On Friday 12th October 2018 Princess Eugenie of York, 9th in line for the throne, married Mr Jack Brooksbank. Princess Eugenie is the youngest daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and his former wife, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. Eugenie works at the art gallery Hauser and Wirth, having studied History of Art at Newcastle University, and her now husband is a wine merchant. The pair mingled in the same social circles, and met properly on a skiing holiday in 2010. They have dated for 7 years, and Jack finally proposed at a volcano in Nicaragua in January 2018.
St George’s Chapel, Windsor
The wedding took place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. It was not a state occasion, as Eugenie is not directly in line for the throne. Therefore, no foreign dignitaries were invited, nor any British political figures, much like the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in May 2018. The chapel has seen many other royal weddings, and the Queen suggested this wedding take place there. Eugenie grew up at Royal Lodge Windsor, one of the residences within Windsor Great Park that surrounds Windsor Castle, and the bride’s parents still reside in the lodge, so in effect, St George’s Chapel is Eugenie’s local parish church, as well as being a spectacular historical building, and a place of royal association.
The Guests: The Bride’s family
85o guests were invited to the ceremony which took place at 11;00 am, including 30 members of the royal family. One notable absentee was Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, married to Eugenie’s uncle Prince Charles; she had a previous engagement in Scotland, and did not want to let them down. The bride’s mother Sarah Ferguson, an ex-member of the royal family attended despite difficult relations with some members of the royal family. This is what I expected, and recently she has been more and more present at the same functions as the royals, such as Ascot, weddings, and Balmoral. The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, at 97, was deciding on the morning of the wedding at to whether he was feeling well enough to attend, and I am pleased to report that he did attend.
The royal family arrive in order of precedence, with Prince Charles as first in line to the throne, the last to arrive before the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.
The Guests: The Groom’s family
Jack’s parents George and Nicola Brooksbanks, attended and sat opposite the royal family in the chapel. Their other son, Tom, acted as Jack’s best man, helping calm his nerves, and looking after Jack’s glasses when Jack only needed to wear them whilst the bride walked up the aisle, so he could see her properly! The Brooksbanks are descended from the Brooksbank baronetcy, directly below barons, with viscounts, earls and dukes above it as well.
The Maid of Honour and Mother of the Bride
The bride’s sister Princess Beatrice was her maid of honour, and arrived at the chapel with the mother of the bride. The Duchess of York wore bright green, and an interesting style hat with a large bow-like feature; I couldn’t help wishing she had worn something a little more becoming, as I believe at heart she is well intending and lovely, but can come across as brash, which she did at the wedding. Her close relationship with her ex-husband has sparked rumours of re-marriage for years, but her scandal has meant she has had hostile relations with the royal family, especially Prince Philip. But it was lovely to see her seated safely between Princess Beatrice and Prince Andrew for the wedding ceremony. The Yorks are a close knit family despite the divorce, living and holidaying together for years, and celebrating family occasions together.
The Ceremony
Beatrice was not a conventional maid of honour. She did not wear a traditional dress, but instead wore an outfit in royal/electric blue, with a headband. She had no bouquet, and did not walk down the aisle with the bride and bridesmaids and pageboys. But she did support her sister, arranging the bride’s train when at the altar, and doing a reading despite her struggles with dyslexia, from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby; the extract was one that Eugenie had read and felt described her feelings for Jack, and along with the bible reading from Colossians, read by Jack’s cousin Christopher Brooksbank, was used by the Dean of Windsor in his address. The address highlighted the importance of love in marriage, and its foundation built on the love of Jesus for us his church and children.
One nice touch was the start of the vows being said before the bride and groom entered the area of the choir stalls, so that the bulk of the congregation could see them, as the screen actually shielded most of the congregation from seeing the altar where the vows were said.
The congregation was made up of friends and family, including celebrities such as James Blunt, Kate Moss, and Robbie Williams, whose daughter Theodora, aged 6, was one of the 6 bridesmaids who accompanied Eugenie and her father up the aisle.
Bridesmaids, Pageboys, and Special Attendants
The other bridesmaids were Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge (aged 3 - daughter of Eugenie's cousin Prince William), Miss Savannah Phillips (aged 7 – daughter of Mrs Autumn Phillips and Mr Peter Phillips, Eugenie's cousin), Miss Isla Phillips (aged 6 – daughter of Mrs Autumn Phillips and Mr Peter Phillips, Eugenie's cousin), Miss Mia Tindall (aged 4 – daughter of Mrs Zara Tindall, Eugenie's cousin, and Mr Mike Tindall), Miss Maud Windsor (aged 5 – goddaughter of Princess Eugenie, daughter of Lady Frederick Windsor and Lord Frederick Windsor, son of the Queen's cousin). The page boys were His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge, (son of Eugenie's cousin Prince William - aged 5) and Mr Louis de Givenchy (aged 6 – son of Mrs Zoe De Givenchy and Mr Olivier De Givenchy). The outfits of the bridesmaids and pageboys were designed by Amaia Arrieta of Amaia Kids, and incorporated sashes that featured the artwork of Mark Bradford that also featured on the back cover of the order of service. The bridesmaids carried bouquets by Rob Van Helden, who was the florist responsible for the floral displays inside and outside the chapel, and reflected the bride’s bouquet. They carried lily of the valley and spray roses.
