Princess Eugenie Hopes A Family Feud Doesn’t Spoil Her Royal Wedding
Princess Eugenie’s upcoming Royal Wedding bears a lot of similarities to that of her cousin and cousin-by-marriage, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, including the celebrity guest list, its location at St. George’s Chapel, and the staggering price tag. But another similarity is rearing its ugly head as well: the problem of family members not getting along.
Just about every bride or groom that has ever gotten married has had at least two relatives who can’t stand each other and has taken great pains to prevent their wedding from becoming the scene of a fight. And Princess Eugenie is no exception. In her case, it’s her grandfather, her dad’s dad Prince Philip, and her mother, the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, who don’t see eye to eye.
The basis of their beef goes back to the early 1990s. At the time, Eugenie’s mom, Sarah Ferguson (or “Fergie,” as the British call her) was in an unhappy marriage to Philip’s son, Prince Andrew (Eugenie and her sister, Beatrice, were preschoolers at the time). Why didn’t they just get divorced, you ask? Because they’re Royals, and a divorce in the Royal Family is scandalous beyond words.
Needless to say, Fergie did what a lot of unhappily-married women (and men) do – she sought “comfort” from other men. We’re not justifying or excusing, it, it’s just what it is.
Royal wedding costs 'unacceptable', says Labour MP demanding Prince Andrew pay for his daughter's day https://t.co/sKgGb7O7Pg
— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 17, 2018
So when the Duchess of York was photographed by paparazzi in a compromising position with financial adviser John Bryan, the gasping and pearl-clutching across The Realm almost caused a rift in the space-time continuum. Making matters worse, it was a rather cringy situation, as Bryan was photographed sucking the Duchess’ toes.
It’s kind of an “Eww” moment, but hey, Fergie was, and is, an adult woman, so whatever works for her.
Prince Philip, however, has reportedly been unable to forgive her for the embarrassment that incident brought to the Windsors.
Just last week, as The Express reports, Fergie was in town to visit with Queen Elizabeth at her Scottish estate, Balmoral (the Queen apparently still being on speaking terms with her former daughter-in-law). Prince Philip, however, made it a point to make himself scarce, says a royal insider.
“Her Majesty often has the Duchess for a few days at Balmoral early in her annual summer holiday there, but Prince Philip does not like being in the same building as her. He just can’t bring himself to forgive her for some of the outrageous things she has done.”
Fortunately for Eugenie, she has a team of people whose job it is to figure out how to deal with these problems. So when she and Jack Brooksbank tie the knot in October, great care will be taken to keep Philip and Fergie as far away from each other as possible.
