Princess Eugenie's Complete Relationship History
Princess Eugenie appears to be one of the most relatable members of the royal family. Born in March 1990 and raised in the public eye, the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II has seemingly always come across as down-to-earth and relatable, even working a regular day job at a London art gallery. Her older sister, Princess Beatrice, once explained to Daily Mail, "If Eugenie could have any other life, she'd definitely choose one without cameras ... where she could blend into the background."
Of course, a princess can't necessarily blend in. Eugenie has managed to hold her own though, despite the many public royal scandals that have involved both of her parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Yet she clearly doesn't let that define her. "We want to show people who we are as working, young, royal women, but also not to be afraid of putting ourselves out there," she told British Vogue.
When it comes to romance, Eugenie apparently hasn't had to put herself out there too much, considering that she dated her now-husband, Jack Brooksbank, for the majority of her 20s. However, that doesn't mean Eugenie's love life has been boring. The royal still fit in a couple of high-profile romances before Brooksbank, not to mention that she and her now-husband have had quite the love story of their own. She reflected on that on Instagram, captioning a post of them in 2022, "What a journey it's been so far." So let's break down that journey in Princess Eugenie's complete relationship history.
Princess Eugenie dated a party boy in her teens
Like many teens, Princess Eugenie had a phase where she was into bad boys, which was apparently around 2008. That's when a then-18-year-old Eugenie had her first headline-making romance with Hugo Taylor. If that name sounds familiar, it could be because Taylor had appeared on British reality shows, "Made in Chelsea" and "I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" At that time though, he was just a known party boy, which is exactly what Eugenie wanted. A source dished to Daily Mail, "Eugenie likes bad boys and Hugo is dark and a little bit naughty, which she loves."
While the twosome were seen making out at a nightclub, it never seemed to evolve into anything more than just a fling. That probably was for the best though, considering that Taylor had a reputation for playing the field and not taking relationships seriously. Yet an insider explained, "It's not necessarily an exclusive relationship but they both like each other."
Eugenie may not have found a husband in Taylor but it appears she did find a friend since she remained close with his bestie, Oliver Proudlock. Per the Mirror, she even invited him to her wedding to Jack Brooksbank over a decade later. It's also worth mentioning that Taylor still has ties to the royal family outside of Eugenie. His now-wife, Millie Mackintosh, is said to have been close friends with Meghan Markle, having helped her get accustomed to life in London when she lived there with Prince Harry.
Princess Eugenie briefly dated Richard Branson's nephew
Princess Eugenie didn't stop dating party boys after Hugo Taylor since she went on to date polo player, Otto Brockway, shortly after in 2010 when she was 19 years old. A friend revealed to Daily Mail at the time, "Eugenie and Otto get on fabulously. He is good fun — a real party animal, rather like Eugenie herself." The then 24-year-old Brockway wasn't just a man-about-town though, in that he was also the half-brother of Ned Abel Smith, Kate Winslet's husband, and the nephew of famous billionaire, Richard Branson. You could say connections like that would have made him the perfect match for a royal like Eugenie.
Eugenie had seemingly met Brockway through nobility too, considering that they reportedly were introduced at Viscount Cowdray's estate. However, their courtship was rather brief since they ended things after six months together. It appeared that neither of them was willing to do long distance because Eugenie was a student at Newcastle University and Brockway wanted to travel. "They decided their relationship couldn't really work and have called it a day," one of her pals dished to Female First.
The princess apparently wasn't heartbroken over Brockway though. Her friend explained it was because she and Brockway never took their romance too seriously. "Eugenie is happy being fancy-free and single again," they added. Yet she wasn't single for long since mere weeks after her split with Brockway she was seen walking hand-in-hand with Jack Brooksbank, the man who would eventually become her husband.
It was love at first sight for Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank
It's safe to assume that Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank were really meant to be since they hit it off instantly when they crossed paths in 2010. "It was love at first sight," the royal gushed on ITV's "This Morning,"(via BBC). The two had been introduced by mutual friends on a ski trip in Switzerland when Eugenie was just 20 years old and Brooksbank was 24. She recalled how they had fallen in love quickly, bonding over their shared passions in life.
