Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s ‘touchingly casual’ photos of the first-time father holding their newborn son suggests the pair will ‘share childcare behind the scenes’, according to a body language expert.
The daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, 30, welcomed her first child, August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, who is 11th in line to the throne, on February 9 at London‘s Portland Hospital with financier Jack.
The new dad, 35, broke royal tradition by holding baby August in the photos, appearing ‘every inch the first-time, besotted dad’, body language expert Judi James told Femail.
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Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank yesterday shared the first family picture with their son August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, looking ‘openly delighted and excited’
In the first photographs of the family-of-three, Jack cradled newborn August in his arms while Princess Eugenie could be seen fawning over him
The couple were pictured leaving the hospital three days later on February 12th and yesterday shared the first family picture with their son, looking ‘openly delighted and excited’, rather than offering the typical royal ‘bashful, suppressed smiles’ the public has grown used to.
By being the first to carry the newborn during their first public appearance – in the same way Prince Harry did after birth of baby Archie in 2019 – it implies the pair divide childcare equally, with Jack’s ‘relaxed’ stance a sign that this is ‘a norm’ rather than a stunt for the cameras.
She explained: ‘Like Harry did when he broke with tradition, it’s Jack holding the baby here and the very relaxed finger position as he not only cradles it but also tilts it towards the camera suggests quite high degrees of confidence, as though sharing the care of little August is a norm behind the scenes as well as in front of the camera.
The photos showed Jack holding the baby son, who had been swaddled in a baby blue blanket with a matching hat atop his head, as little August clutched at his mother’s finger.
‘There is something touchingly casual, normal and down-to-earth about these photos’, explained Judi, ‘With Jack showing the baby off to the camera while Eugenie allows it to clutch at her finger.
‘Both Jack and Eugenie look casual and lacking in anything bordering on royal formality here and their facial expressions are openly delighted and excited rather than the traditional royal look of bashful suppressed smiles.’
The new mother, 30, confirmed the name on her Instagram page and shared her first family picture with her son alongside husband Jack (left, and right)
While Jack’s expression exudes confidence and excitement, Eugenie, 30, is sending out a ‘strong message’ of dedication in her role as a mother and a wife.
‘Jack spent his wedding day wearing a beaming smile of excitement and utter pleasure and he wears it again here, looking every inch the first-time, besotted dad, she said.
‘Eugenie’s expression suggest she’s equally doting and the way she uses her hand to allow the baby to clutch her finger and to show off her very simple wedding band sends out a strong message of her roles as loving mother and equally loving wife here.’
The royal also gave a nod to her mother Sarah Ferguson by wearing the £204 Thada headband by Jennifer Behr, a signature accessory of the Duchess of York, showing her daughter’s eagerness to share her happiness with her mum.
‘There is also a nod to her role as a loving daughter, too’, Judi explained. ‘That slightly incongruent-looking golden headband is very much a signature accessory of Sarah’s and, worn with an otherwise very casual outfit suggests Eugenie might be keen to share this moment with her mother as well.’
Shortly after Eugenie shared her post, Sarah Ferguson posted a tribute to her new grandson, in which she said she and Prince Andrew were ‘thrilled’ over the new arrival (pictured left, Fergie, Andrew and Princess Beatrice with Eugenie and right, her message today)
The new mother revealed the name of her child – the Queen’s ninth great grandchild – alongside the photos, which are thought to have been taken in the grounds of Frogmore Cottage, where the couple are currently living.
Posting a series of photographs on Instagram, the Queen’s granddaughter wrote: ‘Thank you for so many wonderful messages. Our hearts are full of love for this little human, words can’t express. We are excited to be able to share these photos with you.’
Eugenie went on to reveal the name was a touching tribute to Queen Victoria’s Husband Prince Albert, whose birth name was Franz Albert August Karl Emanuel, and Prince Philip, who is currently in hospital.
She wrote: ‘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 5x great grandfathers.’
She added that the photograph was taken by their ‘wonderful midwife’, adding: ‘Thank you to the wonderful essential workers including our midwife who came to discharge our boy.’
The Duchess of York reposted the photographs on her Instagram page and, in her first comments since Eugenie’s birth, revealed she and Prince Andrew are ‘thrilled’ over August’s arrival.
Princess Eugenie is ‘doing really well’ after giving birth to her baby boy ‘via C-section due to her previous spinal surgery for scoliosis’, a royal source told People magazine (pictured leaving hospital last week)
According to the source who claimed to have spoken to the royal, Eugenie sounded ‘very content’ and said the baby is ‘a complete dream’
It comes days after a source told People magazine Princess Eugenie is ‘doing really well’ after giving birth to her baby boy ‘via C-section due to her previous spinal surgery for scoliosis’.
According to the insider, who claimed to have spoken to the royal, Eugenie, 30, sounded ‘very content’ and said the baby is ‘a complete dream’.
Due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, the Duke and Duchess of York are yet to meet their first grandchild, the source added.
Eugenie and tequila boss Jack are believed to be residing at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, where the couple spent time before Christmas after being loaned the home by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who now live in the US.
It was understood that Eugenie and her cousin Harry reached a ‘private agreement’ over Frogmore Cottage though it is not known how long it will last.
The couple’s permanent home is Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace, but they spent lockdown at Fergie and Prince Andrew’s home on the Queen’s Windsor estate.
The new arrival weighed 8lbs 1oz and the couple broke with tradition by immediately sharing a black and white photo to Eugenie’s Instagram of their baby boy, showing them holding his tiny hand
Their baby is the Queen and Prince Philip’s ninth great-grandchild and eleventh-in-line to the throne, but will not have a royal title; only the grandchildren of the monarch are automatically entitled to one.
