Bride wars!
Therace to the altar has bred a bitter rivalry
Young royals’ toxic feud
As royal fans focus their attention on the imminent nuptials of Pippa Middleton this weekend, behind the scenes, Buckingham Palace is bracing itself for a tense showdown between the next generation of royal leaders.
With speculation rife that Prince Harry will soon announce his engagement to his girlfriend Meghan Markle,
Woman’sDay can reveal that palace aides are frantically trying to broker peace between young royals caught up in a new bitter rivalry – a race to the altar.
For most families, weddings are joyous events that bring people together, but tension over who’ll be the next to walk down the aisle in 2017 – and who will have the biggest ceremony – has led to frantic dress fittings, squabbles over guest lists and fierce competition for priceless jewels.
“Once again, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice appear to have their noses out of joint,” tells an insider. “They can’t help but feel left out and ignored, and they’re determined to change that.”
We’re told that at the centre of the rift is Eugenie’s deep resentment that, as she prepares to announce her engagement to longtime partner Jack Brooksbank, she is likely to have her thunder stolen by her cousin Harry and his American sweetheart.
Late last year, Eugenie, 27, and Jack, 30, were thought to have asked permission from the Queen to marry – but now it looks like Harry and Meghan, 35, will beat them to it.
Indeed, with the Suits actress cancelling advertising commitments and shutting down her personal blog last month, royal watchers are tipping that she and Harry, 32, will announce their plans to wed within weeks.
But the princess is not going down without a fight. “Eugenie would love to upstage Meghan by announcing her own engagement,” a palace aide tells Woman’s Day. “Ideally, she’d like to rain on Meghan’s parade by getting her invites out first and getting married just a few weeks before Meghan marries Harry.”
Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that Harry and Eugenie will both be pipped at the post by the Duchess of Cambridge’s sister Pippa, 33, who will wed stockbroker James Matthews, 41, on May 20.
Well, aisle be!
Pippa and her mum Carole’s determination to make her wedding a royal affair in its own right is only causing more tension. Desperate not to be upstaged, Pippa even initiated a “no ring, no bring” guest policy to keep Meghan away from her wedding – though she has since bowed to pressure and extended a last-minute welcome to the actress.
Eugenie and sister Beatrice feel strongly that, as Pippa is not even part of the royal family, it’s inappropriate for her wedding to be overshadowing Eugenie’s engagement. Meanwhile, Pippa is of the opinion she beat Harry and Eugenie fair and square.
It’s no surprise that Harry’s impending engagement is hard
for Eugenie to swallow. She and Beatrice, 28, have long been resentful that they’re frequently overlooked in palace circles.
And although Beatrice is single – having split from her boyfriend of a decade Dave Clark last year – it’s said she’s determined her sister should triumphantly walk down the aisle before any other royal. “Eugenie and Beatrice spend their lives longing to be in the limelight and they loathe being upstaged by the glamorous women who are marrying into their family,” our insider spills.
“It was bad enough when William married Kate, but now that Harry is about to announce his engagement to a beautiful TV star, the princesses have had enough! What really upsets them is the media and the public adore Meghan, and couldn’t care less about Beatrice and Eugenie.”
Caught up in the tension is Kate, 35, who loves Harry and wants to celebrate his engagement joy, but is also thrilled for her sister and is doing everything she can to make Pippa’s wedding day extra-special – which includes allowing Prince George, three, and two-year-old Princess Charlotte to act as page boy and bridesmaid.
It’s thought the duchess initially attempted to play palace peacemaker, before later resolving to stay out of the dispute.
And now, with Eugenie refusing to back down and the countdown to Pippa’s big day in full swing, the situation at the palace is likely to get worse before it gets better.
“One thing is for sure,” adds our insider. “This royal soap opera is about to boil over.”