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The peacekeeper princess — could Eugenie be the key to Prince William and Harry’s reconciliation?

 (ES comp)
(ES comp)

Holding her sister’s hand as they mourn their beloved “Grannie”. Crying on her father’s shoulder as they inspect the Queen’s floral tributes. Standing in solidarity with William and Harry at their late grandmother’s lying-in-state vigil in Westminster Hall.

Most eyes might have been on William, Harry and their wives this week, but another royal figure stood out for her central and and visibly emotional role throughout the Queen’s mourning period. Front and centre of this week’s royal appearances? Their cousin Princess Eugenie, 32, who moved to Portugal with her husband Jack Brooksbank and their son August earlier this summer, but is said to still be the key to reconciliation between the brothers going forward.

Despite now living 2,000 miles away on Portugal’s buzzy west coast, the youngest of the York sisters was one of the first royal grandchildren to say farewell to the Queen at Balmoral and since then she’s played a central role in supporting her family, with onlookers praising her “down-to-earth” and “human” response to her late grandmother’s death. Over the last week she’s been seen making physical gestures of solidarity, embracing family members and holding their hands, with insiders saying she’s played an “invaluable” role in keeping the “link” between the Sussexes and the rest of the family alive. According to royal correspondent Richard Fitzwilliams, she and her sister Beatrice will be “pivotal in how things play out” from now on.

Indeed, Eugenie’s visible support for her family this weekend is the latest in a long line of royal peacekeeping — particularly with her older cousin Harry. The princess has always been close with her first cousin and is said to have played a key role in Harry meeting his wife Meghan Markle. Since then, she has held a unique position as a close confidante to Harry and his brother William, even since reported rifts between the pair. Indeed, she’s the main — if not only — member of the royal family long believed to have maintained a special relationship with the Sussexes’ since they moved to LA — confirmed by Meghan in hers and Harry’s bombshell Oprah interview, when she explained that she and Eugenie had known each other before she met Harry.

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie at the funeral of the Queen (Getty Images)
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie at the funeral of the Queen (Getty Images)

Since then, Eugenie and Harry have been spotted sharing a joke in the pews at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee thanksgiving service in St Paul’s Cathedral in June, and the two have visited each other across the pond, attending the Super Bowl together in California in February, and Harry choosing to stay with Eugenie and her husband at Frogmore Cottage when he flew into London for Prince Philip’s funeral last April. Beatrice has now been tipped as a possible guest on Meghan’s new podcast Archetypes — could younger sister Eugenie join her on there too?

The 32-year-old’s tributes for her late grandparents are signs that her peacekeeper role goes beyond the brotherly rift, too. Last year’s tribute to her grandfather Prince Philip was a reflection of her quietly crucial status within the wider family. “I remember incinerating the sausages and you swooping in to save the day,” she wrote in a post on Instagram that has been praised on social media for being the most down-to-earth of all the royal family tributes.

Princess Eugenie, husband Jack Brooksbank and Prince Harry share a laugh at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee (Getty Images)
Princess Eugenie, husband Jack Brooksbank and Prince Harry share a laugh at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee (Getty Images)

“Thank you for making us laugh, for including us, for picking heather and raspberries, for marching soldiers, for our teas, for comfort, for joy,” she then wrote last week following the Queen’s death, confirming reports of her long-reported close relationship with her late grandmother.

So what is Eugenie’s history with her royal cousins and how did she maintain a post-Megxit relationship few others could?

The confidante cousin

Eugenie’s special relationship with her cousins is nothing new. She and her sister Beatrice were close with William and Harry growing up, spending summer holidays at the Queen’s Balmoral estate in Scotland and playing together at Sandringham. The princes’ late mother Princess Diana was close with the princess’ mother Sarah Ferguson and they spent several ski holidays with the Yorks in the 1990s.

Eugenie went to the same school, Marlborough College, as Kate Middleton and has always been close with her cousin William, the Duke of Cambridge — last year, a former royal chef recalled how a young William pranked Eugenie and her sister Beatrice at Easter using a sugar mouse.

Shady pair: Prince Harry and his cousin Princess Eugenie in sunglasses in Greenwich (PA)
Shady pair: Prince Harry and his cousin Princess Eugenie in sunglasses in Greenwich (PA)

But it is Eugenie’s closeness with the younger of her male cousins that has attracted more attention over the years. Eugenie and Harry are just five years apart in age and are said to have always been said to share a particularly close bond, with Harry long confiding in his female cousin about his dating life and both boasting a long list of mutual famous friends.

