Princess Eugenie: Expert discusses ‘interest’ in royal baby
The Princess of York and her husband Jack Brooksbank proudly posted a sweet black and white photo of their hands cuddling the fingers and wrist of their baby son after he was born on Tuesday at the Portland Hospital, in central London. Eugenie also captioned the picture with three blue hearts and two exclamation marks, with the post receiving more than 60,000 likes just a few minutes after going live. However, their announcement was a stark contrast to Meghan and Harry’s announcement of baby Archie’s birth, as they held a photo call on May 8, 2019, at Windsor Castle to present their son to the public.
Royal expert Daniela Elser claimed Eugenie was able to enjoy more freedom to share her happy news in her own way as she is further down the royal line of ascent compared to Harry and Meghan.
She wrote in NZ Herald: “The Princess’ decision to share an arty black and white shot of herself and her husband holding their new baby’s hand has been met with barely a raised eyebrow.
“Imagine, just for a moment if, Meghan had the temerity to decide she had wanted to share the glorious news of one of her baby’s arrival via social media.
“The reaction would have been breathtakingly aghast, the move presented as further proof of her (supposed) independently wilful disregard for tradition.
Princess Eugenie may enjoy a break from royal tradition unlike Meghan and Harry
“To be fair, there is a bit of an apples and oranges dynamic here too – Harry is the sixth in line to the throne and was (at the time of his son’s arrival) a full-time working member of the royal family.
“Eugenie, by contrast, is the second child of the monarch’s second son, and 10th in line to the throne and while she might very occasionally take part in official events she is not a card-carrying representative of the Queen.
“Which is to say, she enjoys a certain latitude that Harry and his brother William (and both their wives) will ever be afforded.
“There are two key takeaways here firstly and most obviously, that Eugenie is getting the sort of free pass that Harry and Meghan could only dream about and does not come down to hypocrisy but the unassailable fact that to be part of the royal family is to accept that there is no such thing as a level playing field.”
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Princess Eugenie posted a sweet snap of her newborn son
“It’s only been two and a half days, three days,” Prince Harry said, “but we’re just so thrilled to have our own little bundle of joy.”
The Duchess of Sussex also gave birth to her son Archie at the same exclusive Portland Hospital as Eugenie.
But Meghan’s trip to the hospital to give birth was kept so secret that Buckingham Palace issued a first notice Meghan had gone into labour hours after she had given birth.
Meghan and Harry had already said at the time that they would not introduce Archie to the world from the steps of the hospital, despite this being a tradition started by the Duke’s late mother Princess Diana and carried on by Kate and William.
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Meghan and Harry introduced Archie during a photo call
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank announced their baby news last year
However, the Duke did give an emotional press conference in Windsor shortly after the announcement.
He said: “It’s been the most amazing experience I could ever have possibly imagined.
“How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension. But we’re both absolutely thrilled.
“We’re both absolutely thrilled and so grateful for all the love and support from everybody out there, it’s been amazing, so we just wanted to share this with everybody.”
Meghan and Prince Harry are said to have privately congratulated Harry’s cousin Eugenie and Mr Brooksbank.
The palace announced Mr Brooksbank was at his wife’s side for the birth
Harry was close to Eugenie growing up, with them even enjoying skiing holidays together as children with their families in the 1990s.
The palace announced Mr Brooksbank was at his wife’s side for the birth, before adding: “Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well.”
Buckingham Palace said the Queen and Philip were delighted at the news, along with Eugenie’s parents the Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, who have become grandparents for the first time.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall posted their congratulations on social media, as they said: “Congratulations to Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank on the birth of their son.”