Engaged? Oops! I forgot to tell mum

NEWS that Princess Eugenie and her barman boyfriend of six years Jack Brooksbank are to marry came as a complete surprise to his parents – who nearly choked on their breakfast when they heard it not from him, but on the BBC.

The ‘engagement’ was such a shock, Jack’s mother made frantic phonecalls to her son, demanding to know why she hadn’t been kept in the loop.

Jack, 29, told his mum not to worry, as he was not officially engaged, and Eugenie’s mother Sarah Ferguson made an official denial after the story emerged last week.

But I can reveal that Jack has admitted to friends and family that he and Eugenie, 26, have made a pact to marry in two years. The agreement was made a fortnight ago, just after Eugenie’s sister Beatrice split up with her boyfriend Dave Clark. The pact may well have been made as a direct result of that split, for pals of Jack and Eugenie, below, tell me he was worried about proposing before Beatrice had a ring on her finger. Now that Dave and Beatrice have decided to part ways – as I revealed in the MoS recently – the coast is clear. My source also tells me that Jack, who has been a barman and club manager since leaving university, has made another major life decision, promising Eugenie that he will now stop working nights, so the lovebirds can spend more time together.