Wedding Of Princess Eugenie And Jack Brooksbank

The wedding of Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank took place on 12 October 2018 at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom. The bride is a member of the British royal family. The groom is a British wine merchant, brand ambassador of Casamigos Tequila and socialite. The dean of Windsor, David Conner, officiated at the wedding using the standard Anglican church service for Holy Matrimony published in ''Common Worship'', the liturgical text of the Church of England. Princess Eugenie was the first British princess of royal blood to marry in the Church of England since the wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips 45 years before.

Engagement announcement

Princess Eugenie of York is the second daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. At the time of the engagement announcement, she was eighth in the line of succession to the British throne.

Jack Christopher Stamp Brooksbank is the European brand manager for Casamigos Tequila, the company co-founded by George Clooney. Brooksbank is descended from the Brooksbank baronets: he is the great-great-grandson of Sir Edward Clitherow Brooksbank, 1st Baronet. Jack is a third cousin twice removed of Princess Eugenie through Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester. His great-grandfather is Sir Jack Coke, Gentleman Usher to King George VI and Extra Gentleman Usher to Queen Elizabeth II. Brooksbank's parents are Old Etonian George Brooksbank, a company director and chartered accountant, and his wife, Nicola (''née'' Newton) who split their time between London and France's Bordeaux wine region. Jack has a younger brother, Thomas who is also an Old Etonian. After completion of his studies at Stowe School, Brooksbank worked in hospitality and management at establishments such as the Mahiki club and the Markham Inn gastropub. His first job after leaving school was in service at the Admiral Codrington pub in Chelsea.

The couple had been dating for seven years and they were first introduced by friends in a ski break in Verbier, Switzerland, where Brooksbank was working at the time.

On 22 January 2018, Buckingham Palace announced that they would marry in the autumn. They were engaged earlier the same month while in Nicaragua with Brooksbank giving the Princess an oval-cut Padparadscha sapphire surrounded by a halo of diamonds set on a gold band with two further diamonds on the shoulders. The ring bears a striking similarity to the engagement ring of Princess Eugenie's mother. Its value is estimated to be between $30,000 and $150,000.

Although Eugenie is a member of the British royal family, she does not require the Queen's permission to marry. The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York expressed their delight at the news and the British Prime Minister Theresa May congratulated the couple on her Twitter account. After the announcement the couple gave an interview to Matt Baker of BBC One. 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''.

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.

During the week preceding the wedding, Buckingham Palace and the Duke of York shared family photographs to commemorate the wedding. The couple gave a final interview to ITV's '' This Morning'' on 11 October 2018, released before the live coverage of the wedding.

Wedding

Planning

The Duke of York announced shortly after the engagement announcement that the wedding would be held on Friday, 12 October 2018. Eugenie, who is a supporter of charities that battle plastic pollution, stated that she was organizing a plastic-free wedding ceremony. The couple reportedly hired Peregrine Armstrong-Jones, founder of Bentley's Entertainment and half-brother of Princess Margaret's husband, the Earl of Snowdon, to plan the wedding parties. Rob Van Helden designed an autumnal floral theme for the ceremony using roses, hydrangeas, dahlias and berries from Windsor Great Park. The Duke of York later described the event as a family wedding, rather than a public one.

Venue

Following the engagement announcement, it was subsequently announced that the wedding would take place in autumn 2018 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 and cousin Peter Phillips, as well as the blessing for the second marriage of her uncle the Prince of Wales. The Duke of York later revealed that it was the Queen who suggested St George's Chapel to be used as the venue for the ceremony.

Cost

The wedding itself and the parties were paid for privately by the bride's parents and family, not by the public as commonly thought. The royal family also paid for flowers, entertainment and the dress.

Experts expected the wedding to cost the public around £2 million due to security, Thames Valley Police having confirmed they would be responsible for security on the day. The cost of providing security was expected to be lower than for the weddings of Princes William and Harry, but an exact estimate has not been given. Thames Valley Police were expected to use a special grant provided by the tax payer to cover its costs. Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council was to spend money on stewarding and setting up parking, and were expected to receive a government reimbursement. This caused controversy across the country with many people, including Labour Party Members of Parliament Emma Dent Coad and Chris Williamson, claiming they should not contribute. Republic, an anti-monarchist group, launched a petition asking the House of Commons to withdraw public funding for the wedding. The petition received around 50,000 signatures.

Wedding attire

The wedding invitations specified a dress code for men of "dress, morning coat" and for women, "day dress and hat".

