Princess Eugenie is pregnant with her third child, the royal family has confirmed in a post on Instagram. Eugenie, 36, and her husband, businessman Jack Brooksbank, are preparing to welcome a sibling for their two sons, five-year-old August and two-year-old Ernest, this summer. King Charles, Eugenie’s uncle, has been informed and is said to be “delighted” by the news.
A photograph shared on the royal family’s official Instagram account announcing the news shows the tops of August and Ernest’s heads seen from above, as they gaze down at an ultrasound scan of their new brother or sister. The boys, the caption said, are “very excited to have another sibling join the family.” Eugenie, Jack, and their children live their lives away from the spotlight for the most part, splitting their time between bases in Portugal and London.
Eugenie’s older sister, Princess Beatrice, has two daughters, Sienna and Athena. Last year, she described in a personal essay for British Vogue how learning that Athena was likely to arrive preterm inspired her to redouble her efforts to spotlight the importance of research into improving female health outcomes.
The imminent arrival is some happy news in what has thus far been a difficult year for Princess Eugenie and the wider royal family. Her father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, after Thames Valley Police said it was assessing a complaint over the alleged sharing of confidential material by the former prince with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. King Charles’s brother has denied any wrongdoing.