Eugenie and Brooksbank may have had their similarities but there were some big differences between them too, besides her being a royal. For one, Eugenie was a college student at Newcastle while Brooksbank worked in the London hospitality industry. A friend explained to Daily Mail, "He chose not to go to university so that he could get on the career ladder and Eugenie loved that. She didn't care at all that he was a waiter." It was apparently a smart decision for Brooksbank because his goal was to own pubs. It's also what seemed to have led him to Eugenie since he worked at one of the hotspots allegedly frequented by Prince Harry, which could be how they gained mutual friends.
Regardless, Eugenie was completely smitten, admitting on ITV that despite her being the famous one, it was him who initially made her nervous. "I remember being like, 'I really, really like this guy, I really want him to like me too,'" she said.
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank briefly had a long-distance relationship
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank had some distance between them when she was studying in Newcastle and he working was in London. However, upon her college graduation, there was a whole ocean between them because Eugenie moved to New York City to work at an auction house. That kind of distance was apparently a big change for the couple who were known by their friends for being inseparable. "They have barely been apart," one told Daily Mail. It also didn't help that Brooksbank apparently wasn't used to traveling either, with another friend revealing to People, "He's not a jet-setty type."
Yet the couple was still able to make a long-distance relationship work. Brooksbank even confirmed that himself, telling Daily Mail, "We spend a lot of time on Skype. It's great. We are still very much together." Eugenie also appeared to have made the effort to come back home when she could, for royal events and to see her boyfriend. In 2012, for example, she made headlines for reconvening with Brooksbank to attend a Teenage Cancer Trust charity concert in London together.
By 2015 though, Princess Eugenie moved back to England with her relationship with Brooksbank still intact. While the couple still lives in London together to this day, royal expert Nick Ede, told Express that Eugenie may return to residing in the U.S., but this time with Brooksbank and in California. "I think having them over there is going to be fantastic," he said.
Eugenie had an average courtship with Jack Brooksbank ... for a royal
For a princess, Eugenie appeared to have an average boyfriend/girlfriend relationship with Jack Brooksbank that apparently included them binge watching TV together. When they were dating in 2016, she even dished to Harper's Bazaar, "When I'm with Jack, we watch 'The Walking Dead,' which we're obsessed with," adding, "Maybe 'Game of Thrones' is our next thing." When they did leave the house though, the twosome seemingly liked to go out to dinner, as many couples do. "My friends and my boyfriend love trying new places," Eugenie said.
Of course, Eugenie being a royal did allow her and Brooksbank to go on cooler dates than couples who aren't rich and famous. For instance, they've been spotted attending movie premieres together, like that of the 2012 film, "The Dark Knight Rises." They were also photographed in 2013 hanging court-side at a New York Knicks game, on what looked to be a double with pop star Ellie Goulding and her then-boyfriend.
Brooksbank accompanied his girlfriend on her royal business as well, like the Royal Ascot and Chelsea Flower Show. A photographer there dished to People, "Jack was very much by Eugenie's side throughout." He also joined her when she visited her late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, at Balmoral Castle, which was a big deal for just a boyfriend to do. A source explained to Express, "There is no way he would be invited to stay with the Queen unless he was being welcomed into the royal fold."
Jack Brooksbank proposed to the royal while on vacation
Princess Eugenie got engaged to Jack Brooksbank in quite the romantic way. The couple were on vacation in Nicaragua in 2018 when the businessman asked her to be his wife in front of a volcano that they visited at sunset. Eugenie recalled to ITV's "This Morning," (via BBC), "The lake was so beautiful. The light was just a special light I had never seen. I actually said this is an incredible moment." Although the couple had been together for years, Eugenie admitted she didn't see the proposal coming, while Brooksbank didn't even have a ring on-hand. Yet he later explained that he had found a padparadscha sapphire for a ring, but wanted Eugenie to have a hand in designing the diamond part when they went back home, per Brides.
Once back in London, the royal family released an official statement to announce Eugenie and Brooksbank's engagement, as well as their plans to wed that fall. While the proclamation had suggested they became betrothed just weeks before it hit the press, royal insiders claimed to Vanity Fair they had actually agreed to get married long before that in 2017. The source claimed they had to wait to share the news though because Eugenie's cousin, Prince Harry's November 2017 engagement to Meghan Markle took precedence over hers.