The special attendants were Eugenie's cousins Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor (aged 14) and Viscount Severn (aged 10). Lady Louise accompanied the bridesmaids and pageboys to the chapel, and helped them get into position, while Viscount Severn had the special role of conducting the mother of the bride and maid of honour to their seats. Lady Louise wore a similar shade of blue to the maid of honour. In many ways the choice of dress of the bridal party (Lady Louise and Princess Beatrice) was unconventional, but worked well.
The Bride
The bride herself wore a lovely dress designed by British based label Peter Pilotto, founded in London in 2007. She met them whilst co-hosting an event in support of women designers. The dress by Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos featured embroidered garlands of thistles (for the couple’s love of Balmoral in Scotland), shamrocks (for the bride’s maternal family), ivy (for their home of Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace) and the York rose, woven into a jacquard of silk, cotton and viscose blend. The dress was developed layer by layer from the corset, during several fittings, to include an underskirt, fitted bodice, full pleated outer skirt, and train. The low back and lack of veil was intentional to show Eugenie’s scar from the surgery she received aged 12 to correct her scoliosis. The bride wished to show her scar to encourage those who also have scars from this and other surgeries, and that it is part of her identity that she does not need to hide. Escorted by her father up the aisle, she wore the Grenville Kokoshnik Emerald Tiara leant to her as her, ‘something borrowed,’ from her grandmother the Queen. It is one of the Queen’s personal tiaras, bequeathed to her by Mrs Grenville in 1942, and was a favourite of the late Queen Mother. The tiara was made by Boucheron for Mrs Grenville in 1919. It was made in the Russian Imperial Court style of Kokoshnik, and features brilliant and rose cut diamonds pavé set in platinum, with six emeralds on either side. Emerald and diamond drop earrings, a gift from the groom to the bride, completed the look. The bride wore her brunette hair in an updo, styled by Sonny-Jo MacFarlane, Hari’s, with make-up by Hannah Martin, Bobbi Brown. Her shoes were peep toe heels by Charlotte Olympia. I think the bride looked very fairytale-esque! She arrived at the chapel with her father in a Rolls Royce Phantom 6.
Music
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra provided music, with songs sung by opera singer Andrea Bocelli. The chapel choir of St Georges also sung during the signing of the register, and accompanied the congregation for the organ-led hymns. One of the three organists was a relation of the Duchess of York, Peter Roper-Curzon.
Floristry
The couple emerged onto the steps of St Georges, surrounded by the autumnal floral displays by Rob Van Helden that featured foliage and flowering branches from Windsor Great Park, as well as hydrangeas, roses, dahlias, spray roses and berries. I loved the colours and arrangements. The brides bouquet was designed by Rob’s sister Patrice, and featured lily of the valley, spray roses, ivy, stephanotis pips, baby blue thistles, and the traditional royal bouquet myrtle, taken from the myrtle grown at Osborne House from the myrtle in Queen Victoria’s bridal bouquet.
After the ceremony
The couple had their first kiss at the top of the chapel steps, watched by the representatives of charities they support, local school children (including pupils from Eugenie’s old school) and the 1200 members of the public who won tickets in an open ballot. The new husband and wife then set off on a short carriage ride around the streets of Windsor, where many members of the public had waited to see them, in the glass Scottish State Coach. I know the couple then had official photographs taken by fashion photographer Alex Bramal.
Afternoon Reception
The chapel guests and royal family then went to a reception hosted by the Queen at Windsor Castle, where they drank pol roger champagne. They were served canapes such as beef in yorkshire pudding and mini scotch eggs. The wedding cake, made by London based cake maker Sophie Cabot featured ivy leaves in autumnal shades. The 5 tier red velvet and chocolate sponge was served to guests. Father of the bride Prince Andrew gave a speech, telling an hilarious story of the groom. A source said, “The Duke told a story about their dog Jack [a Norfolk terrier]. One day, I think it was early in the relationship, he shouted ‘Jack, get off the chair!’ And the dog didn’t move. But Jack did!” He also uncharacteristically have his new son-in-law a big hug at the end of his speech. The groom also gave a speech, talking of his love for the bride, and thanking everyone for coming.
Further Celebration’s
The couple departed in a James Bond Aston Martin DB10, made specifically for the James Bond movie Spectre. They made the 3 mile drive to Royal Lodge Windsor, where later on the Duke and Duchess of York hosted an evening reception, where guests changed into full length evening gowns and suits. The next day, the celebrations continued with a funfair style event arranged by Bentley Entertainment, for all the guests to enjoy, in the grounds.
My Personal Reflections
I think it was a lovely day, if somewhat unusual, being both a royal and not actually official, occasion. There were some fashion choices I would not have made, and at times the service did not seem to flow, but as long as the couple were happy, that is all that matters. Although Jack did look very nervous, and seemed reluctant to hold the bride’s hand! The young entourage were very well behaved, despite young Louis tripping up the steps. The gusts of wind did pose a problem for headwear, but as far as I know, only one hat actually blew off! And Eugenie’s ring did get on her finger, despite some difficulty. But these mishaps just go to show the humanity of those involved, and make it real. As a Christian, I pray the couple may build a solid foundation and know God’s love, strength, blessing, and guidance. I echo the prayers led by the Archbishop of York, that they may put their trust in God, and he will defend and protect them.