Their shared pool of A-list pals now includes the Clooneys, who Jack got to know through his work as brand ambassador for George’s Casamigos tequila, and singer Ellie Goulding, who Eugenie reportedly introduced to her now-husband Caspar Jopling.

“Out of all the Queen’s grand-children, Harry and Eugenie have one of the most natural connections,” royal authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand explain in the Sussex biography Finding Freedom.

“Like Harry, Eugenie is loyal, honest and great fun. The two had many nights out together in London, sneaking into back entrances of clubs, such as Mahiki, where Jack once was manager, or Tonteria, where in one of the VIP cave areas they downed shots from Mexican skull shaped glasses and a giant frozen margarita (with multiple straws).”

Members of the Royal family (left to right) Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice, The Duchess of Cambridg, Prince Harry, The Duke of Cambridge, Mike Tindall, Peter and Autumn Phillips after Great Britain's Zara Phillips won a Silver Medal in the Team Eventing at London 2012 (PA)
Members of the Royal family (left to right) Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice, The Duchess of Cambridg, Prince Harry, The Duke of Cambridge, Mike Tindall, Peter and Autumn Phillips after Great Britain's Zara Phillips won a Silver Medal in the Team Eventing at London 2012 (PA)

Nicknamed “Youj” or “Bouj” by her friends, the book also noted that like Harry, “Eugenie also struggled to carve out her own identity growing up”. It continued: “Harry had always confided in his cousin when it came to the women in his life. Not only did he trust her implicitly, but friends say that she gives great advice and has always been ‘beyond wise’ for her years.”

A dutiful granddaughter

It’s not just her friends and cousins who can attest to Eugenie’s wise words and warm ways. Despite receiving no public funding, the princess often accompanied her late grandmother to events such as the Easter Day church service and Royal Ascot. She’s also attended engagements such as the Queen’s summer garden parties and the Commonwealth Youth Forum, which insiders say would not have taken place were it not for the Queen’s fondness for her six-born grandchild.

Princess Eugenie of York and the Queen at Day 1 of Royal Ascot in 2013 (Max Mumby/Indigo)
Princess Eugenie of York and the Queen at Day 1 of Royal Ascot in 2013 (Max Mumby/Indigo)

Unlike her cousins, Eugenie was known to have been relatively informal around her grandmother in public, referring to her as “Grannie” rather than “the Queen” in interviews and not being afraid to laugh or joke in her presence. She has long spoken fondly of the Queen’s estate Balmoral, to which she is a regular visitor.

“It’s the most beautiful place on Earth,” she said in the ITV documentary Our Queen at Ninety. “I think Granny is the most happy there, I think she really, really loves the Highlands... Walks, picnics, dogs—a lot of dogs, there’s always dogs!—and people coming in and out all the time.

“Family-wise we’re all there, so it’s a lovely base for Granny and Grandpa to be—for us to come and see them up there, where you just have room to breathe and run.”

The Queen was also one of the few people who knew about Eugenie’s engagement from the start (before cousins William and Harry) and the princess clearly had a close relationship with her “Grandpa”, the Duke of Edinburgh, too. “You would be so touched by all the tributes that have been shared with me the past few days,” she wrote in her Instagram tribute yesterday, quickly cementing herself as many social media users’ favourite royal.

“People remember sitting next to you at a dinner, or shaking your hand once, who remember you saying hello in passing, or remember how much their DofE award meant to them.

“I remember learning how to cook, how to paint, what to read. I remember laughing at your jokes and asking about your spectacular life and service in the navy,” she continued. “I remember incinerating the sausages and you swooping in to save the day. I remember your hands and your laugh and your favourite beer.

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie with Prince Philip (PA Archive)
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie with Prince Philip (PA Archive)

“I will remember you in your children, your grandchildren and great grandchildren. Thank you for your dedication and love for us all and especially Granny, who we will look after for you. With all my love Eugenie.”

After the Queen’s death, she followed suit with another down-to-earth tribute. “We’ve not been able to put much into words since you left us all,” read her joint statement with Beatrice. “There have been tears and laughter, silences and chatter, hugs and loneliness, and a collective loss for you, our beloved Queen and our beloved Grannie.