The new arrival weighed 8lbs 1oz and the couple broke with tradition by immediately sharing a black and white photo to Eugenie’s Instagram of their baby boy, showing them holding his tiny hand.
Proud new mother Eugenie followed the post with three blue hearts after welcoming her son at the luxury private hospital where Meghan also gave birth to her one-year-old son, Archie.
The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of York, Sarah Ferguson and Mr and Mrs George Brooksbank were delighted at the news, Buckingham Palace announced, adding that ‘Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well’.
The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) charity, which treated Princess Eugenie for the rare condition of scoliosis when she was 12, also wrote: ‘Congratulations to our Patron, HRH Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank on the birth of their baby boy. We are so delighted for you both and would like to wish you all the very best’.
The new mother is currently on maternity leave from her job as a director at Mayfair art gallery Hausery & Wirth, while Jack works for tequila brand Casamigos.
Navy hero Prince Philip, a Reverend and the husband that Queen Victoria mourned for the rest of her days: The men who inspired the name August Philip Hawke Brooksbank
Married to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth since 1947, Prince Philip was the son of Princess Alice of Battenberg and Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s first born child has been named after Prince Philip and both parents’ great-great-great-great-great grandfathers – Prince Albert and Reverend Edward Hawke Brooksbank.
So who are the men who inspired the name August Philip Hawke Brookesbank?
Prince Philip
Born: June 10, 1921 (age: 99)
Married to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth since 1947, Prince Philip was the son of Princess Alice of Battenberg and Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark.
He was born into two royal families but was exiled from Greece while still an infant. He went to schools in France, Germany and the UK before joining the Royal Navy in 1939, aged 18.
Prince Philip, born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, met then-Princess Elizabeth in 1934 and the pair began corresponding in July 1939. After the war, Philip was granted permission by King George VI to marry her.
Before the engagement was announced in July 1947, the prince abandoned his Greek and Danish titles and became a British citizen. He adopted the surname of his maternal grandparents – Mountbatten.
He left active military service after Elizabeth became queen in 1952, after reaching the rank of commander, and was formally made a British prince in 1957.
Prince Philip and Elizabeth had four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
He is now a patron, president, or member of more than 780 organisations and is styled the Duke of Edinburgh. He retired from royal duties on August 2, 2017, aged 96, after completing 22,219 solo engagements since 1952.
Prince Philip was known to regularly put his foot in his mouth by swearing during royal visits. In 2015, he told a photographer to ‘just take the f***ing picture’ during a photocall at the RAF Club.
Queen Victoria’s husband Albert, the prince consort, was born into the Saxon Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld to parents well connected with Europe’s ruling monarchs
Prince Albert (Franz Albert August Karl Emanuel)
Born: August, 26, 1819 Died: December 14, 1861
Queen Victoria’s husband Albert, the prince consort, was born into the Saxon Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld to parents well connected with Europe’s ruling monarchs.
Aged 20 he married his cousin, Victoria, and the couple had nine children together: Victoria; Albert ‘Bertie’; Alice; Alfred; Helena; Louise; Arthur; Leopold; and Beatrice.
During their courting stage, Victoria wrote: ‘[Albert] is extremely handsome; his hair is about the same colour as mine; his eyes are large and blue, and he has a beautiful nose and a very sweet mouth with fine teeth; but the charm of his countenance is his expression, which is most delightful.’ She proposed to him on October 15, 1839.
He quickly developed a reputation for supporting public causes including education reform and the abolition of slavery worldwide. Queen Victoria trusted him to deal with the household, office and estates.
The prince developed the constitutional monarchy by persuading his wife to be less partisan in her dealings with parliament and when he died aged 42 Queen Victoria went into mourning for the rest of her life.
Reverend Edward Hawke Brooksbank
Born: December 9, 1789 Died: August 5, 1883
Rev. Edward Brooksbank held the office of Justice of the Peace for the West Riding, Yorkshire, and lived at Healaugh Manor in Yorkshire.
The vicar of Tickhill first married a Hannah Heywood who gave birth to his three children but died in 1846, aged 58. The reverend then married Mary Parker on December 5, 1848.
He graduated from Cambridge University with a Master of Arts (MA) and died aged 93.
Prince Augustus Frederick
Prince Augustus Frederick (pictured) was the sixth son and ninth child of King George III
Born: January 27, 1773 Died: April 21, 1843
Prince Augustus Frederick was the sixth son and ninth child of King George III.
While travelling in Rome he met Lady Augusta Murray and the couple secretly married on April 4, 1793. They married a second time without revealing their full names at St George’s, Hanover Square, Westminster, on December 5, 1793.
Both marriages took place without the permission of his father. Because of this, in August 1794, the marriage was annulled on the grounds that it contravened the Royal Marriages Act 1772.
He continued to live with Lady Augusta until 1801, when he received a parliamentary grant of £12,000 and the couple separated. Lady Augusta was given custody of their children Augustus Frederick d’Este and Augusta Emma d’Este. She received maintenance of £4,000 a year.
A year after the death of Lady Augusta, the Duke of Sussex married a second time on May 2, 1831, again without gaining the permission of the sovereign, to Lady Cecilia Letitia Buggin.
She was never recognised as the Duchess of Sussex but became Duchess of Inverness by Queen Victoria in 1840.
Prince Augustus was the favourite uncle of Queen Victoria and gave her away at her wedding to Prince Albert.