Princess Eugenie's Sweet Announcement Confirms She's Expanding Her Family

The British royals have, as of late, been embroiled in family drama, grief, and scandal. The departure of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, emphasized an apparent fracturing within the royal family. And the startling revelations in Prince Harry's memoir, "Spare," has perhaps caused more than a couple of royal headaches.

When Queen Elizabeth died in September, the country mourned the loss of its sovereign, and the royals mourned the loss of their matriarch. More recently, a racism scandal saw the resignation of Queen Elizabeth's former aide, and the royal rift between Harry and his brother William, Prince of Wales, has continued, spurred on by some of the claims Harry made about William in his memoir, including an allegation of an explosive physical attack.

At least one royal has managed to stay out of the fray, though. Princess Eugenie has managed to remain above the royal chaos, despite her problematic family. And now, she has exciting news. 

Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, are pregnant with baby number two, the royal family member confirmed in an Instagram post. She shared a photo of her first child, August, who was born in 2021, hugging her bump. "We're so excited to share that there will be a new addition to our family this summer," the photo was captioned. 

Buckingham Palace said through a spokesperson, "The family are delighted and August is very much looking forward to being a big brother," via royal producer for ITV News Lizzie Robinson on Twitter. 

Princess Eugenie's mother, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, also shared her excitement in an Instagram post. She posted a photo of her grandson in a yellow rain jacket and rain boots, splashing in a puddle, with the caption, "You will be sharing puddles, Augie ! Superb news, Granny heaven.... So deeply grateful." 

The new baby will be 13th in line for the throne, behind big brother August, per People. Princess Eugenie, who is not a working royal, is 11th in line for the throne. 

Princess Eugenie — who holds down a full-time job as the director of an art gallery called Hauser & Wirth in London — is also a philanthropist, supporting many nonprofits including Anti-Slavery International, Teenage Cancer Trust, and Elephant Family  (via Town & Country). This service and justice-oriented spirit is one that she wishes to pass down to her son.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum just before her pregnancy announcement, Eugenie said, "My son's going to be an activist from two years old, which is in a couple of days. So, he, everything is for them . . . Every decision we now make has to be for whether August, what he's going to be able to look at and do and how he's going to live his life" (via Metro). She continued in the video, "Now, all I think about is what happens to rising sea levels and the communities that are on the beaches who depend solely on the sea. As well as what August can do about it in the future and what his education will be. So at home we have no plastic, we try to as much as possible to have no plastic, and I'm trying to teach him that. But it's a battle."

Princess Eugenie has also shared her motherhood advice with pop star and singer Ellie Goulding, and the two have been supporting each other as mothers. Goulding shared with Tatler that Eugenie is a part of her support system, and that "there's a huge sense of camaraderie among new mums."

But being born into the royal family can come with its differences. Some royal babies, like those of William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Prince of Wales, can inherit royal titles depending on their royal parentage; in the case of the Wales children, Prince William passed titles on to them because he is a male heir. However, despite his royal heritage, Princess Eugenie's first child, August, was born without a title, as her husband is not royal (via Insider). Though his full name — August Philip Hawke Brooksbank — is still full of tradition and history. 

"On his grandfather's birthday weekend, thinking of my grandfather, we are introducing our little boy. He is named after his great-grandfather and both of his great x5 grandfathers," the princess shared in an Instagram story, per Harper's Bazaar. Perhaps the next little one will have an equally meaningful name.