Princess Eugenie of York

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"Princess Eugenie" redirects here. See also Princess Eugenie of Sweden.
Princess Eugenie
Princess Eugenie of York.jpg
Eugenie at her first royal engagement, opening Teenage Cancer Trust's unit in Leeds, October 2008
Full name
Eugenie Victoria Helena[1]
House House of Windsor
Father Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Mother Sarah, Duchess of York
Born (1990-03-23) 23 March 1990 (age 23)
Portland Hospital, London
Religion Church of England
The Royal Family of the
United Kingdom and the
other Commonwealth realms
Badge of the House of Windsor.svg

HM The Queen
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

Princess Eugenie of York (pron.: /ˈjuːʒəni/[2] Eugenie Victoria Helena; born 23 March 1990) is the younger daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. As such she is sixth, and the second female, in the line of succession to the thrones of the 16 Commonwealth realms.

Her first royal engagement was opening Teenage Cancer Trust's unit for young cancer patients in Leeds on 23 October 2008.[3] She also makes appearances with the royal family at events, such as when she and her sister, Princess Beatrice, represented their father at a service of thanksgiving for her aunt Diana, Princess of Wales, in 2007.

Contents

Early life [edit]

Princess Eugenie was born in London at the Portland Hospital on 23 March 1990, the second child of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York, and sixth grandchild of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. She is also a distant cousin of her late aunt Diana, Princess of Wales, whose father was John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer for Eugenie's mother Sarah, Duchess of York is a direct descendant of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, daughter of John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer, (via Georgiana's illegitimate daughter Eliza Courtney). She was baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Sandringham, by the Bishop of Norwich, on 23 December 1990. She was the first royal baby to have a public christening, and her godparents were James Ogilvy (her father's second cousin), Captain Alastair Ross (who was unable to attend), Mrs Ronald Ferguson (her maternal grandfather's 2nd wife), Mrs Patrick Dodd-Noble, and Miss Louise Blacker.[4] She was named after Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, the daughter of Princess Beatrice, the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria, and Princess Helena, Victoria's third daughter.[5] She and her sister are the only granddaughters of the Queen to hold the title of Princess of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the style Her Royal Highness: although their cousin, Lady Louise Windsor, is legally a princess, in accordance with Letters Patent issued by King George V, she is not styled as such at the request of the Queen and her parents; their other female first cousin, Zara Phillips, is the Queen's granddaughter through the female line, therefore allowing her only the title and style of her father, who has none.

Eugenie is also the first British Princess since her grandmother's aunt, Princess Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary (known as Princess Mary), to bear the name Victoria; Queen Victoria had requested that her female descendants bear the name Victoria somewhere in their name, however neither Elizabeth II, the late Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra, Princess Anne, nor Princess Beatrice hold the name Victoria.

Princess Eugenie's parents divorced when she was 6 years old. However, when she was not at school, her time was spent with her family, as the divorce had been amicable and the Duke and Duchess of York had agreed to joint custody of the girls. Eugenie and her sister frequently travel abroad with one or both of their parents. In the April 2008 issue of Tatler, Eugenie described her grandmother as "one of the most amazing women ever," and her parents as "the best divorced couple" she knew. When Princess Eugenie turned seventeen, she underwent orthodontic treatment, like her sister. She had her orthodontic appliances on for two years before they were taken off.

In October 2002, Eugenie, then aged twelve, underwent back surgery at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London, to correct scoliosis. She still has the two titanium rods in her back that were put in place in 2002.[6] She made a full recovery and is not expected to undergo any further surgery for the condition.

