Princess Eugenie shares kiss with new husband at fairytale wedding
Princess Eugenie married tequila executive Jack Brooksbank in a solemn ceremony at St George’s Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle on Friday.
The pair sealed it with a kiss in front of waiting crowds on the West steps following the ceremony.
The couple invited 1,200 members of the public to come onto the castle grounds for a closer glimpse of proceedings. They also plan to take a carriage ride through parts of Windsor after the ceremony.
The 28-year-old bride, granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, is ninth in line to the British throne. She wore a gown by British designers Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos and a diamond and emerald encrusted tiara.
The queen and her husband, Prince Philip, attended the wedding, along with other senior royals.
The couple got engaged in January when Brooksbank, 32, proposed during a holiday trip to Nicaragua in Central America. They had dated for seven years.
Crowds gathered outside Windsor Castle ahead of Britain’s second royal wedding of the year on a gusty day that required early arrivals to hold onto their elegant hats as they crossed the manicured grounds.
The Queen hosted a champagne luncheon for the newlyweds shortly after the ceremony.
The couple married in the same venue used in May by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who is now known as the Duchess of Sussex. The royal standard was flying atop the complex Friday, indicating that the Queen was in residence.
Harry and Meghan attended, along with Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Their five-year-old son, Prince George, was a page boy, and Princess Charlotte, 3, was one of six bridesmaids.
Eugenie, 28, works at a contemporary art gallery. Her sister, Princess Beatrice, served as maid of honour.
They are the daughters of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, who are divorced but enjoy an amicable relationship.
Hidden message in wedding dress
Princess Eugenie requested her wedding dress be designed with a low back as a tribute to the hospital where she had a childhood operation for scoliosis.
The dress, designed by by British-based Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos, featured a neckline that folded around the shoulders to a low back that draped into a flowing full length train.
The low back feature was specifically requested by Eugenie, who had surgery aged 12 to correct scoliosis, Buckingham Palace said.
The princess has spoken of the importance of showing “people your scars”.
Eugenie was diagnosed with scoliosis when she was 12-years-old and received treatment at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH), undergoing a successful operation to straighten her spine.
Senior royal missing from celebrations
Camilla Parker Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall, was absent from the wedding on Friday.
It was announced earlier in the week the Duchess of Cornwall would not make it because she had committed to another engagement in Scotland.
She will use the two-day trip to visit the Harvest Festival and attend a cooking class.
The Mirror reported Princess Eugenie and her new husband “would not view it as a snub” as it was a “long-standing prior engagement”.
Princess Charlotte takes a tumble
Princess Charlotte took a tumble as she arrived at the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Brooksbank.
Accompanied by Prince George, the three year-old enthusiastically waved to the adoring crowds as they approached St George’s Chapel, before falling on her way in to the church.
But Charlotte wasn’t the only member of the young bridal party to struggle with the steps.
Page boy Louis De Givenchy also stumbled as he entered the church, falling onto his hands on the West Steps of the chapel.
However, both youngsters dusted themselves off and accompanied Princess Eugenie down the aisle.
George and Charlotte were joined in the bridal party by other royal children. Savannah Phillips, seven, and her six year-old sister Isla.
The daughters of Peter and Autumn Phillips acted as bridesmaids, alongside four-year-old Mia Tindall, daughter of Zara and Mike Tindall, and five-year-old Maud Windsor, Princess Eugenie’s goddaughter.
Singer Robbie Williams’ six-year-old daughter Theodora Williams also took on the role of bridesmaid.
Floral patterns were seen on belts on both the bridesmaids’ white dresses and pageboys’ navy trouser outfits.
Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, 14, and James, Viscount Severn, aged 10, the children of Prince Edward and Sophie Countess of Wessex, were both given the role of special attendants.
As they waited the few minutes for the bride to arrive, George and Charlotte had their hands held by their nanny.
As the trumpeters took their positions to herald the bride, the future king was seen to put his hands over his ears at the noise.
– With Associated Press and AAP