Bride and bridal attendants

The bride wore a long-sleeved ivory "open-back" dress with folded shoulders and flowing full length train designed by Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos. Eugenie, who did not wear any veil, wanted her scar from the scoliosis operation that she had undergone at the age of 12 to be revealed. The bride also wore a pair of diamond and emerald earrings, gifted to her by Brooksbank. The Queen lent her granddaughter the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara, which was made in 1919 by Boucheron for Dame Margaret Greville and bequeathed by Mrs. Greville to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1942. It features "brilliant and rose cut diamonds pavé set in platinum, with six emeralds on either side". For the customary bridal themes of " Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue", Eugenie had her emerald drop earrings (the "new"), the Queen's tiara (the "borrowed"), and a handful of "blue thistle flowers" in her bouquet (the "blue"). Hairstylist Sonny-Jo MacFarlane styled Eugenie's hair in a "loose chignon". The bride wore shoes by Charlotte Olympia. Her bouquet, created by Patrice Van Helden Oakes, consisted of "Lily of the Valley, Stephanotis pips, hints of baby blue thistles, white spray roses, trailing ivy, and sprigs of myrtle from Osborne House". After the wedding the bridal bouquet was placed on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey, following royal tradition that began with the Queen Mother. Bobbi Brown make-up artist Hannah Martin did Eugenie's make-up for the ceremony.

Maid of honour Princess Beatrice wore an outfit by Ralph & Russo and a hat by Sarah Cant. The bridesmaids and pageboys wore dresses and uniforms designed by Amaia Arrieta. The design incorporates the Mark Bradford artwork included in the Order of Service. The bridesmaids carried flowers by Rob Van Helden similar to that of the bride's bouquet. The special attendant, Lady Louise Windsor, wore a dress by Claudie Pierlot and a hat by Emily London.

Groom and best man

The groom and the best man wore morning dress with tie pins given to them by Eugenie which featured "the white rose of York and the Padparadscha sapphire".

Wedding party

On 10 October 2018, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Eugenie had picked her sister, Princess Beatrice of York, as maid of honour after having previously announced it in a ''Vogue'' interview in August. It was confirmed that Thomas Brooksbank, brother of the groom, would be his best man, and that the bridesmaids and page boys would all be children. A total of six bridesmaids and two page boys were chosen: Eugenie's godchild, Maud Windsor, daughter of Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor, her cousin Peter Phillips' daughters Isla and Savannah Phillips, her cousin Zara Tindall's elder daughter Mia Tindall, her cousin the Duke of Cambridge's eldest children Prince George and Princess Charlotte, as well as Theodora Williams, daughter of Ayda Field and Robbie Williams, and Louis de Givenchy, son of Olivier and Zoë de Givenchy. Eugenie's cousins Lady Louise Windsor and 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, lined the West Steps of the chapel as the couple depart for their carriage procession.

Wedding service

On 14 September 2018, the palace announced that the ceremony would commence at 11:00am. Members of the Royal Family started to arrive at the chapel at 10:25am. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were the last members of the Royal Family to depart for the ceremony, as is traditional, arriving at the chapel at 10.52am. Shortly after, the bride arrived in a 1977 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI and proceeded down the aisle escorted by her father. He accompanied her through the Nave to the Organ Screen, where the groom and the best man were standing. After the introduction had been read by the dean of Windsor, the couple along with the best man and the bride's father were led through the Quire Gates and into the Quire of the Chapel.

It had been announced that the dean of Windsor, David Conner, would give the Address at their Wedding. The dean also officiated as the couple made their marriage vows. The archbishop of York, John Sentamu, had written a personal prayer for the service, which was included in the Order of Service.

Brooksbank's first cousin, Charles Brooksbank, gave the first reading taken from St Paul's Letter to the Colossians (Chapter 3, verses 12–16), followed by another reading by Princess Beatrice of York taken from ''The Great Gatsby''.

The marriage vows were those published in ''Common Worship'', and included the promise "to love and to cherish" each other. This was sealed by putting a ring on the fourth finger of bride's left hand. The ring is made out of the Welsh gold. After the signing of the registers, Eugenie and Brooksbank together with the guests sang the national anthem. The couple paused briefly to bow and curtsey to the Queen before walking down the aisle. They were followed in procession by other members of the bridal party and by their families. The couple shared a kiss on the steps outside the chapel.

