Princess Eugenie; J.LO and Karlie Kloss
Princess Eugenie is following Harry and Meghan down the aisle
WINDSOR CASTLE? TICK. Horse and carriage? Tick. George and Amal Clooney in attendance? Tick. Prince Harry and Meghan are set for wedding deja vu as they watch Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie, and her longtime love, Jack Brooksbank, tie the knot on Oct. 12.
Early details of the nuptials are emerging, with some striking similarities. Like Harry, who wed his American actress girlfriend in royal splendour on May 19, Eugenie will allow 1,200 fans to witness the event in Windsor Castle’s grounds, along with representatives of the princess’s favoured charities and children and families from the local village.
The princess and her fiancé, who announced their engagement in January, will be married at St George’s Chapel, which played backdrop to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s stunning ceremony, witnessed by millions worldwide.
There will, however, be two key differences from the much larger royal do earlier this year: the carriage route will be one-sixth as long as that taken by Meghan and Harry, and the reception will likely be at Eugenie’s family home, Royal Lodge, rather than Frogmore House. “Frogmore would be too much a copycat of Harry’s,” says a well-placed insider.
Eugenie, who is an art gallery director in London, “is throwing herself into it,” the insider says. She and Brooksbank—who has been described by a friend as “a good sort and utterly delightful”—are “both hardworking”, the insider adds, noting that the youngest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, and Brooksbank, the UK brand ambassador for Clooney’s Casamigos tequila, are getting ample input from the bride’s mum: “Fergie is very involved.”
The Queen will be in attendance, but whether her husband, 97-year-old Prince Philip, who has been suffering with ill health of late, will attend is still a matter of conjecture. He has reportedly been on frosty terms with Fergie since her separation from his son Andrew in 1992. “He does what he wants,” says the insider. “He made a supreme effort for Harry. I would be very surprised if he did go, because he is so estranged from Fergie. I think he will decide at the 99th hour.” •