We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

The close bond between Princess Eugenie and Prince Harry has been unveiled in Finding Freedom, the newly-released biography of Meghan and Harry. In the book, authors Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie revealed the Duke of Sussex had a great friendship with Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew’s youngest daughter while growing up. 

Their bond was proven when Eugenie and her then-boyfriend Jack Brooksbank became among the first to learn Prince Harry was in a happy relationship with Meghan.

The two couples went on three double dates together before Meghan and Harry’s secret was brought to light by the Sunday Express in October 2016.

Thanks to these nights out, Princess Eugenie had the time to get to know Meghan and assess her blossoming relationship with the Duke of Sussex, the book said.

Her view on his new romance was particularly important to Prince Harry as Eugenie had always been blunt and wise when it came to his love stories, Mr Omid and Ms Durand said. 

The authors wrote: “Harry had always confided in his cousin when it came to the women in his life.

“Not only did he trust her implicitly, but friends say that she gives great advice and has always been ‘beyond wise’ for her years.

“It’s not surprising, then, that Eugenie was one of the first in the family to know about his relationship with Meghan.

“Although she was the one to introduce Harry to her good friend Cressida [Bonas] (they used to double-date as well), she was nothing but encoring about his new relationship.

“In fact, Eugenie, who’d long wanted to see her cousin settle down and be happy, told friends she loved Meghan and that she was ‘just the tonic’ for him.”

Cracks in Harry and Eugenie’s relationship started to appear only in mid-October, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex decided to share news of Meghan’s pregnancy with the royals on the young York’s wedding day, the book claims.

It read: “It did not go down particularly well with Eugenie, who, a source said, told friends she felt the couple should have waited to share the news.”

Kensington Palace officially announced the Duchess of Sussex was expecting her first child three days later, on the day she and Harry were embarking on a long tour Down Under.

A few royal fans and commentators claimed the Yorks were unhappy with the timing of this announcement after Sarah published a series of tweets focused on the wedding of her daughter just 40 minutes after Kensington Palace’s statement.   

Sarah, also known as Fergie by friends and family, actively contributed in the creation of the friendship between the two cousins.

Finding Freedom stated: “Although they grew up in different palaces (she at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, he at Kensington Palace in London), the close relationship between their mothers brought them together.

“Sarah Ferguson would often bring her daughters to tea with Diana, William and Harry at Kensington Palace. 

“After both women’s divorces were finalised in 1996, the single mothers took their kids on vacation together to the South of France.

“It was Harry who later ensured that his aunt Sarah was invited to the wedding ceremony and first reception – wrote the feat considering that Prince Philip reportedly once said he never wanted to be in the same room as her again.”  

Source: Read Full Article