UK: The marriage of Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank

The wedding of HRH Princess Eugenie of York, youngest daughter of HRH The Duke of York (Prince Andrew) and Sarah, Duchess of York, née Ferguson, and Jack Brooksbank, eldest child of George Brooksbank and Nicola Brooksbank, née Newton, took place at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle today 12 october 2018 at 11 a.m. local time.

The Dean of Windsor, David Conner, officiated the ceremony. Princess Eugenie's elder sister Princess Beatrix served the role as maid of honour, while Jack's brother Thomas was his best man. The order of service can be viewed here.

Bridesmaids were Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Savannah and Isla Phillips (daughters of Peter and Autumn Phillips, the former the son of the Princess Royal (Princess Anne) and thus a first cousin of the bride), Mia Tindall (daughter of Mike and Zara Tindall, the latter the daughter of the Princess Royal and thus another first cousin of the bride), Maud Windsor (goddaughter of the bride and daughter of Lord Frederick and Lady Frederick Windsor, née Sophie Winkleman, the former a second cousin of the bride) and Theodora Williams (daughter of the artist Robbie Williams and his partner Ayda Field).

Page Boys were Prince George of Cambridge and Louis de Givenchy (son of Olivier and Zoe De Givenchy, friends), while special attendants were Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, who took good care of the bridal party, and Viscount Severn, both children of the Earl and Countess of Wessex and thus first cousins of the bride.

Most members of the British Royal Family attended the wedding, including Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the Princess Royal (Princess Anne) and Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke of York (and hs former wife Sarah, Duchess of York), Princess Beatrix of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex. Also present were the Phillips and the Tindalls and most of the Kents and Gloucesters. Absent were the Duchess of Cornwall, who had other official commitments decided before the wedding date was set (for the tabloids and some royal watchers who think this was a snub: you have won the competion of sillyness) and Princess Alexandra, Lady Ogilvy.

As for other guests, and based on comments on Twitter and Nobiliana, members of the Greek Royal Family included Crown Prince Pavlos, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal, Princess Maria-Olympia and Prince Philippos with his partner Nina Flohr, while the Hannovers were represented by Prince Ernst August and Princess Ekaterina and Prince Christian and Princess Alessandra.

Present were also representatives of various charities which Princess Eugenie is associated with as well as many other relatives and friends. 850 people were invited to attend the ceremony and the reception, and judging from the various news reports, lots of celebrities were in attendance. As the wedding took place in the middle of the day while I was at work, I have not been able to watch much, and  will therefore not comment on all the guests. I am sure a list will be compiled at Nobiliana in the near future.

The wedding ceremony was followed by a reception in  St George's Hall hosted by the Queen and later a party at The Royal Lodge.

UK: HRH Princess Eugenie of York engaged

Buckingham Palace announced today the engagement between Princess Eugenie of York, youngest daughter of HRH The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, and Jack Brooksbank. As has become the tradition recently, the engagement was first made public on Twitter, this time via the Duke of York's account:

«The Duke and Duchess of York are delighted to announce the engagement of Princess Eugenie to Mr Jack Brooksbank.

Her Royal Highness and Mr Brooksbank became engaged in Nicaragua earlier this month. 

The wedding will take place in the Autumn of 2018 at George's Chapel in Windsor, with further details to be announced in due course.»

This will be the second wedding in the British Royal Family this year, as Prince Harry will tie the knot with Meghan Markle on 19 May 2018. As Princess Eugenie is currently no. 8 in the line of succession to the British throne, she will not need to seek the consent from her grandmother Queen Elizabeth, cf. the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 Section 3.

According to the official website, Princess Eugenie, b. 23 March 1990, has got a Combined Honours BA in English Literature, History of Art and Politics at Newcastle University in September, 2009, graduating with a 2:1 degree in 2012, and is currently working «full time in the art world», or to be more precise, she is a director at the contemporary art gallery Hauser and Wirth in London.

Eugenie and Jack has been a couple for seven years. Jack, born in 1986, the eldest child of George Brooksbank and Nicola Brooksbank, née Newton, is working in the hospitality industry. He used to be the manager of the nightclub Mahiki in Mayfair, London, and according to the Daily Express, he is now working as «the Brand Ambassador of Casamigos Tequila, the award winning brand owned by George Clooney, Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman that recently sold to Diageo for $1Billion.»

The Duke of York expressed in a statement released on Twitter later today that «We are overjoyed at the news today that Eugenie and Jack have got engaged. Jack is an absolutely outstanding young man and Eugenie and he have got to know each other over a number of years, and I'm really thrilled for them.» His ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York made several tweets, first writing just «Total joy!!» as well as posting a photo of the happy couple, then she followed up with «They float with laughter and love .. although a boat helps!» paired with yet another photo of the couple, before signing off with her third tweet, saying «I always say that the river flows well to it’s destiny because of the guidance of a solid rock», with another photo to follow. In another statement, Jack Brooksbank's parents George and Nicola Brooksbank said that they were «'completely over the moon' and 'very excited' for the couple. 'We could not be more delighted with the news of the engagement».

Following the engagement, three photos were released: (1), (2) and (3). The couple later appeared on BBC The One Show for a short talk about their engagement and the private blessings from the Queen.

As for Jack Brooksbank's ancestry, the genealogist and QVD author Marlene Koenig wrote on the subject in a blog article in 2016. The article reveals that Jack has several nobles among his ancestors, including his great-great grandfather the 2nd Earl of Leicester. Editor of the blog Peerage News, Michael Rhodes, wrote today on Twitter that «The groom to be is armigerous, & descends from the Coke Earls of Leicester, as does Eugenie, and that other royal consort the late Sir Angus Ogilvy.» His blog article on the engagement can be viewed here.

Postscript 7 February 2018: It was announced on 2 February 2017 that the wedding will take place on 12 October 2018.

Updated on 7 February 2018 at 14.20 (postscript added).

UK: Twitter account for the Cambridges and Prince Harry

Kensington Palace opened earlier this week a Twitter account for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry of Wales, meant to cover their activities as well as updates on their Royal Foundation.

The link to their Twitter account is https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal. Buckingham Palace's Twitter account can be found at https://twitter.com/BritishMonarchy, while the activities of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are covered by https://twitter.com/ClarenceHouse.

The Duke of York is also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDukeOfYork. Tweets sent by HRH himself is signed - AY. I doubt that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will tweet themselves, though.

Updated on Friday 1 April 2016 at 09.00 (typo corrected).