Royals

Inside Eugenie’s royal wedding reception as Duke of York gives moving speech

Oct 13, 2018

The newlyweds celebrated with a party held at their family home, the Royal Lodge. Source: Getty.

Following their grandiose wedding ceremony at St George’s Chapel on Friday, newlyweds Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank headed to an afternoon reception hosted by the Queen, where proud father-of-the-bride Prince Andrew gave a moving speech.

According to Hello! magazine, the Duke, 58, left everyone in tears with his touching tribute to the happy couple, before breaking royal protocol and embracing his new son-in-law in a hug for the very first time.

“Prince Andrew gave a great father-of-the-bride speech, there was some great anecdotes from childhood and all the way through to current affairs,” a source told the magazine. “He also touched upon how the dynamics of their relationship work.

“The one thing that made me cry was the Duke, when he said he was going to do something he’s never done before. He went over to his new son-in-law and hugged him. He isn’t a very tactile person.”

https://twitter.com/TheDukeOfYork/status/1050835911779524611

The afternoon reception, which was hosted by Eugenie’s grandmother the Queen, was then followed by a huge party thrown by the bride’s parents at the York family home, the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park.

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson are said to planned a 48-hour celebration in honour of their youngest daughter’s special day, with The Sun reporting that the Duke and Duchess of York had organised “one hell of a party”.

According to the British tabloid, a fairground had been set up in the property’s garden, complete with a Ferris wheel, dodgems and game stalls, such as a coconut shy.

And Friday’s wild evening do is rumoured to be followed by a “more relaxed” festival-style party, taking place throughout the entire day on Saturday.

A source told the Mail Online: “There will be dodgems and funfair rides, coconut shies, lots of food stalls, loads of cocktails, bloody Marys for the hangovers and a festival vibe.”

Princess Eugenie arrived at St George's Chapel with her father, the Duke of York. Source: Getty. — Princess Eugenie arrived at St George’s Chapel with her father, the Duke of York. Source: Getty.

Ninth-in-line to the throne Eugenie said “I do” to Jack, who she has been dating since 2010, in front of 850 of their closest friends and family, including the surgeon who operated on the princess’ spine as a child.

Eugenie underwent an operation to correct scoliosis at the age of 12 and opted for a wedding gown with a low back in order to show off her prominent scare.

Speaking on UK TV show This Morning ahead of the big day, she said: “I think you can change the way beauty is, and you can show people your scars and I think it’s really special to stand up for that. The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, the RNOH, is a huge charity — I’m patron of their appeal and I had an operation when I was 12 on my back, and you’ll see.

“But it’s a lovely way to honour the people who looked after me, and a way of standing up for young people who also go through this.”