Princess Eugenie set for private family celebrations after quiet return to spotlight

Princess Eugenie has been lying low amid renewed scrutiny surrounding her parents, Andrew Mountbatten-Windor and Sarah Ferguson, in the wake of the Epstein files release.

Following a difficult few months for their family, the 36-year-old royal finally has reason to celebrate this weekend, marking her husband Jack Brooksbank’s 40th birthday on Sunday.

The royal broke cover on Thursday night, visiting Soho Mews House in Mayfair alongside her sister Princess Beatrice, before enjoying a date night with Jack at Dorian, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Notting Hill.

The couple appeared to be enjoying some well-deserved time off from parenting their sons, August, five, and Ernest, two, in pictures obtained by the Daily Mail.

The date night, presumably an early birthday celebration for Jack, precedes a quiet weekend at home for the family to mark the special occasion together.

Jack, who usually shares snippets of private life on social media to celebrate big events, has been unusually quiet on his public Instagram account as their family navigates the public fallout from Eugenie’s parents’ scandals.

The businessman’s social media silence mirrors his wife’s in recent months. Eugenie has been deliberately lying low, even opting not to post a tribute on what would have been her late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday.

The couple are expected to celebrate privately at home in Ivy Cottage, their three-bedroom house tucked away within the grounds of Kensington Palace.

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Princess Eugenie’s quiet return to the spotlight

This comes just days after Eugenie quietly made her return to the spotlight, attending a high-profile wedding in Sicily.

The mother-of-two was spotted at the historic Cathedral of Monreale for the nuptials of hotelier Charles Forte and Georgie Wright, the designer behind The Veil handbags. The celebrations continued at the luxurious Villa Igiea in Palermo.

Their high-profile nuptials on 24 April featured a star-studded guest list of more than 350, with other names including Lady Lola Bute and Tish Weinstock. 

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While she didn’t post officially, she was seen in the background of social media photos shared by socialite Jazzy de Lisser, where she appeared to be in high spirits while mingling with fellow guests.

Her return to the social circuit suggests the princess is ready to navigate public life again after keeping a low profile throughout the start of the year.

Lying low

Back in March, royal expert Phil Dampier told HELLO! that the princesses could be “too tarnished” to appear at public events this summer.

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He explained: “If you remember last Christmas, when they were both invited to Sandringham, they were very much seen as the innocent victims. The King and Queen were metaphorically putting an arm around them.

“I think that has changed following Andrew’s arrest and mentions of them in the Epstein files. We sometimes refer to them as ‘girls’, but they are 37 and 35. Some of the stuff they’ve been doing recently in the Middle East has not been a good look.

“People will ask: ‘Are you trying to cash in on contacts that have been given to you by Andrew or Sarah?'”