Princess Eugenie has had some awkward slip-ups, and when it comes to the British royal family,
the world is always watching.. So hold onto your hats, because here are the most awkward
Princess Eugenie moments that were seen by millions.
Wedding days are stressful — from the flowers to the guest list to the seating arrangements,
it's no wonder that brides can go from angel to demon in two seconds. But one aspect of
the day that even the bride can't control is the weather, and Princess Eugenie found
herself in an awkward situation on her big day.
A storm hit the UK on Eugenie's October wedding day. As such, the winds were truly out-of-control,
and guests and wedding party members alike were literally blowing over. In pure British
form, many of the women in attendance wore fascinators — so cue the photos of the intricate
hats flying off of heads and men running after them.
Of course, as Eugenie walked up the steps of St. George's Chapel in Windsor, she was
subjected to the harsh gusts of wind. Her wedding dress and train needed some assistance,
and her father's jacket was spotted flapping in the wind. The whole scene was a bit awkward.
At least there wasn't any rain.
Princess Eugenie grew up in the media spotlight, but as the young daughter of Prince Andrew
and Sarah Ferguson, she mostly appeared in public as a kid with royal parents. But things
changed for the princess after Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton, and not in a good
way. As noted by "People," Eugenie awkwardly turned heads with her 2011 wedding day attire.
Specifically, Eugenie wore a blue and green dress from designer Vivienne Westwood, and
her hat was made by famed milliner Philip Treacy. However, the status of the designers
couldn't save Eugenie from criticism. The dress' over the top extravagance and the fascinator's
flower and feather combination was truly not the best of looks, and the princess was subjected
to some harsh criticism of her fashion sense. Stylist Charlie Anderson was even brought
in to work with Eugenie for a year to help "turn around" her style after the fashion
slip-up.
"You need help. You need professional help."
There are a couple outfits that some fashion-backwards '90s kids will never be able to live down.
Brightly-colored turtlenecks, fanny packs, pastel dresses… it was a difficult decade
for fashion. Princess Eugenie was one such '90s kid, and the awkward moment when she
appeared at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle to celebrate her grandfather's 80th
birthday was one to remember. The young princess was in full lime green attire, beading included.
The look was topped off with a skinny headband and a tiny purse. That wasn't the only time
that the outfit made an appearance, either — Eugenie was spotted in a similar getup
at the Queen Mother's 101st birthday celebration the same year.
Eugenie clearly has a sense of humor, because she took to Instagram to poke fun at her fashion
choices. She wrote,
"Bea and I are laughing hysterically after contemplating what on earth was in our handbags
that day going to church. The shoes, the headbands... yes to the '90s."
Every wedding is bound to have slip-ups, but Princess Eugenie's big day was full of awkward
details — and this one is cringey. Eugenie's older sister, Princess Beatrice, served as
the maid of honor, a role that's tasked with helping the bride maneuver her dress and assisting
her throughout the day. But things got awkward when Eugenie made her way to the carriage
at the bottom of the venue's staircase.
The wind was blowing and the princess's dress had a long train, but instead of helping her
sister out with the dress, Beatrice awkwardly stood on the steps as her sister struggled
to climb into the carriage.
The same sort of slip-up was seen later in the wedding celebrations, as Beatrice was
consistently not the first person to help the bride with her dress. So much for the
sisterly bond.
That wasn't the only awkward moment at Eugenie's wedding, either.
As noted by Express, things got really awkward for the bride because of her mother's relationship
with Prince Philip. Sarah Ferguson famously and publicly got divorced from Prince Andrew
years ago, and although she mended her relationship with Queen Elizabeth, Philip reportedly never
forgave her. Express reported,
"Because he dislikes Fergie so much, he almost backed out of Eugenie's wedding just so he
wouldn't have to see her. In the end, the Duke showed up for his granddaughter's big
day and even posed for several wedding photos that also featured the Duchess of York."
But apparently, Philip was not pleased. A royal source told "Express" that it was the
first time they'd been pictured together in 26 years, and the prince didn't speak to Fergie
the entire day.
Dealing with young children can try anyone's patience, which might explain why Queen Elizabeth
told off a young Princess Eugenie.
In 1992, the Queen was spotted telling poor Eugenie off after she stood on the monarch's
foot while on a family trip at Balmoral Castle. The footage was filmed by the BBC in the 1990s,
and the little princess can be seen standing next to the Queen while her sister and older
cousins are riding ponies.
"Ouch! It is my foot you are standing on!"
While it could be an enduring moment between grandmother and granddaughter, it's a little
awkward to watch.
Body language says a lot, and the physical distance between Princess Eugenie and her
soon-to-be husband and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during her wedding ceremony may not
have been by accident. As noted by "The Sun," the awkward tension was palpable on the big
day for this very specific reason: Meghan told the royal family about her pregnancy
at the ceremony.
