Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank announced the arrival of both their sons, August and Ernest, in a very sweet way that was wildly different past, traditional royal announcements
Back on February 9, 2021, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank decided to announce the birth of son August in their own way.
Traditionally, new royal parents introduce their babies to the world on the steps outside the hospital, posing for photos and the world’s media. But the royal couple chose to tell the world they had become a family of three by a more modern means, uploading a beautiful black and white photo of their first-born on Instagram, complete with three blue heart emojis.
Eugenie and Jack’s son August Philip Hawke, nicknamed Augie, was born just before 9am at The Portland Hospital in London’s West End, weighing 8lbs 1oz. The cute image – posted just 10 hours after Eugenie gave birth – showed both mum and dad holding their baby boy’s hand, and quickly attracted thousands of likes.
They repeated their approach last year when they took to social media once more to announce the birth of their second child, Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank, who was born on May 30 weighing 7lb 1oz. The adorable image showed August resting his hand on Ernest’s head.
As well as their sweet social media snap, a statement from Buckingham Palace announced the birth of August, saying: “Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie was safely delivered a son today, 9th February 2021, at 08:55hrs at The Portland Hospital. Jack Brooksbank was present.
“The baby weighs 8lbs 1oz. This is Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s first child, The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York’s first grandchild, and the ninth great-grandchild for The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh. Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well.”
The couple had also broken from tradition when it came to their pregnancy announcement, sharing a snap of an adorable pair of baby booties. Eugenie captioned it: “Jack and I are so excited for early 2021….”
Just like Eugenie, Meghan Markle had her son Archie at The Portland Hospital on May 6, 2019. Rather than follow in the footsteps of Princess Diana, Sarah Ferguson and the Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan and Harry organised a photo call a few days later and shared a text image on their Sussex Royal Instagram account which simply said ‘It’s a Boy’.
The couple welcomed their second child, daughter Lilibet, on June 4, 2021, in Santa Barbara, California.
A version of this story was first published in 2021.
