Times Princess Eugenie Broke Royal Code

Published on October 12, 2018. Updated May 23, 2019

When it comes to being a member of the British royal family, there are high expectations for everything from how you conduct yourself, how you present yourself and even what you eat. Since Princess Eugenie, who is Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter as the youngest daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s third child Prince Andrew, is not technically a “working royal” the rules aren’t necessarily as strict for her, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t noticed when she does things outside of regular protocol. As it turns out Princess Eugenie has broken royal protocol several times over the years! Check it out:

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12. Bold Makeup

When it comes to makeup and beauty routines for the women of the royal family, there are many small rules they are expected to follow which include no bold makeup and no heavy eyeshadow among others. As it turns out, Princess Eugenie hasn’t shied away from either of those looks as she has been known to accessorize with a bold red lip and has even been known to rock a smudged eye style as well. It is known that the Queen prefers a natural and modest look for all the royal women, but that doesn’t seem to faze Eugenie at all.

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11. Wedge Shoes

One of perhaps the strangest rules when it comes to fashion and beauty that is enforced by the Queen is that royal women should not wear heels. This is obviously very difficult for the royal women because wedges are much more practical when it comes to the many events that are held on grass. It seems there is no basis behind this rule other than the Queen simply does not like wedges and that isn’t enough to stop Princess Eugenie from wearing them. She broke the Queen’s wedge code when she donned them at a garden party at Buckingham Palace in 2013. She then wore the same pair to the Coronation Festival Evening Gala at Buckingham Palace later that summer.

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10. Going Casual

Working royal or not, there is no denying that every move any member of the royal family makes is documented, and that means something as simple as walking down the street can mean you are breaking royal protocol. With Eugenie being one of the most likely to break royal code, it was noticed when she did so simply by draping her coat across her arm while on her way into work at Christies in 2010 and while at an event in 2009. It is considered unladylike for a royal to remove her coat in public, and if she were at a royal event instead of at work the move would have been deemed completely unacceptable.

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9. Bare Legs

It was actually Meghan Markle breaking this rule that brought this royal protocol to the attention of many! Like Duchess Meghan, Princess Eugenie has been caught more than once not wearing pantyhose during an event including at the royal Ascot of 2017. While there is no official “pantyhose rule” it was widely known that the Queen enforces a strict, unspoken pantyhose policy in which the royal women should not have bare legs in public. Her grandmother’s strict policy doesn’t seem to have much of an impact on Eugenie however as she was also spotted with bare legs at the 2017 annual V&A Summer Party.

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8. The Sparkly Short Dress

The Queen has been an icon of elegance and sophistication in every outfit she has chosen during her historic reign as Britain’s monarch and while times have changed, she has expected certain things from the way the royal women around her dress. It is well known that the Queen disapproves of short dresses, mini-skirts, and anything too flashy, and Princess Eugenie took it upon herself to break that code all in one outfit. Back in 2009, Eugenie showed up to the premiere of Young Victoria in a gold, sparkly dress with a hemline that was well above her knees (the Queen has a below the knee hemline policy for most events). The dress was amazing, but Eugenie definitely broke some royal codes by wearing it.

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7. Social Media Snafu

It is well known that royals such as Prince William, Duchess Kate, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan aren’t allowed to have their own private social media accounts, but of course Princess Eugenie does! Although she is allowed to have social media, there are rules about what she can post but she broke royal code on that during the summer of 2018. In August, 2018, Eugenie posted a picture of her father, Prince Andrew, in the corridors of Buckingham Palace in his official royal garb following the Trooping of the Colour ceremony. After posting the photo, Eugenie admitted, “I recently got in trouble for posting a picture of Papa in a corridor of the palace that was off-limits to the public.” Only certain parts of the palace are for the public eye while others, including the Queen’s private residence, are off limits, and it seems the area Andrew was standing in was private!

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6. Sexy Looks

Since she is not a working royal, Eugenie can wear whatever she wants, but there is no denying that she is always representing the royal family even she isn’t at a royal event. Over the years, Princess Eugenie has shocked many with different sexy outfits. In 2016 she attended the UNAIDS Gala in Switzerland and wore a curve-hugging red dress with a plunging neckline that bared quite a bit of cleavage. Low necklines especially those that bare cleavage are basically forbidden, but Eugenie has worn dresses with similar necklines more than once including at Pippa Middleton and James Matthews’ wedding in May 2017. Another outfit that stunned was a black leather wrap dress she wore for the launch of GP Nutrition Supplements in January of 2016. While the neckline plunged, it didn’t show cleavage, but the all leather look is certainly not part of the royal dress code.

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5. Her Wedding Dress

On October 12, 2018, Princess Eugenie wed Jack Brooksbank at St. George’s Chapel inside Windsor Castle, and as always her wedding look was very unique to her. While nothing about her outfit was extravagant, it was much different than any other royal wedding gown as it featured not only a v-neck in the front but also in the back which Eugenie had designed specifically so that she could show off her scar from her spinal surgery when she was 12. In addition to breaking royal code with her open-back, she also did not wear a veil (also so that she could show off her scar) which is also controversial as it avoids royal wedding tradition of very detailed and elaborate veils.

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4. Her Easter Outfit

Princess Eugenie’s signature bold look was back for Easter of 2018, and while many have become used to her individual style, she is still expected to follow protocol for major events such as Easter service. Instead, Eugenie wore a $5,000 Oscar de la Renta paint-splattered button dress topped with a fuschia Juliette Boterill Millinery hat, and it was certainly the most unconventional out of all of the royal family’s Easter outfits, which are usually supposed to be of a solid, and subdued color.

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3. Cross-Body Bag

It has become royal protocol for the royal women to carry clutches to events because of two very purposeful uses: they help the women cover up as they exit and enter vehicles (which is why they are called cleavage bags) but also help prevent them from shaking too many hands because they are holding their clutch instead. Many didn’t notice that royal women do not carry normal purses, or totes with straps until Princess Eugenie not only had a purse with a strap but wore it as a cross-body bag which is completely uncommon for royal women.

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2. Her Hats

It is no secret that a major part of royal fashion, especially at formal events like the Ascot and weddings, is the hats and fascinators. It didn’t take long for Princess Eugenie began to stand out for her hat choices and while some were admired, others were considered way over-the-top. The Royal Ascot seems to be the place where she dons her biggest and most extravagant hats, and in doing so often breaks two royal rules: they are attention-stealing and are not practical.

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1. Bold Wedding Look

Princess Eugenie’s unique and modern fashion always catches the eye of onlookers no matter what event she attends, but she more than turned heads during Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011. Eugenie donned an electric blue Vivienne Westwood dress-suit complete with an over-the-top feathered hat that many frowned upon because it completely stole the attention away from the royal couple getting married. To make matters worse, her sister Princess Beatrice donned one of the strangest hats of all-time, and afterward the sisters’ outfits were all anyone could talk about. Eugenie has stolen the show at a few royal events, but at a wedding of such importance, many of the older royals were not impressed.

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