WINDSOR, England (Reuters) – Final preparations were being made in the English town of Windsor on Thursday for Britains second major royal wedding this year, this time involving the Queens granddaughter Princess Eugenie.
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank arrive at Windsor Castle a day ahead of their wedding in Windsor, Britain, October 11, 2018. REUTERS/Darren Staples
Eugenie, younger daughter of the queens third child Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, will tie the knot with Jack Brooksbank, at the monarchs Windsor Castle home on Friday.
The nuptials come just five months after the glittering wedding of Prince Harry, younger son of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, and U.S. actress wife Meghan, now the Duchess of Sussex, at the same location.
Eugenie, 28, ninth-in-line to the throne and a director at Londons Hauser & Wirth art gallery, and Brooksbank, 32, who works in the drinks and hospitality industry, are copying some of her cousins plans.
The couple, who met in the Swiss ski resort of Verbier in 2010 and got engaged in Nicaragua in January, have likewise invited 1,200 people from across Britain to join in the celebrations in the castle grounds and to watch the newlyweds leave St Georges Chapel after the service.
They will then take an open-top carriage ride through Windsor, although it will be shorter than the one Harry and Meghan took in May when thousands thronged the streets and hundreds of millions worldwide watched on television.
“We think weve been blessed this year with two royal weddings,” said Phillip Bicknell, the local council deputy leader.
“Were hoping shes going to have a great day and were very pleased that shes shared her day with us.”
Stars from the world of showbusiness and sport attended Harrys wedding and Buckingham Palace announced on Wednesday that one of Eugenies bridesmaids will be Theodora Williams, the six-year-old daughter of ex “Take That” singer Robbie Williams and his wife Ayda Field.
Three-year-old Princess Charlotte, daughter of second-in-line to the throne Prince William and his wife Kate, will also be a bridesmaid while her brother Prince George, 5, will be a page boy. Eugenies older sister Beatrice, 30, will be her maid of honour.
Nearly all Britains senior royals are expected to attend although Prince Charless wife Camilla will be absent as she has a prior engagement in Scotland. It was not certain whether the 92-year-old queens husband Prince Philip, 97, who no longer carries out official duties, would be present.
The Dean of Windsor will officiate the ceremony while Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli will perform during the service. Also among the guests will be the surgeon who carried out an operation to straighten Eugenies back when she was 12, British media reported.
The ceremony will be broadcast on British TV and live streamed on the Royal Family and Prince Andrews YouTube, Facebook and Twitter channels.
NOT STRESSED
“Im not stressed at all,” Eugenie told Vogue magazine for its September issue. “Its very nerve-wracking because you want it to be perfect but then you realise that youre going to be with the person you love forever and nothing else really matters.”
While the royal family is paying for the wedding itself, there has been disquiet among republicans and some newspapers over the security bill for the event, which has been estimated at more than 2 million pounds ($2.6 million), given that Eugenie does not carry out official royal duties.
About 38,000 people signed a petition, organised by campaign group Republic, against taxpayers money being spent on the occasion.
“Most Brits opposed taxpayer funding of Prince Harrys wedding but as with all royal events were forced to accept it,” a spokesman for the group said. “But theres something different about Fridays royal wedding, and people arent happy.”
Britains top-selling Sun newspaper ran a front page story on Wednesday with the headline “£2m too much for Eugenie wedding”, saying the event could have been held at a chapel near her childhood home.
Writing by Michael Holden; editing by Stephen Addison
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