizabeth Tindall.
While great-grandchildren are not normally titled HRH or Prince, that privilege does extend to firstborn heirs, which is why Prince George was designated as such on in birth in 2012.
In that year, the Queen issued letters that deemed all of Prince William’s children would be designated HRH from birth, which is why Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis enjoy those titles.
Eugenie and her sister currently attend a handful of royal events a year, including occasionally joining the Queen at one of her annual garden parties in the summer, and making an appearance with other royals at Trooping the Colour.
Meanwhile Jack, who is European brand manager for Casamigos Tequila co-founded by George Clooney does not have a title or an HRH.
Eugenie and Jack’s child will be 11th in the order of succession, which means the Queen’s youngest son Prince Edward will slip down a place into 12th place.
PRINCESS EUGENIE’S SURPRISE PREGNANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Princess Eugenie has given the Commonwealth some bright news, with the announcement that she was “very pleased” to be expecting a baby.
The new royal baby is due in early 2021, with the Queen “delighted” that she will become a great-grandmother again.
Princess Eugenie trumpeted the news on Friday night Australian time that she and her husband Jack Brooksbank were expecting their first child.
“Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank are very pleased to announce that they are expecting a baby in early 2021,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
“The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, Mr and Mrs George Brooksbank, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are delighted with the news.”
Princess Eugenie, 30, posted a picture of two pairs of hands holding little bear baby booties on Instagram, with the caption: “Jack and I are so excited for early 2021.”
The baby will be the first grandchild for Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.
Dickie Arbiter, a former spokesman for the Queen, told News Corp Australia: “It’s good news for the family, good news for Eugenie and Jack and I wish them well.”
Princess Eugenie married Mr Brooksbank at St George’s Chapel in 2018, the same place where Prince Harry and Meghan tied the knot.
They had been dating for several years after they met while skiing.
Mr Brooksbank was the former manager of celebrity and royal nightclub hotspot Mahiki in Mayfair.
The new arrival will be the 94-year-old Queen’s ninth great-grandchild.
Prince William and Kate have three children, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte, Prince Harry and Meghan have baby Archie, and Princess Anne’s children have four children between them, Savannah and Isla Phillips, and Mia and Lena Tindall.
And it comes after Princess Beatrice married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in a secret ceremony in July.
Princess Beatrice’s dress, which was a remodelled dress that the Queen wore to a film premiere in the 1960s, was put on display at Windsor Castle this week.