The Queen with the Prince of Wales (left), Princess Eugenie, (back left), and Princess Beatrice (back right) and the rest of the Royal family at the Castle of Mey after disembarking the Hebridean Princess boat after a private family holiday with Queen Elizabeth II around the Western Isles of Scotland (PA Archive)
The Queen with the Prince of Wales (left), Princess Eugenie, (back left), and Princess Beatrice (back right) and the rest of the Royal family at the Castle of Mey after disembarking the Hebridean Princess boat after a private family holiday with Queen Elizabeth II around the Western Isles of Scotland (PA Archive)

“We, like many, thought you’d be here forever. And we all miss you terribly. You were our matriarch, our guide, our loving hand on our backs leading us through this world. You taught us so much and we will cherish those lessons and memories forever.

“For now dear Grannie, all we want to say is thank you. Thank you for making us laugh, for including us, for picking heather and raspberries, for marching soldiers, for our teas, for comfort, for joy. You, being you, will never know the impact you have had on our family and so many people around the world.

“The world mourns you and the tributes would really make you smile. They are all too true of the remarkable leader you are. We’re so happy you’re back with Grandpa. Goodbye dear Grannie, it has been the honour of our lives to have been your granddaughters and we’re so very proud of you.

“We know that dear Uncle Charles, the King, will continue to lead in your example as he too has dedicated his life to service.”

Eugenie the matchmaker

Cousins Eugenie and Harry have long mixed in similar celebrity circles and their shared connections have often spilled into romantic ones, too. Eugenie is good friends with Harry’s ex Chelsy Davy - Davy attended her wedding in 2018 - and it was Eugenie who first introduced Harry to her longtime friend and actress Cressida Bonas, who he dated for two years from 2012.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank on their wedding day (Steve Parsons/PA Wire)
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank on their wedding day (Steve Parsons/PA Wire)

Sources say the princess also played a key role in introducing the Duke to his wife, Meghan. In last year’s Oprah interview, the Duchess confirmed she had known Eugenie before she met Harry, and Eugenie and Jack were spotted with Harry and Meghan at a Halloween party at Soho House in Toronto in 2016, before the Duke had publicly confirmed the pair were dating.

Eugenie and Jack are believed to have been on multiple double dates with the couple in Toronto and London and been instrumental in helping to keep their relationship a secret.

Harry and Meghan on their wedding day (Ben Birchall/PA) (PA Archive)
Harry and Meghan on their wedding day (Ben Birchall/PA) (PA Archive)

In 2019, Eugenie captioned an Instagram of the Sussexes’ engagement photo “welcome cousins” and went onto lend a hand in their royal wedding plans. The couple returned the favour last year when they gifted their beloved Frogmore Cottage to Eugenie and her husband for their growing family.

A friendship fit for a Duchess

Harry isn’t the only one of the Sussexes to share a special relationship with the princess. According to Meghan herself, she and Eugenie are longtime friends — a fact that no doubt strengthens her relationship with Harry. “Eugenie and I had known each other before I had known Harry, so that was comfortable,” she told Oprah. “We’re friends with them as a couple.”

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank with their daughter August (@princesseugenie)
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank with their daughter August (@princesseugenie)

It is unclear how the princess and Duchess first met but it is a friendship that has lasted, despite a rollercoaster few years for the royals and the Sussexes’ rifts with many other members of the royal family since they moved to LA. “Eugenie is really the only member of the royal family that Meghan is still close to,” a source told Us post-Megxit, while another source said: “They are sort of an unlikely pair, but remain in contact. They bond[ed] over their pregnancies.”

Indeed, both women had similar experiences with their firstborns. They both gave birth at London’s Portland Hospital before bringing up newborns Archie and August at Frogmore Cottage. The princess’ Instagram of August surrounded by daffodils in the grounds shares a likeness with Meghan’s alfresco pregnancy shoot under a tree in LA.

“Obviously as they were both pregnant at the same time have had a few chats over social media either Zoom or WhatsApp more — likely the latter,” editor of Majesty magazine Ingrid Seward told Entertainment Daily earlier this year. “I am sure they are both avid texters.”

But the pair have more in common than their children. Both also share similar interests in charitable causes and haven’t been afraid to start new chapters with their families abroad. While Meghan and her family have chosen to make home in an £11m mansion in Montecito in California, Eugenie and hers recently announced that they would be splitting their time between London and the “cool” village of Comporta, an hour south of Lisbon on Portugal’s west coast.