Music

Members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the State Trumpeter of the Household Cavalry trumpeters provided music for the service. James Vivian, the Director of Music at St George's Chapel, prepared two hymns exclusively for the couple. Hymns sung at the wedding included "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken" words by John Newton, tune ''Austria''; "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise" words by Walter Chalmers Smith, tune "St Denio"; and ''Love Divine, All Loves Excelling'' words by Charles Wesley, tune ''Blaenwerm''.

Andrea Bocelli also performed two pieces: the Bach/Gounod ''Ave Maria'', and ''Panis angelicus'' by César Franck. During the signing of the registers, the choir sang '' Ubi caritas'' from '' Quatre Motets sur des thèmes grégoriens'' by Maurice Duruflé and "My spirit sang all day" by Gerald Finzi. The Scots Guards performed as a personal link to Brooksbank's great-grandfather, Sir Jack Coke, who was an officer in the regiment. As the couple departed the chapel for the carriage procession, pipers from the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland performed "Scottish pieces" from the Garter Tower.

The recessional was the Final from the ''Symphonie No 1'' by Louis Vierne.

Family celebrations

There was a carriage procession through Windsor after the ceremony in the Scottish State Coach, "leaving Castle Hill and proceeding along part of the High Street before returning to the castle via Cambridge Gate". The couple decided to use an enclosed carriage due to windy weather. An estimated crowd of 3,000 people lined the streets to watch the couple during the procession. There was a reception hosted by the Queen at Windsor Castle. The Duke of York is said to have delivered a speech at the reception. This was 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. Brooksbank drove his new wife to the reception at the Royal Lodge in a silver Aston Martin DB10, one of the eight models made for the 2015 James Bond movie ''Spectre''. For the evening reception, Princess Eugenie wore a silk gown designed by Zac Posen. The "pin-tucked plisse" dress was "cut on the bias and mixed with signature drapes", and "the White Rose of York was embroidered on both the shoulder and back which held together the cape". Biddle Sawyer Silks provided the silk for the gown. The blush gown was inspired by an outfit worn by Grace Kelly in the 1955 movie ''To Catch a Thief''. Eugenie adorned her hair with a hair slide that belongs to the Queen. It was originally commissioned by King William IV in 1830 for Queen Adelaide. The Wheat-Ear brooches were passed to the Queen in 1952. The monarch has since worn them as both hair slides and brooches.

The wedding cake was a 5-tier red velvet and chocolate cake made by London-based cake designer Sophie Cabot.

Four official wedding photos taken by Alex Bramall were released the day after the ceremony. Two of them were taken at Windsor Castle following the wedding service, while the third one showed the couple inside the Scottish State Coach, and the fourth one was taken at the Royal Lodge, during the private black-tie reception.

Guests

The guest list included approximately 850 people. The Duchess of Cornwall was absent from the ceremony as she was on a trip to Scotland to visit the Crathie Primary School and the Alford Community Campus in Aberdeenshire. Clarence House described the Duchess's engagements as a "previous commitment". A reported weekend house party at Birkhall was seen as another reason due to which the Duchess might have decided to not attend the wedding. The Duchess of Kent, who is in a semi-retired state, did not attend the wedding, as well as Princess Alexandra, who had broken her arm. Amongst the non-royal guests were Naomi Campbell, Demi Moore, Ellie Goulding, Cara Delevingne, Poppy Delevingne, Liv Tyler, Ricky Martin, Pixie Geldof, Eric Buterbaugh, Robbie Williams, Ayda Field, Tracy Emin, Stephen Fry, Kate Moss, James Blunt, Jack Whitehall, Chelsy Davy, Cressida Bonas, and members of the Middleton family.

On 18 July 2018, the royal family's and 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, and 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 were representatives from the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, the Teenage Cancer Trust, the Salvation Army and the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, which are all charities supported by Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, together with members of the Windsor community and children from the local schools which Eugenie attended. Residents of Windsor Castle and a number of Royal Household staff were also present.

Gifts for guests

The 1,200 members of the public invited to Windsor Castle for the wedding were given commemorative gift bags. Each bag had the initials of the couple, the date and the venue printed on the exterior. Inside was an order of service booklet, a chocolate coin, a can of water, a fridge magnet, a poncho, and a pocket-size tube of shortbread.

Coverage

Coverage of the royal wedding in the United Kingdom was shown on ITV's '' This Morning'', hosted by Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford. An average audience of 3 million people watched the wedding coverage on ITV, the channel's best ratings for the time slot since the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011. BBC
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