On Friday 12 October Princess Eugenie of York, 28 - the youngest daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York & Sarah, Duchess of York - is getting married to Mr Jack Brooksbank.
Jack Brooksbank, is a British wine merchant, brand ambassador of Casamigos Tequila, co-founded by George Clooney.
Engagement;
The Duke of York's Office at Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Princess Eugenie & Jack Brooksbank on 22 January 2018.
The couple have been dating for seven years, & were first introduced by friends in a ski break in Verbier, Switzerland, where Brooksbank was working at the time.
Brooksbank proposed on one knee in Nicaragua, in front of a volcano & a lake as the sun was setting, while the couple holidayed; he didn't present a ring at the time, but had bought an oval-cut Padparadscha sapphire ring beforehand. Upon their return, he & Princess Eugenie worked on the design of a ring together; the finished design was the salmon-pink sapphire surrounded by a halo of diamonds, set on a gold band, with two further diamonds on the shoulders.
Brooksbank confirmed he had asked Eugenie's father for permission in the couple's brief TV interview, conducted by The One Show host, Matt Baker.
Brooksbanks's parents are Old Etonian George Brooksbank a company director & chartered accountant, & his wife, Nicola (née Newton) who split their time between London & France's Bordeaux wine region.
The official engagement photographs were taken in the Picture gallery at Buckingham Palace. During the public announcement of the engagement, Eugenie wore a floral Erdem cocktail dress to coordinate with the pink sapphire engagement ring. She had previously worn the dress for a 2016 interview with Harper's Bazaar
In April 2018, the couple moved from St James's Palace & took residence in Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace.
DID YOU KNOW? Jack is a third cousin twice removed of Princess Eugenie through Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester.
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The wedding will take place at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 12 October 2018. As Princess Eugenie is ninth in the line of succession to the throne, the Queen's permission to marry is not required under the Succession to the Crown Act 2013. Princess Eugenie will keep her royal title when she marries. She will also have the option of taking her husband's surname.
DID YOU KNOW? Jack's great-grandfather is Sir Jack Coke, who was Gentleman Usher to King George VI & Extra Gentleman Usher to Queen Elizabeth II.
Wedding Planning
Princess Eugenie, who is a supporter of charities that battle plastic pollution, has stated that she is organizing a plastic-free wedding ceremony. The couple has reportedly hired Peregrine Armstrong-Jones, founder of Bentley's Entertainment & half-brother of Princess Margaret's first husband, the Earl of Snowdon, to plan the wedding parties.
Mother-of-the-bride, Sarah the Duchess of York, who has been helping Eugenie with the planning, described her daughter as "very controlled". "She is so sorted. She knows exactly what she wants", Sarah said in an interview on The One Show.
Despite saying that the whole thing is "nerve-wracking because you want it to be perfect", Eugenie says she has not got "stressed at all" during the prep.
DID YOU KNOW? Jack's first job after leaving school was in service at the Admiral Codrington pub in Chelsea
The wedding will be the second royal wedding to take place at St George's Chapel, Windsor, a few months after the wedding of her cousin, Prince Harry, making it the second royal wedding at the chapel this year. The venue was previously the site for the weddings of her uncle the Earl of Wessex who married Sophie Rhys-Jones (1999) & cousin Peter Phillips who married Autumn Kelly, as well as the blessing for the second marriage of her uncle the Prince of Wales to Camilla Parker Bowles.
The wedding invitations specified a dress code for men of "dress, morning coat"; for women, "day dress & hat". British-based designer Erdem is the bookmakers' favourite to design Eugenie's wedding dress.
The wedding party
Buckingham Palace confirmed yesterday (10 October 2018) that Eugenie had picked her sister, Princess Beatrice of York, as maid of honour after having previously announced it in a Vogue interview back in August.
It was confirmed that Thomas Brooksbank, brother of the groom, would be his best man, & that the bridesmaids & page boys would all be children.
A total of six bridesmaids & two page boys were chosen:
Eugenie's godchild, Maud Windsor, daughter of Lord & Lady Frederick Windsor. Lord Frederick is the only son of Prince Michael of Kent
Her cousin Peter Phillips's daughters Isla & Savannah Phillips
Her cousin Zara Tindall's eldest daughter Mia Tindall
Her cousin the Duke of Cambridge's eldest children Prince George & Princess Charlotte of Cambridge.
The others are Theodora Williams, daughter of Ayda Field & Robbie Williams
Louis de Givenchy, son of Olivier & Zoe de Givenchy.
Eugenie's cousins Lady Louise Windsor & James, Viscount Severn, were also confirmed to be special attendants.
Members of the Nijmegen Company Grenadier Guards, of which the Duke of York is Colonel, will line the West Steps of the chapel as the couple depart for their carriage procession.
The Wedding
The ceremony will begin at 11:00 am. The Dean of Windsor, David Conner, will give the Address at their Wedding. The Dean will also officiate as the couple make their marriage vows. The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, has written a personal prayer for the service, which will be included in the Order of Service.
There will be a carriage procession through Windsor after the ceremony as well as a reception hosted by the Queen at Windsor Castle. This will be followed by a black-tie reception that evening at Royal Lodge, the Duke of York's official residence, with a third celebration the next day hosted by the bride's parents.
