They are known to be close. But when it comes to the festivities, the two sisters couldn’t be more different.
For Princess Beatrice’s 18th birthday party in 2006, she had a £10,000 dress flown in from New York, an elaborate Victorian theme, and she danced until 8am. 03.00 at Windsor Castle.
In all, the apartment cost an estimated £400,000 and its extravagance is still remembered to this day.
But when her sister, Eugenie, reached the same age two years later, her choice of a good time was a family skiing holiday.
Princess Eugenie in Verbier with her mother, Sarah Ferguson in 2003
Eugenie was said to be given the opportunity to throw a lavish 18th birthday party like the one given by older Princess Beatrice. But she chose a less formal party
Princess Eugenie, the third of the late Queen’s four grandchildren, was born on 23 March 1990 at Portland Hospital
Eugenie, who loves skiing all her life and takes annual holidays to the slopes, is said to have turned down the late Queen Elizabeth’s offer of a lavish 18th as her sister so she could embrace her passion, which she did in the Swiss resort of Verbier.
But it was this passion that would lead her to future husband Jack Brooksbank, with whom she had her second child last year – it was on a ski trip two years after her 18th birthday that Eugenie met Jack, then 24.
Now, as Princess Eugenie turns 34 on March 23, she’s likely to do something similarly family-oriented to mark the occasion.
Before her 18th birthday, Eugenie gave her first ever interview, explaining the differences between her and and older sister.
“We’re doing great, maybe because we do and think different things,” she said.
But while she said Beatrice was a bigger lover of glamour, she admitted she was more daring in other ways.
‘I’m certainly not as polite as Beatrice, I must say. I tell it like it is. I’m more shy at first, she said.
Like, at a party, I’ll say to Beatrice as we walk in, “Oh, you go first.” But when we’re actually together, I’m much taller and she’s far more polite and caring.’
Eugenie and Jack were married on 12 October 2018 at Windsor Castle’s St George’s Chapel, where Prince Harry had married Meghan Markle a few months earlier. It was reported that Eugenie’s wedding cost the taxpayer £2 million for the security presence alone.
Princess Eugenie, the younger York daughter, rides at the Windsor Horse Show in May 1994
In 1996, two years after her birth, the Duke and Duchess of York were separated and then officially divorced
The couple’s first child, a boy, August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, was born in February 2021. Their second son, Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank, arrived in May 2023.
Born on March 23, 1990 at central London’s Portland Hospital, Princess Eugenie is the third of the late Queen’s four grandchildren.
Today she is 11th in line to the throne – behind her sister Beatrice and her daughter, Sienna Mapelli Mozzi. However, neither is expected to rule.
Two years after Eugenie’s birth, her father and mother, the Duke and Duchess of York, separated and officially divorced in 1996. But despite their rocky marriage, the couple have remained friends and maintained a close family unit for their daughters.
When she was 12, Eugenie had back surgery to correct her scoliosis – which means she still has metal rods in her back to this day.
Since then, the royals have worked to support others with similar conditions.
Eugenie and Beatrice are not working royals, meaning they are not supported by the sovereign grant and are not paid to represent the royal family.
Before going to Newcastle University, Eugenie attended Marlborough College
They do not have to adhere to the same rules as working royals, but must still be present at major royal events.
Eugenie attended St George’s School in Windsor, followed by Marlborough College in Wiltshire. She then studied for a BA in English Literature, Art History and Politics at Newcastle University, gaining an upper second class degree in 2012.
She is currently the director of the art gallery Hauser & Wirth in London, where she has worked since 2015.