Education [edit]

Eugenie began her schooling at Winkfield Montessori from 1992 to 1993. From there she joined her sister at Upton House School in Windsor until 1995. She attended Coworth Park School from 1995 to 2001, and then St George's School, near Windsor Castle until 2003. For the next five years, Eugenie boarded at Marlborough College in Wiltshire, gaining A-Level grades of A in art and English literature and B in history of art.[7] She undertook a gap year before continuing her education in the autumn of 2009. Eugenie began studying Combined Honours BA at Newcastle University[8] in September 2009, combining Art History, English Literature and Politics. She completed her studies in 2012, earning a 2:1 in English literature and history of art.[9]

Official duties [edit]

Princess Eugenie riding in a carriage with her father and sister at Trooping the Colour, 16 June 2012.

Princess Eugenie has undertaken limited public duties as her university studies took precedence. Her engagements are often done in conjunction with charities her mother supports, including the Teenage Cancer Trust. As a member of the British Royal Family, Princess Eugenie is frequently seen at important Royal events, such as the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony in London.

On 2 June 2011 Princess Eugenie, with her father, visited the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. This was one of her first official engagements. In April 2012 she signed on to be patron for the Hospital's Redevelopment Appeal; this was her first official patronage. In early 2013 Princess Eugenie with her sister Princess Beatrice visited Berlin in Germany to undertake a series of engagements.

Titles, styles, honours and arms [edit]

Titles and styles [edit]

  • 23 March 1990 – present: Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie of York

The Princess' style and title in full: Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena of York. As a British princess, Eugenie holds no surname; however, as with the other male-line grandchildren of Elizabeth II, she uses the name of the area over which her father holds title, i.e. York (as Prince Harry uses Wales, per his father, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales). Upon her marriage, if applicable, she will have the option of taking her husband's surname/title, although she will independently retain her Royal status (and be styled HRH) throughout her life.

Arms [edit]

Arms of Princess Eugenie of York
Notes
The Princess's personalised coat of arms are the lozenge of the arms of the sovereign in right of the United Kingdom, with a label for difference.
Coat of Arms of Eugenie of York.svg
Adopted
5 July 2008
Coronet
A coronet composed of four crosses formy and four Strawberry Leaves.
Escutcheon
Quarterly 1st and 4th gules three lions passant guardant in pale or 2nd or a lion rampant gules within a double tressure flory counterflory gules 3rd azure a harp or stringed argent.
Supporters
Dexter a lion rampant gardant or imperially crowned proper, sinister a unicorn argent, armed, crined and unguled or, gorged with a coronet or composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lis a chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also or.
Other elements
The whole differenced by a label of five points argent, the centre and exterior points each charged with a thistle head proper.
Symbolism
As with the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom. The first and third quarters are the arms of England, the second of Scotland, the fourth of Ireland. The use of thistles in her Arms continues the trend in royal heraldry (cf. the Arms of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge) of using charges from the maternal line, as her mother's coat of arms has a thistle as the main charge.

Ancestry [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ As a titled royal, Eugenie holds no surname, but, when one is used, it is Mountbatten-Windsor (or her father's territorial designation, York).
  2. ^ "The Duchess in Hull". ITV1. Episode Episode One, Part Two. 19 May 2008. http://www.itv.com/CatchUp/Video/default.html?ViewType=5&Filter=19725.
  3. ^ A day in the life of a young Royal: Movida, cancer ward, Cipriani... then Whisky Mist, Daily Mail, 24 October 2008. Accessed 14 May 2009.
  4. ^ Yvonne's Royalty Home Page – Royal Christenings
  5. ^ Illustrated biography of Princess Eugenie
  6. ^ "Princess Eugenie Biography;". 
  7. ^ "Princess Eugenie gets top grades in her A-levels". Daily Mail. 15 August 2008. 
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ Princess Eugenie BA (Hons) Celebrates getting a Degree in English

External links [edit]

Princess Eugenie of York
Born: 23 March 1990
Lines of succession
Preceded by
Princess Beatrice of York		 Line of succession to the British throne
6th position		 Succeeded by
The Earl of Wessex
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Princess Beatrice of York		 Ladies
HRH Princess Eugenie of York		 Succeeded by
Lady Louise Windsor
*not including short-term appointments, visiting dignitaries and most peers
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