Behind-the-scenes besties or casualties of the royal rift of the century? Prince
Harry and Princess Eugenie have bonded over a lot through the years.
Prince Harry and his cousin have had a good relationship since the beginning.
Since Princess Diana and Princess Eugenie's mother, Sarah Ferguson, had a strong friendship,
Harry and Princess Eugenie spent several holidays together when they were young
Given their royal status, the near-constant paparazzi attention during their public
outings caused Harry discomfort growing up — so much so that in Netflix's docu-series,
"Harry & Meghan," he revealed an incident in which he felt the need to protect
cousins Beatrice and Eugenie following a barrage of paparazzi during a skiing trip.
"Paparazzi used to harass us to the point of where we had
to be forced into smiling and answering questions to the traveling press pack."
This disinterest in the paparazzi caused them to look to each other
for moral support during their time under the royal family. To Prince Harry,
his cousin Eugenie was one of the few to understand the issues he was dealing
with. Nigel Cawthorn reinforced this notion during an interview with Daily Mail, saying:
"From an early age, Eugenie had to deal with the embarrassing headlines
of both her father and mother. Harry had to deal with his share of headlines, too,
and this bond between them was a great consolation for them."
By all appearances, Princess Eugenie is Prince Harry's dedicated confidant.
From his personal struggles with the royal family to his relationship woes,
Harry has confided in his beloved cousin about details of his life he
surely doesn't want out in the open. And one time, Harry took the time to poke fun
at himself for a failed relationship that came and went before meeting Meghan Markle.
In Prince Harry's memoir "Spare," he revealed that Eugenie set him up on a date with model
and actress Cressida Bonas. After what appeared to be a successful first date,
the two decided to go out again, which saw Harry drive Bonas home afterward. Prince Harry
attempted to go in for a kiss just as she turned away and they sort of awkwardly grazed faces.
The embarrassing ending to their second date prompted Harry to call his cousin to
share the story. To his surprise, Princess Eugenie already heard about their date.
"Disencouraged, I told her the date had gone well, but the ending had left something to be
desired. [...] She'd already spoken to Cressida. She sighed. Awkward."
Given his royal status, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kept their ongoing romance
under wraps after meeting. Harry did, of course,
eventually introduce Meghan to his enormous group of relatives.
"And the corgis took to you straight away. For the last 33 years I've been
barked at. This one walks in, absolutely nothing."
But initially, he wasn't sure how the royal family would take to
the California-native actress.This ultimately led to Harry confiding
in the one person he knew would have a positive response to his relationship.
According to his memoir "Spare," Princess Eugenie was the first of the royal family to meet Meghan.
Despite it becoming a torturous night for Meghan — including vomiting from what he presumed to be
food poisoning from calamari she ate — Eugenie met Meghan at a dinner party where the two immediately
hit it off. With Harry comparing their first encounter to that of long-lost sisters, he stated,
"If meeting the rest of my family goes like this, we're home free."
In her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan revealed that she actually knew
Eugenie before she met Harry — making their encounter all the more positive.
"Eugenie and I had known each other before I had known Harry, so that was comfortable."
After expressing her comfort with Prince Harry's beloved cousin, the two built a strong friendship.
According to Us Weekly, an insider revealed that, in addition to staying in touch with Harry,
Eugenie maintained her relationship with Meghan as well. The insider said:
"Eugenie and Harry and Meghan have an unbreakable bond. They're in regular
communication and FaceTime at least once every couple of months with the children."
While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kept their relationship private early on, it was only a
matter of time before the news reached the public. In Netflix's "Harry & Meghan," Harry revealed that
his communications secretary Jason Knauf told him that news of his ongoing romance was going
public. Since their decision was final, Meghan suggested that they should make the best of the
situation by going to a Halloween party in Toronto the night before their relationship went public.
”Well, if it's going to come out tomorrow then let's go and have fun tonight."
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two were accompanied by Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank. Prince
Harry and Princess Eugenie certainly built a reputation of being regular partygoers
in London. Though their antics as young adults seemingly slowed down over the years,
Princess Eugenie didn't hesitate to tag along for what may have been a last fun
night out. When Meghan appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in 2021,
Meghan revealed that the four snuck out to a Halloween party together. Meghan said:
"It was a post-apocalypse theme, so we had this very bizarre costume on,
and we were able to sort of have one final fun night out."
