Princess Eugenie of York (Eugenie Victoria Helena; pronounced /ˈjuː.ʒəni/2; 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 seventeen independent states; however, after subsequent evolution of the Commonwealth, that number of states has decreased to 16.
Due to her age Eugenie does not carry out official royal duties, though she does sometimes make 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 Diana, Princess of Wales, in 2007.
Early life
Eugenie was born 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 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. 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 cristening, and her godparents were James Ogilvy; Captain Alastair Ross; Mrs Ronald Ferguson, her step-grandmother; Mrs Julia Dodd-Noble; and Louise Blacker. As a male-line grandchild of the sovereign, Eugenie was styled Her Royal Highness with the title Princess Eugenie of York. She, and her sister, are the only granddaughters of the Queen to hold the title of princess and the style Her Royal Highness; although, by Letters Patent issued by King George V, their cousin, Lady Louise Windsor, is legally a princess, she is not styled as such at the reguest of her parents, and their other cousin, Zara Phillips, is the Queen's granddaughter through the female-line, therefore allowing her only the title and style of her father, of which he has none. Eugenie is also the first Princess since her grandmother's aunt, Princess Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary (known as Princess Mary), to have the name Victoria; Queen Victoria had requested that her female descendants bear the name Victoria somewhere in their name, however, neither Queen Elizabeth, the late Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra, Princess Anne, nor Princess Beatrice hold the name Victoria.
Her parents divorced when Princess Eugenie 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 regularly 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.
In October 2002, Eugenie, then aged twelve, underwent back surgery at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London, to correct scoliosis. She made a full recovery and is not expected to undergo any further surgery for that condition. The Queen, who was in Canada at the time, of the operation, was kept well informed of her granddaughter's operation and recovery.
Education
As a small child, Eugenie attended Winkfield Montessori from 1992 to 1993, and then Upton House School in Windsor until 1995. She moved to 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, and graduated from there with A-Level grades of A in art and English literature and B in history of art.3 It was reported that the Princess had been spotted dancing naked with friends around the Malborough College campus to celebrate the end of exams.34 She plans to take a gap year before continuing her education in the autumn of 2009.
Official duties
Princess Eugenie has been present at a number of official royal occasions, such as Trooping the Colour in London, and the Queen's 80th birthday. She and her sister were also guests at the Concert for Diana, in memory of their late aunt, and organized by their cousins, Princes William and Harry, and both attended the service of thanksgiving for Diana on 1 September 2007, representing their father, who was on an official visit to Malaysia.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
- 23 March 1990 – : 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 William and Prince Harry use Wales, per their father, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales). Past precedent is that such surnames are dropped from usage in adulthood, after which either title alone, or Mountbatten-Windsor is used.5
Arms
| Arms of Princess Eugenie of York |
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| Crest |
A coronet composed of four crosses formy and four Strawberry Leaves
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Other elements |
The whole differenced by a label of five points argent, the centre and exterior points each charged with a thistle proper.
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| 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 of Wales) of using charges from the maternal line, as the arms of her mother feature a crest bearing a thistle.
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Ancestry
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Ancestors of Princess Eugenie of York |
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References
- ^ As a titled royal, Eugenie holds no surname, but, when one is used, it is Mountbatten-Windsor (or her father's territorial designation, York)
- ^ "Duchess in Hull". [ITV1|ITV1]]. 19 May 2008. No. Episode One, Part Two.
- ^ a b "Princess Eugenie gets top grades in her A-levels", Daily Mail, 15 August, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1044918/Princess-Eugenie-gets-grades-A-levels.html
- ^ "Princess 'caught frolicking naked'" (in English), CNN (14 June 2008). Retrieved on 6 July 2008.
- ^ "The Royal Family > Titles and succession > Royal Family name". Royal.gov.uk. Retrieved on 2008-10-15.
External links
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British princesses |
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