The wedding cake will be a red velvet & chocolate cake made by London-based cake designer Sophie Cabot.
Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester, is Princess Eugenie's great-great-great-great-grandfather on the side of her mother, Sarah, Duchess of York; the Earl is also Brooksbank's great-great-grandfather via his second marriage, to The Honourable Georgina Cavendish.
Music will be provided by members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & the State Trumpeter of the Household Cavalry trumpeters during the service. James Vivian, the Director of Music at St George's Chapel, has prepared two hymns exclusively for the couple.
The world renowned Andrea Bocelli will also be performing two songs. The Scots Guards will perform as a personal link to Brooksbank's great grandfather, Sir Jack Coke, who was an officer in the regiment. As the couple depart the chapel for the carriage procession, pipers from the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland "will perform Scottish pieces" from the Garter Tower.
On 18 July 2018, the royal family's & the Duke of York's websites announced that 1,200 people from across the United Kingdom were going to be invited to the grounds of Windsor Castle. The Palace received over 100,000 applications, & the invitations to those that were selected to join them on the day were sent out on 12 September. Among those present in the castle grounds will be representatives from the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, the Teenage Cancer Trust, the Salvation Army & the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, which are all charities supported by Princess Eugenie & Jack Brooksbank, together with members of the Windsor community & children from the local schools which Eugenie attended. Residents of Windsor Castle & a number of Royal Household staff will also be present.
TV & Live streaming
Coverage of the royal wedding in the UK will be shown on ITV's This Morning, hosted by Eamonn Holmes & Ruth Langsford. BBC will not broadcast the ceremony live, but they will have full coverage across their news services Sky News will also report the highlights of the event.
In the United States, the wedding & carriage procession will be shown live exclusively on cable network TLC beginning at 4:25 AM EDT. It will then be rebroadcast in its entirety beginning at 7:25 AM EDT. Both broadcasts will be aired on a three hour tape delay in the west coast. The network will also make their full wedding coverage available on their TLC Go mobile app at the conclusion of the live airing.
In Australia, the wedding will be broadcast on Channel 7, starting at 20:00 PM Sydney time.
On 10 October, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the wedding will be streamed live on the Royal Family's & the Duke of York’s media channels beginning at 10:00 AM (BST). Live updates & material will also be released throughout the day
To mark the wedding of Eugenie and Jack, the Royal Collection Trust produced an official range of commemorative china, showing a monogram surmounted by the coronet of Princess Eugenie, alongside the couple's entwined monogram.
Brief Princess Eugenie biography
Princess Eugenie was born on 23rd March, 1990 at The Portland Hospital, London. Born Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena of York, Her Royal Highness is the second child of The Duke of York & Sarah, Duchess of York, & sixth grandchild of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh. Princess Eugenie is ninth in the line of succession to the throne of the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms.
Education
HRH started school at Upton House School & Coworth Park School, both in Berkshire. Princess Eugenie went on to attend St. George’s School in Windsor before moving on to Marlborough College in Wiltshire in 2003 from where she completed A levels in Art, English Literature, & History of Art.
HRH studied a Combined Honours BA in English Literature, History of Art & Politics at Newcastle University in September, 2009, graduating with a 2:1 degree in 2012.
Charities & Patronages
In October, 2002 HRH, aged 12, underwent back surgery at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore, Middlesex, to correct a scoliosis condition. As a result of this surgery, Princess Eugenie is keen to support others going through similar treatments. HRH became Patron of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital’s Redevelopment Appeal in April, 2012. As part of the appeal, an accommodation unit at the hospital will be named Princess Eugenie House.
In June 2012, Princess Eugenie was one of around 3,000 cyclists to take part in Nightrider, a 100km bike ride through London. HRH raised money for the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, of which she is Patron, & the Marylebone Cricket Club Foundation.
Princess Eugenie, alongside her mother Sarah, Duchess of York, is a Patron of the Elephant Family, a charity campaigning to protect the Asian Elephant & their habitat. HRH visited Tara the Elephant at The Duke of York Square, London, in June, 2015 in support of the charity.
Princess Eugenie & Princess Beatrice became Patrons of the Teenage Cancer Trust in June, 2016. Their mother, Sarah, Duchess of York, is also a long-term honorary Patron of the charity. The Teenage Cancer Trust supports young people facing cancer.
Princess Eugenie became Patron of the Coronet Theatre, Kensington in November, 2016. The Coronet Theatre is a theatre & art space for Kensington & across London.
HRH became Patron of The European School of Osteopathy in April, 2017. The ESO is a world renowned provider of high quality osteopathic education available from undergraduate & up to postgraduate levels.
Her Royal Highness became a Patron of the Tate Young Patrons in May, 2018. Founded in 2007, the Tate Young Patrons are group of collectors, philanthropists & art enthusiasts aged under 40, who contribute to conserving historic works, acquiring new works for the Tate collection & supporting education & learning programmes.
Princess Eugenie works full time in the art world.
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Further interest;
You can follow Princess Eugenie on Instagram; https://www.instagram.com/princesseugenie/
https://www.royalcollectionshop.co.uk/
https://www.stgeorges-windsor.org/
https://www.churchofengland.org/
http://www.andreabocelli.com/
Royal Wedding Gift ideas;
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