Like the Sussexes’ multimillion pound pad, prices in the beachfront resort where Eugenie and her family are said to be living start at £3.6m, with views over the Atlantic as well as access to an 18-hole golf course, spa and equestrian centre. Mornings can be spent at surf school (everyone there reportedly has a board stashed in the back of their car), while keen horsewoman Eugenie can follow in Madonna’s footsteps by going riding along Pego beach – the Queen of Pop’s favourite stables, Cavalos na Areia, are just around the corner.

Indeed, Meghan and Eugenie are both keen on their exercise. Eugenie has said she likes to start her morning circuits by 7am while Meghan once said she woke up at 4.30am for light yoga.

The two couples, said to be ‘as thick as thieves,’ were sat next to each other at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee (Getty Images)
The two couples, said to be ‘as thick as thieves,’ were sat next to each other at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee (Getty Images)

They’ve also both been described as kind and a good friend by their inner circles of (often famous) BFFs and are known for their straight-talking honesty. “I tell it as it is,” Eugenie once said. “I am shyer at first. Like, at a party I will say to Beatrice as we go in, ‘Oh, you go first.’ But then, when we’re actually in, I am much louder.” Was this honesty key to forging her peacekeeping role?

Eugenie the peacekeeper

The reported rift between the royal brothers had long been suspected, but Harry confirmed it himself last year, telling Oprah the word that defines their current relationship is “space”.

Princess Eugenie (PA Archive)
Princess Eugenie (PA Archive)

Several royal relationships appear to have been damaged since the couple’s Megxit move. The Duke said he felt “really let down” by the now King Charles and that his father had stopped taking his calls, and suggested that a certain family member or members had raised “concerns” about Archie’s skin tone. Only two family members with whom they’d maintained positive relationships were named: the late Queen herself, who Harry said he had “too much respect” for to “blindside”, and Eugenie and her husband, who Meghan confirmed were “friends” of theirs as a couple.

The relationship between the princess and the Duchess clearly remains a close one. “They have all become great friends,” a source told the Sunday Express during the early days of the Sussexes’ relationship. “Eugenie loves Meghan to bits and believes she is perfect for Harry. They are thick as thieves and may even all go on holiday together soon. Eugenie has lots of friends who could let them stay and be discreet, away from prying eyes.”

Zara Tindall, Lady Louise, Princess Beatrice, Prince William, the prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Princess Eugenie, Viscount James Severn and Peter Phillips attend the vigil of the Queen’s grandchildren around the coffin, as it lies in state on the catafalque in Westminster Hall (AP)
Zara Tindall, Lady Louise, Princess Beatrice, Prince William, the prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Princess Eugenie, Viscount James Severn and Peter Phillips attend the vigil of the Queen’s grandchildren around the coffin, as it lies in state on the catafalque in Westminster Hall (AP)

Yet even when relationships between the Duke and his brother were reportedly souring — sources have said William warned Harry not to “rush” things with Meghan early on — Eugenie appears to have maintained a similarly friendly relationship with the Cambridges, too. At a similar time to hers and Jack’s early double dates with the Sussexes, the couple would reportedly also enjoy evenings with William and Kate at Loulou’s, the exclusive private members’ club in Mayfair.

Since then, both friendships appear to have continued. The couple were neighbours to William and Kate at Kensington Palace before they moved to Frogmore Cottage at the end of 2020, and the Cambridges were among the first to like Eugenie and Jack’s new baby announcement from their official Instagram account.

 (Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Meanwhile there were even rumours around the time of Megxit that the Sussexes might be trying to persuade Eugenie and her husband to follow their non-royal lifestyle, and insiders have suggested Meghan and Harry kept the Prince Andrew scandal out of the Oprah interview out of “loyalty” to Eugenie and her sister Beatrice.

“We don’t know the reason, but one can only suspect that maybe out of respect for her, they didn’t want to go into her father,” royal author Anna Pasternak told Fox News following the broadcast.

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie wore bright blue and orange at the Platinum Jubilee (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie wore bright blue and orange at the Platinum Jubilee (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)

Since their grandmother’s death, Harry and William have been seen marching side-by-side and “trying their best” to get along, with commentators asking if the Queen’s funeral will be a turning point for their relationship and a catalyst for reconciliation.

Perhaps Eugenie the peacekeeper has already been at work.