Regardless, Eugenie's family was thrilled by their engagement news. Her mother, Sarah Ferguson, tweeted that she was experiencing "Total joy!!" over it, while her father, Prince Andrew told BBC he was "absolutely overjoyed."
Princess Eugenie had a star-studded royal wedding
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank had a fancy, over-the-top royal wedding when they got married at Windsor Castle in October 2018. Not only did the princess arrive to the chapel in a Rolls Royce, but world famous tenor, Andrea Bocelli, sang at their ceremony. They then followed that up with a luncheon, before the pair had their evening party at Royal Lodge, where Robbie Williams performed. It was Eugenie and Brooksbank who apparently orchestrated that all too, since a source told People, "It is very much Princess Eugenie and Jack's day, and they are leading the planning."
Yet, just because Eugenie knew what she wanted doesn't mean she was a demanding bride. Brooksbank even said on ITV's "This Morning," (via People), "There wasn't a bridezilla. Eugenie has been amazing." The princess did admit that planning a wedding was stressful but she knew how to stay grounded. "You realize that you're going to be with the person you love forever and nothing else really matters," she told British Vogue.
Eugenie and Brooksbank said their I do's in front of the royal family and several celebrities that included Ellie Goulding, Cara DeLevingne, Demi Moore, and Kate Moss. From the looks of a photo that Eugenie posted on Instagram for their anniversary though, she only had eyes (and lips!) for Brooksbank. In another post about their wedding, she made it clear how perfect it was, writing, "#tbt to THE greatest day of my life."
The Brooksbanks got even closer after becoming parents
Getting married wasn't the end of Princess Eugenie's love story with Jack Brooksbank since the couple appeared to have formed an even deeper bond when they became parents. The royal couple welcomed their first child, August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, in February 2021, just over two years after they tied the knot. While they expressed their newfound love in an Instagram post, royal aficionado Katie Nicholl told ET, "They are absolutely overcome with love and emotion for their little son."
Eugenie took to her Instagram to not only share photos of her baby, but to also gush about how her husband had really taken to being a father, which seemingly just made her fall more in love with him. In the caption of a photo of Brooksbank holding August, for instance, she wrote, "You are exceptional." On another post for Father's Day, she shared a picture of Brooksbank pushing August in a carriage, writing, "you are the ultimate father to our boy!!" with the heart-eyed face and heart emojis.
With that said, it's not surprising that the couple would want to continue to expand their family, which they announced they were doing in January 2023. "We're so excited to share that there will be a new addition to our family this summer," Eugenie wrote on Instagram. That April, Brooksbank was seen holding his pregnant wife's hand at an Easter church service, suggesting he couldn't help but dote on his wife despite the royal family's restrictions on PDA.
Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank stood by each other amid scandals
Princess Eugenie looks to have found her happily ever after with her husband Jack Brooksbank but that doesn't mean they haven't had their problems. In July 2021, for example, Brooksbank made headlines for stepping out on Eugenie when he was spotted partying on a boat with a topless model. Yet his mother-in-law, Sarah Ferguson, came to his defense, telling Daily Mail, "Jack ... is a man of such integrity ... He works as an ambassador for Casamigos, and he was on doing his job."
Being part of the royal family, Eugenie is naturally no stranger to scandal herself, which may be why it seemingly wasn't that big of a deal for her. Her father, Prince Andrew, for instance, was sued for sexual abuse that same year and Brooksbank was seen accompanying her when she visited him at Balmoral Castle as a show of support. Brooksbank and Eugenie have also apparently been directly impacted by Prince Harry's feud with the royal family, since they're very close with him and Meghan Markle. Royal expert Duncan Larcombe explained to OK! (via Express), "Eugenie is breaking ranks from the rest of the royals by being seen so publicly to endorse Harry and Meghan in their new life."
Brooksbank was by Eugenie's side when she mourned the death of her beloved grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 2022, as well. With that said, it's clear that the couple has been through a lot over the years, but they have stuck together despite it all.