In light of Prince Harry's departure from his royal duties, the royal family was reportedly
upset about his decision. His decision also put Princess Eugenie in an awkward position.
She's often considered the impartial one, and sure enough, Eugenie has kept the ties
between her and the opposing sides of the family strong throughout their royal quarrel. However,
Eugenie doesn't seem to appreciate any passive-aggressive notions from either side.
A source told the Mirror that Princess Eugenie allegedly argued with her sister
Princess Beatrice for announcing her pregnancy on the same day as Harry and Meghan Markle's
third wedding anniversary. Eugenie and her husband believed that — despite her sister's
initial intentions — it seemed like a ploy to snag the headlines away from
their cousin. Though Eugenie chooses to stay out of their issues regarding one another,
she believes both sides of her family should try to solve their problems.
Prince Harry's relationship with his family has been understandably strained since his
decision to step down from his royal duties, particularly with his brother,
Prince William. In Oprah Winfrey's interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle,
Harry revealed that although he still loves his brother, their relationship is very tense.
"We have a shared experience, but we're on different paths."
Given Princess Eugenie's relationship with her beloved cousin, she appeared to remain
impartial throughout the royal family's dispute. With many insiders deeming her as the one who
could bridge the gap between Prince Harry and the rest of the family, sources told Hollywood
Life that Eugenie maintained her ties to the royal family. The source explained:
"Eugenie's still very close to William and Kate, she hasn't taken sides or any
nonsense like that. She loves them both and she's known for being diplomatic,
so it's no surprise she's been able to keep a foot in both camps."
In 2019, Queen Elizabeth gifted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle the Frogmore Cottage residence
in the United Kingdom. But since they were taking up residence in California,
the two no longer needed Frogmore Cottage for a residence. After paying
nearly $3 million to British taxpayers for the renovations made to the house,
Prince Harry lent the property to Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank in 2020.
This didn't mean that Princess Eugenie wouldn't welcome her cousin to stay at the Frogmore
Cottage whenever he was in the U.K. During his visit in 2021, The Sun reported that Harry
followed safety protocols and quarantined at his cousin's residence for five days.
While Prince Harry's royal exit didn't cause him to lose contact with his royal roots,
it did result in him not being able to see his family as much as he may have liked. Despite this,
it seems that the royal family hasn't made much of an effort to visit him and Meghan Markle in
California. Given their ongoing issues, it is understandable why this may be the case. In 2022,
we saw that Princess Eugenie was one of the few — if any — from the royal family to spend time with
Harry in California. It turns out that Eugenie actually visits Harry more often than we think.
Amongst the many revelations in Netflix's docu-series, "Harry & Meghan," it was revealed
that Eugenie regularly visits Harry and his wife in California. In the Episode 6 of the series,
Harry picked up Eugenie to spend time together while she was in town
in 2021. From riding bikes together to running around on the beach with Archie,
their relationship clearly remains intact following his move to North
America. Though we may never know if his family visits him as much as Eugenie does,
she was the only royal family member to appear in the docu-series, so take from that what you will.
In 2021, royal experts reported that the Frogmore Cottage was empty,
suggesting that Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank moved out shortly after Prince
Harry lent it to them. Despite this, many believed she was dividing her time between
the Frogmore Cottage and Royal Lodge — where she grew up — for the holidays. Since the
pandemic was still rampant in the United Kingdom, journalist Omid Scobie predicted
that Eugenie and Jack would likely stay in the family home for the rest of 2021.
With Princess Eugenie undergoing her second pregnancy, it seems like she's looking to make
another drastic move. According to OK!, Eugenie and Jack are planning to move to the U.S.,
just like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. While this may seem like news to most, Prince
Harry is apparently in on the plan and has been sending her information on houses in Montecito.
However, Daily Mail reported in February 2023 that Eugenie plans to take up residence in the
West Hollywood area instead. Cosmopolitan stated that Jack's promotion at the firm
Discovery Land Company may see him travel to Portugal and the U.S. frequently. Since she's
familiar with the area, it seems that Eugenie thought that having a place in California would
be beneficial. And as a bonus, it'd mean that she could see her cousin more often.