Princess Eugenie to marry wild party-loving ex-waiter boyfriend Jack Brooksbank
PRINCESS Eugenie is to marry her party-loving boyfriend, it was announced yesterday.
She told how she was left sobbing with happiness after ex-waiter Jack Brooksbank proposed in front of a volcano.
Eugenie, 27, said she was “completely” taken by surprise — even though they had been together for nearly eight years.
Jack, 31, will be a colourful addition to the Royal Family. He had candle wax poured over him by a stripper and ran a nightclub at the heart of Prince Harry’s royal raving.
It emerged that Jack got down on one knee while on holiday earlier this month.
He proposed against a backdrop of “a beautiful volcano” in Nicaragua, Central America, where “the sun was setting, birds were flying”.
The princess said: “The lake was so beautiful. The lake had a special light I’d never seen.
“I actually said ‘this is an incredible moment’, and then he popped the question. I was over the moon, crying.” The couple’s first TV interview was shown on BBC1’s The One Show last night.
Eugenie — the younger daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York — said it was “so exciting” to go public with news of their engagement.
She said: “We have the same passions and drive for life.”
Jack said: “It was love at first sight.” Asked about the Queen’s reaction to the news, Eugenie revealed: “Granny actually knew right at the beginning (of the engagement).
My Eug sparkler
EUGENIE showed off her sparkler — then revealed she had been wearing it for less than 24 hours.
The princess declared: “It’s so nice”.
The padparadscha sapphire ring surrounded by diamonds is remarkably similar to her mum’s.
Prince Andrew popped the question to Fergie with a Burmese ruby in 1986.
“She was one of the very few people right at the beginning. We left her this weekend (after a visit to Sandringham), and had a lovely time.
“She was very happy, as was my grandfather.” The couple, who announced their engagement via Buckingham Palace will marry in the autumn at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
It will be the second royal wedding at the chapel this year. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are to marry there in May.
Yesterday Eugenie’s dad Prince Andrew, 57, said: “I’m just completely overjoyed for them and wish them every happiness.”
Celebrity BFFs in frame for big day
By Jack Royston
CARA Delevingne could be among a host of celebrity bridesmaids at the royal wedding.
Princess Eugenie and her sister Beatrice have made a string of A-list BFFs from nights out on the celeb party circuit.
Supermodel Cara, singer Ellie Goulding, TV presenter Natalie Pinkham and Richard Branson’s daughter Holly are just some of the rich and famous names in the bride-to-be’s contacts book.
Sofia Wellesley, granddaughter of the eighth Duke of Wellington, and wife of James Blunt is also a close friend.
But he added: “We can’t fix a date yet, we’ve got to look at everyone’s diaries. It’s a bit more complicated than that.”
Mum Sarah Ferguson, 58, wrote of her "total joy" on Twitter. She posted snaps of the couple.
With one of the pair on a boat, she wrote: “They float with laughter and love. . . . although a boat helps.”
Jack’s parents, Nicola and George, said in a statement: “We could not be more delighted.”
Which sis is which?
STRUGGLING to tell the difference between Eugenie and sister Beatrice?
Beatrice, 29, has red hair like her mum. Eugenie, 27, has brown hair.
The elder sister is seventh in line to the throne and Eugenie eighth.
Beatrice, who had a ten-year relationship with businessman Dave Clark until 2016, is thought to be single. Eugenie is engaged.
Within hours of yesterday morning’s announcement, the couple released a set of engagement pictures taken in Buckingham Palace.
Eugenie showed off her engagement ring — a padparadscha sapphire surrounded by diamonds — which the couple designed together.
She recycled a £1,288 floral dress by Erdem, which she also wore for a 2016 shoot with Harper’s Bazaar — in stark contrast to the £56,000 couture gown Meghan Markle wore for her engagement photos.
Eugenie matched her dress with Jimmy Choo shoes, while Jack wore a dark suit and red tie. The wedding celebrations, excluding security, will be paid for privately.
Jack’s relationship with Eugenie survived the embarrassment of X-rated photos of his 21st birthday leaking online.
A female pal published six images of him blindfolded, groping a stripper’s breasts as he had candle wax dumped over him.
They emerged in 2013 — when the relationship was in full swing. A year later his 27th birthday party at Osteria Dell’Arancio restaurant in Chelsea got so raucous, Fergie had to apologise to other diners.
Jack worked his way into the royal set after choosing hospitality over a job in the city.
While posh pals from Stowe, his £10,000-a-year private school, went off to Oxbridge universities, he went straight to waiting tables.
He was at upmarket City restaurant, Devonshire Terrace, — popular with bankers — when he first met Eugenie. It was at Prince Andrew’s 50th birthday on the Swiss ski slopes of Verbier that they first brushed shoulders. At the time Eugenie was studying English, politics and history at Newcastle University.
With her own reputation for hard partying, the pair got on famously.
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Jack worked at two pubs in Chelsea where he served Sloane Ranger clientele.
He met Prince Harry and club baron Guy Pelly, who hired him to manage at exclusive night spot Mahiki, in Mayfair.
Jack left in 2010 to start his own wine merchants and is now brand ambassador of Casamigos Tequila, co-founded by George Clooney.