Countdown to Royal wedding day for Eugenie
FINAL PREPARATIONS are being put in place for the Royal wedding of the season – with blue odds on as favourite for the colour of the Queen’s hat.
There are just days to go until Princess Eugenie walks down the aisle to marry Jack Brooksbank in a lavish ceremony at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on Friday.
More than 800 guests are to gather in the 15th century Gothic chapel, five months after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex staged their nuptials in the same venue. While the Dean of Windsor David Conner is to marry the couple, it will be Yorkshire’s own John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, who will lead the prayers, having written some of his own for the ceremony. And as with this year’s first Royal wedding, the big event will be screened live on television, though by ITV rather than the BBC, while bookmakers are predicting rain on the day.
“An October wedding always runs the risk of inclement weather,” said Coral spokesman Harry Aitkenhead. “With a wet October forecast we make it odds-on that the newlyweds will need an umbrella on their carriage ride through Windsor after tying the knot.”
The Queen and the rest of the Royal Family are set to attend the celebration for ninth in line Eugenie, the daughter of the Duke of York and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York.
Drinks executive Mr Brooksbank, 32, dated Eugenie for around seven years after the couple met on a ski trip. He proposed on holiday in Nicaragua.
He is said to have won over his future parents-in-law, with the Duchess of York commenting on how she was excited to welcome him to the family. The Duke added: “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.”
All that is known of Eugenie’s wedding gown – the design of which is being kept a secret as is tradition – is that it has been created by a British-based designer.
The Princess is said to be remarkably calm ahead of her big day.
“I’m not stressed at all,” the 28-year-old had told
“It’s very nerve-wracking because you want it to be perfect but then you realise that you’re going to be with the person you love forever and nothing else really matters.”
As with Meghan and Harry’s wedding, around 1,200 members of the public have been given balloted invitations to the castle’s Lower Ward for Friday’s celebrations.
They will be joined by charity representatives, children from Eugenie’s old schools, and Royal Household staff.
Buckingham Palace said it had received more than 100,000 applications from members of the public wanting to share the couple’s big day.
Famous faces among the guests are expected to include singers Robbie Williams, Ed Sheeran and Ellie Goulding, model Cara Delevingne, and the children of Sir Richard Branson, Holly and Sam.
Eugenie’s sister Princess Beatrice will be the maid of honour, while Mr Brooksbank’s brother Tom is expected to be best man.
The Queen will host an afternoon reception afterwards in the vast St George’s Hall, and the evening celebrations are expected to continue into the early hours at Eugenie’s family home of Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park.
Campaigning group Republic has criticised the security cost to the taxpayer of the wedding, saying estimates have put the bill at £2m. Its petition urging the Government to commit no public money to the wedding has more than 30,000 signatures.
The carriage ride by Eugenie and Mr Brooksbank through Windsor will have increased the security costs, but the route will be shorter as it will not take them up the Long Walk like Harry and Meghan.