The September issue of Vogue features an exclusive interview with Princess Beatrice, who turns 30 in this month of August, and her younger sister Princess Eugenie. The two York sisters gave the interview at Royal Lodge, Windsor, their family home. Both sisters are royal Princesses, and full time working women. Their interview gives an insight into the balance they aim to strike between their jobs, private lives, and public royal role. They explain that they are each other’s rock, there to help each other when things get difficult. Like their mother, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, both sisters have experienced criticism in the press. It is their sisterhood which they cite as their coping mechanism for negative reports. This is the first interview of royals in Vogue magazine, and with anticipation building for Eugenie’s wedding on 12th October this year, the timing seems perfect. Eugenie reveals that her plans for her wedding to Jack Brooksbank are well under way, but that she is approaching it all with calmness and an attempt to make it a plastic-free wedding, just like she has endeavoured to do with her home. These sisters are navigating where nobody else has gone before; being a working woman and a royal, in the public eye. They cannot help their status, but as minor royals they often get criticized. Personally, I think they are two lovely women who balance charitable causes, their private lives, jobs, and royal roles well. However, the more interviews that are given by royals, the more they lose their sense of mystery and majesty; it is a balance between being accessible and relevant, connecting with the public, and being more than a celebrity. This interview, whilst ensuring their plight is heard, does draw attention to them, and is likely to incite criticism from those who feel they are trying to build their ego’s and celebrity status; this could undermine their charitable work and royal role in some people’s eyes.
Other royals have appeared in Vogue before. Recently, the Duchess of Cambridge appeared on the front cover for the Centenary celebration of Vogue. Vogue collaborated with The National Portrait Gallery, of which the Duchess is patron, to create an exhibition, ‘Vogue 100: A Century of Style.’ Several portraits of the Duchess were taken near her Norfolk home of Anmer Hall, and featured in the magazine and the exhibition.
Both the Duchess and the York’s are photographed outdoors, in casual clothing. The York’s have their terriers with them too. These photographs differ from that of Princess Diana, who was photographed in 1990 in a tiara and evening gown. The hair stylist, Sam McKnight, tucked the Princess’ hair into her tiara so it appeared shorter; Diana then went on to cut her hair to have this look. Diana has also appeared on the front cover of Vogue on three occasions, the third being to mark her death in 1997, with a photo taken in 1994.
The interview of the York sisters paves the way for royals to share more of their private life, and be real, as they repeat in their interview, about their lives. This is demonstrated in Eugenie’s personal instagram account; the first royal to have a personal social media account that is public. They are two thoroughly modern Princesses, and we await the October wedding with high anticipation!