all the romance of Princess Eugenie’s wedding
Celebrities mingled with royals at the wedding of Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank, but in the end it was all about the lovestruck bride and groom, says Roya Nikkhah.
When the Queen’s granddaughter Princess Eugenie married her long-term boyfriend, Jack Brooksbank, in the same spot as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex earlier this year, it may have been the royal wedding sequel but it was every bit as box of ce. Holding on to their hats on a blustery, autumnal morning, 30 members of the royal family led by the Queen, 92, and the Duke of Edinburgh making a rare public appearance at 97, joined a starry cast of show business royalty at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, to watch Eugenie, 28, and Jack, 32, tie the knot after more than seven years together.
With the couple positively beaming, October 12 was a day of infectious happiness and family reconciliations. Sarah, Duchess of York, who had been kept at arm’s length by the royal family since her divorce from the Duke of York in 1996, appeared welcomed back into the fold. Never one for understatement, the mother of the bride arrived fashionably late with maid of honour Princess Beatrice. In typically exuberant “Fergie” style, she tumbled out of her car, waving, grinning and giving the crowds a triumphant st pump before entering the chapel.
The other scene stealers were the adorable bridesmaids and pageboys. Three-year-old Princess Charlotte blew kisses and waved to the crowds as she arrived with big brother Prince George, both brimming with con dence after performing the same roles at Harry and Meghan’s wedding in May. They were joined by the Queen’s great-grandchildren Savannah Phillips, seven, her sister Isla, six, and Mia Tindall, four. Eugenie’s goddaughter, Maud Windsor, ve, was also bridesmaid with Theodora Williams, six, daughter of pop star Robbie Williams. The other pageboy was Louis de Givenchy, six, son of the couple’s friends Olivier and Zoe de Givenchy. The Earl and Countess of Wessex’s children, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, 14, and James, Viscount Severn, 10, were the bride’s
“special attendants”, helping to lift the boisterous little ones upright when they tumbled up the steps in the high winds.
On the stroke of 11am, all eyes were on the bride as she arrived in the same Rolls-Royce used by Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge on her wedding day. Stepping out on the arm of her father, the crowds gasped as the world caught its rst glimpse of the wedding dress. In a bold, courageous move, Eugenie wore an off-the-shoulder dress by the Britishbased label Peter Pilotto, cut deliberately low at the back to show off her scar, a legacy from childhood. Aged 12, Eugenie had surgery to correct a curvature of the spine condition known as scoliosis. Ahead of her wedding day, she said: “I think you can change the way beauty is, and you can show people your scars and I think it’s really special to stand up for that.”
While it may have been the wedding of a minor royal, no pomp and pageantry was spared. Soldiers from the Grenadier Guards lined the chapel steps and at the bride’s entrance, State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry performed a royal fanfare especially written for Eugenie.
As her dress caught the light, the fabric re ected embellished symbols and motifs close to Eugenie’s heart, including the thistle of Scotland for the couple’s love of Balmoral, the Queen’s Scottish estate, an Irish shamrock marking the Duchess of York’s maternal family and the York rose. Appearing overwhelmed by nerves and emotion, as Jack caught the rst glimpse of his bride, he whispered to best man and younger brother Thomas, “Oh, my heart, break my heart.” With a smile as dazzling as the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara, loaned to her by the Queen, Eugenie’s face lit up as her groom told her, “You look perfect.”
At the altar, watched by the royals and the groom’s family, including his proud parents Nicola and George, the couple giggled, tenderly held hands and whispered to each other reassuringly. Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, discreetly concealing her early baby bump under a navy Givenchy coat, returned to St George’s Chapel for the rst time since her wedding day.
Sitting next to the Princess Royal during the service, she said, “It seems like no time has passed since our day,” while Zara Tindall wryly observed to Prince Harry, “It’s very quiet compared to the screaming at your wedding.”
Perhaps recalling the romance of her own wedding day seven years ago in Westminster Abbey, the Duchess of Cambridge, in hot pink Alexander McQueen, held the Duke of Cambridge’s hand as they watched Eugenie and Jack take their vows.
While Harry and Meghan’s wedding broke the mould with a gospel choir and a memorable, off-piste sermon
from the American bishop, Michael Curry, Eugenie and Jack’s marriage was every inch the traditional royal union. The Dean of Windsor, David Conner, and Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, stuck rmly to the script and clock, while opera star Andrea Bocelli performed, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and surrounded by vivid autumnal arrangements created by celebrity orist Rob van Helden.
Princess Beatrice gave a lively reading from The Great Gatsby, describing the “rare” and “irresistible” smile of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s central character. Eugenie had been reading the novel shortly after meeting her husband-tobe, and the words reminded her of Jack’s smile.
More than 800 guests packed into the chapel, 200 more than at Harry and Meghan’s wedding. Among them were an eclectic mix of aristocrats, foreign royals and a large helping of celebrities including the pop singers Ellie Goulding, James Blunt and Ricky Martin, actresses Demi Moore and Liv Tyler and supermodels Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Cara Delevingne.
Attempting to justify the grand scale of the wedding, which raised some eyebrows, Prince Andrew said, “There are a few more than Harry had, but that’s just the nature of Eugenie and Jack, they’ve got so many friends.” There had also been some criticism of the newlyweds’ horse-drawn carriage procession around Windsor, reported to have in ated public security costs. But nothing could dampen the couple’s happiness as they emerged from St George’s Chapel, Eugenie giggling to her husband, “Let’s kiss.”
As they embraced, a cheer went up from the crowd inside the castle grounds. Like Harry and Meghan, Eugenie and Jack invited children from local schools, members of the public and representatives from the charities supported by the couple to join in the fun on their special day. Among them was Marjory Ashworth, 82, present at her ninth royal wedding. “Most of them I’ve camped out for,” she said. “I was a little girl when the Queen married at Westminster Abbey. I love it – the sense of occasion, the pomp and ceremony. You always
come away feeling uplifted and proud to be British.”
Once the formal part of the day was done, it was party time. Eugenie and Jack did not hold back, throwing three parties over two days of celebrations. First up was an afternoon Champagne reception in the Castle’s state apartments hosted by the Queen, where guests dined on smoked venison rolls, risotto and Scotch eggs, toasting the couple as Prince Andrew made a speech lled with humorous anecdotes about the couple. He then broke with protocol, declaring, “I’m going to do something I’ve never done before,” giving his new son-in-law a bear hug.
The couple cut their red velvet and chocolate cake, and Jack made an emotional speech, moving some guests to tears as he described how Eugenie “lights up my life” and “makes me whole”. He then unveiled a surprise for his new wife, whisking her away in the Aston Martin DB10 from the James Bond lm Spectre.
On Friday night, around 300 guests joined the newlyweds at Eugenie’s family home, Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, for “one hell of a party”, fuelled by unlimited Casamigos, the tequila brand for which Jack works as an ambassador. Eugenie wore an elegant, blush-pink oor-length dress by her friend and wedding guest Zac Posen, while guests in black tie and evening dresses sat down to a sumptuous dinner before dancing the night away to live performances by Robbie Williams and Ellie Goulding.
For those still standing, guests were invited back on Saturday for a third party, a “festival and funfair” themed bash at Royal Lodge, complete with ferris wheel, carousels, cocktails and street-food style stalls. As the celebrations drew to a close and the couple jetted off on a secret honeymoon, Eugenie shared one last wedding day photo to her Instagram account of herself and Jack, surrounded by their bridesmaids and page boys, thanking everyone for their wonderful wishes as they “start married life laughing together”.