When Princess Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank, eagle-eyed fans noticed that one of the best seats in the house at St. George’s Chapel was left empty—and there’s a poignant reason why.
Eugenie—the younger daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson—wore an emerald tiara, known as Margaret Greville’s tiara, that the late Queen Mother inherited in 1942. Eugenie and Jack invited 850 guests to their 2018 ceremony, but one chair was empty. Some questioned whether the empty chair “was out of respect to a deceased relative,” with others guesing “that there was a missing guest,” per The Daily Mail. In fact, neither of those reasons ring true. The real reason, it turns out, came down to royal protocol and keeping Eugenie’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth happy, the outlet reported.
A view of the empty chair on the far left; Prince Andrew would later sit in the seat next to Sarah Ferguson second from left.
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“Traditionally the Queen and the rest of the royals sit in the right hand choir pews at St. George’s Chapel, closest to the altar,” according to The Daily Mail. “Royal protocol dictates that no one is allowed to sit in front of the Queen and obstruct her view.”
Of this particular empty chair, the Queen didn’t sit in it herself because she didn’t find it comfortable. Instead, she opted to sit in the second row alongside her husband, Prince Philip.
Queen Elizabeth at Princess Eugenie’s wedding on October 12, 2018.
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Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Princess Eugenie’s wedding on October 12, 2018.
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While Ferguson, Eugenie’s sister Princess Beatrice, and Zara and Mike Tindall all sat in the front row, the Queen and Philip were joined in the second row by Prince Charles, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle. (Harry and Meghan had married in the same venue five months prior.)
Eugenie and the Queen—whom she called “Grannie”—had a close relationship, and the Queen promised Eugenie she could wear the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara on her wedding day when Eugenie was a little girl. When Meghan asked to wear it for her own wedding the same year as Eugenie’s, the Queen declined her request, as she wanted to hold true to her long ago promise to her granddaughter.
Jack Brooksbank and Princess Eugenie on their October 12, 2018 wedding day.
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“For the wedding of Eugenie and Jack, the small detail [of the empty chair] meant that the Queen was comfortable and could get a full view of her granddaughter as she married the love of her life,” The Daily Mail reported.
When the Queen died in September 2022, sisters Beatrice and Eugenie wrote a joint statement ahead of her funeral, which was shared on Eugenie’s Instagram page on September 17. “We’ve not been able to put much into words since you left us all,” the York sisters wrote. “There have been tears and laughter, silences and chatter, hugs and loneliness, and a collective loss for you, our beloved Queen and our beloved Grannie. We, like many, thought you’d be here forever. And we all miss you terribly.”
Members of the royal family at Princess Eugenie’s wedding at St. George’s Chapel.
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Members of the royal family at Princess Eugenie’s wedding at St. George’s Chapel.
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“You were our matriarch, our guest, our loving hand on our backs leading us through this world,” the statement continued. “You taught us so much and we will cherish those lessons and memories forever. For now, dear Grannie, all we want to say is thank you. Thank you for making us laugh, for including us, for picking heather and raspberries, for marching soldiers, for our teas, for comfort, for joy. You, being you, will never know the impact you have had on our family and so many people around the world.”
Princess Eugenie and Queen Elizabeth at Royal Ascot on June 18, 2013.
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After Eugenie and Jack’s eldest son August was born in 2021, Eugenie told The Spectator magazine in 2022 that she would “love Augie to have her patience, her calmness, and her kindness, while always being able to laugh at himself and keep a twinkle in his eye.” Eugenie and Jack’s second son, Ernest, was born in 2023, after the Queen’s death the previous year.