Princess Eugenie reveals backhanded compliment she receives about her appearance

Princess Eugenie has opened up about the difficulties of navigating life in the spotlight, especially when it comes to unflattering paparazzi photos.

The royal, 33, recently appeared on Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time podcast, where she described how the public may see a “terrifyingly ugly photo of us coming out of a bar” or “action shots” that she said were “not the nicest photos”.

As a result, Eugenie said she’s received some not-so-nice comments from people about her appearance. “I have people come up to me sometimes and say: ‘Oh you’re much better looking in real life,’ and you’re like: ‘Agh. Is that a compliment? I dunno,’” she admitted.

“Beatrice and I, like many of our cousins, have had a really awkward phases,” Eugenie said, adding: “I’m proud of my incredibly strange looks from the past.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, the mother of two explained that she started her own Instagram account in 2018 because she wanted people to get to know the real her, after “so much misinformation” about her personal life.

“I want people to know me because I think there has been so much misinformation and it’s so easy to judge something when you read it in the paper,” Eugenie told the former X Factor presenter. However, she admitted that she finds posting on Instagram to be “the most stressful thing in the world”.

“Oh my God, I get so nervous,” she continued. “Before I post I have to text about five people asking if it’s okay, have I got a spelling mistake, am I gonna get in trouble?”

The granddaughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II then recalled an incident in which she used the wrong spelling of “you’re” and wrote “your” instead. She had followers in her comments pointing out the typo, and she has since been “really particular about my spelling”.

When it comes to her personal life, the royal noted that she’s “constantly” trying to find “a balance” with how much she posts about her famous family members or her children. “I also don’t want to over-post my children, or my family life, or anything like that,” Eugenie said. “I am constantly finding a balance. It is really thought out in terms of: ‘Should I do this? Should I not?’”

Most recently, the daughter of Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew took to Instagram to celebrate her five-year wedding anniversary to husband Jack Brooksbank. Set to “You’ve Got The Love” by Florence and The Machine, the royal posted a video compilation from their October 2018 nuptials at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. “Five years ago today,” she captioned the post, along with two red heart emojis.

To mark the one-year anniversary of the Queen’s passing last month, Eugenie posted a never-before-seen photo of the pair to Instagram. “Thinking of you today. Missing you so much but remembering what a life of service, love and dedication to everyone and to your family, who loved you so very much,” she wrote in dedication to her grandmother. “Forever grateful to you. And always in my heart.”

Eugenie and her husband share two sons: August, two, and Ernest, four months. They announced the arrival of their youngest son in June, sharing in an Instagram post that he was on May 30. “Jack and I wanted to share the news that we had our little boy, Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank on 30th May 2023 at 8.49 weighing 7.1lbs,” she wrote on Instagram at the time.

Eugenie also shared several sweet photos of Ernest, including one of him wearing a knitted blue and white hat, him asleep in a Moses basket, and one of his brother August tenderly stroking his head.

The newborn was named after his great-great-great grandfather, King George V, who also had Ernest as a middle name. Their son’s middle name is a tribute to Brooksbank’s father George, who died in 2021, while Ronnie is a nod to the Duchess of York’s father, Major Ronald Ferguson.

“Augie is loving being a big brother already,” Eugenie said.