Royal authors Andy Tillett and Dylan Howard explained in their book Royals at War that
Eugenie was livid about Meghan's decision to announce such news on her big day, as was
her mother, Sarah Ferguson. The authors wrote,
"Meghan put her foot in it when she decided that it would be the ideal moment to announce
that she and Harry were expecting their first child. This was a huge social gaffe, even
if you were not a royal."
Although royal sources have denied that such an announcement took place, it's safe to assume
that the news didn't sit with Eugenie well.
Kate Middleton came onto the royal scene, pretty quickly stole the spotlight, and has
continued to make headlines throughout her time as a working royal. But the attention,
the praise, and the adoring fans she's received has reportedly not been an easy pill for Princess
Eugenie to swallow.
The bluntness of the royal pecking order was on full display at the 2018 Trooping the Colour
celebration, marking Queen Elizabeth's birthday. Not only was Meghan Markle a scene stealer
with her rule breaking attire, but Kate was also standing front and center on Buckingham
Palace's balcony. Eugenie, by comparison, was standing off to one side looking particularly
awkward on an otherwise happy royal occasion. An insider told the "Daily Mail" that Eugenie
has felt "snubbed" on occasion, and has been made to feel like a, quote, "walk-on part
in royal family life."
Wedding days often are accompanied by a lot of emotions — excitement, nervousness, anticipation.
And it looks like the nerves got the best of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, because
the couple endured yet another very awkward moment during their wedding ceremony. According
to People,
"The couple ran into a problem when it came time for Jack to slip Eugenie's Welsh gold
wedding band on her finger: the ring didn't quite fit."
Brooksbank struggled quite a lot to push the wedding band onto his bride's finger, and
perhaps due to the awkwardness of the moment, made a silly face. Fortunately the princess
rescued her husband-to-be, and helped adjust the ring into position.
But the moment, for as awkward as it was, was apparently part of a very loving dynamic
between the couple. Body language expert Patti Wood told "Good Housekeeping,"
"When he's having a hard time with the ring, Eugenie maintains her stance and is very patient
with him. This couple has a strong, unbreakable love for another."
It was the awkward moment not caught on camera that did the talking. As noted by "Express,"
Prince Charles — the heir to the British throne — is reportedly tightening the purse
strings, and is being very picky about who is "in" and who is "out" in the royal family.
And as the royal circle is getting smaller,
"Princess Eugenie is not considered a senior royal despite being tenth in line to the throne
and granddaughter of the Queen, and reports now suggest it is due to Prince Charles."
As she's technically not a working royal, Princess Eugenie reportedly is not being offered
the Privy Purse, which is the royal private income. The awkward dynamic between Charles
and his niece was, to an extent, caught on camera in December 2020. During one of the
very rare public appearances of Queen Elizabeth, royal family members were present with a choice
few excluded — Eugenie being one of them. That doesn't bode well for her chances of
rejoining the inner circle.
It's not unusual for people to give readings during wedding ceremonies. And although Princess
Eugenie seems to very much love her husband, the reading that she chose in his honor turned
a lot of heads — and not in the best way. Eugenie selected a reading to dedicate to
her new husband from the iconic American novel The Great Gatsby; specifically, she chose
a passage that described the main character, Jay Gatsby, and his alluring smile as it reminded
her of her newlywed. As her sister read:
"It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance with it."
Aside from the strangeness of a British princess choosing to read an American novel for her
wedding day, people took to Twitter to point an important aspect of the story: The Great
Gatsby is a tragedy that ends in death, corruption, and destruction. That doesn't exactly seem
like ideal wedding material. One Twitter user wrote,
"Did she finish the book? Because it doesn't end well for Gatsby."
Princess Eugenie's wedding day was not only upstaged by both the rumors of Meghan Markle's
pregnancy and the awkward tension between Sarah Ferguson and Prince Philip. It also
was made worse when an advertisement for the commemorative wedding souvenirs featured the
name of the wrong sister.
Specifically, the Buckingham Palace Royal Instagram account posted a photo of a commemorative
mug that was available for purchase, but instead of including Eugenie's name, the original
post included Princess Beatrice's name instead. The post read,
"This exclusive mug issued in commemoration of the wedding of HRH Princess Beatrice of
York and Mr. Jack Brooksbank is now available for purchase by following the link in the
description."
Not surprisingly, the post was promptly taken down, but that probably wasn't received well
by the bride-to-be.
We've all made social media mistakes, but Princess Eugenie actually got into some serious
hot water over her Instagram activity, in part because she revealed behind-the-scenes
snaps of the royal life that are technically off-limits. She told Vogue,
"I recently got in trouble for posting a picture of Papa in a corridor of the palace that was
off-limits to the public."
The photo in question was a snap of Prince Andrew before the Trooping the Colour ceremony,
in which he was serving as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards for the first time.
Not only did Eugenie land in a sticky situation, but the post continues to be awkward for the
princess due to the comments that people left. Many commenters referenced the allegations
against Prince Andrew and his inappropriate involvement with Jeffrey Epstein. Talk about
awkward.
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