Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson haven’t had much to celebrate in recent times and so we can only assume they have been buoyed by the news that their daughter Princess Eugenie is expecting her third child.
In her post announcing the pregnancy on social media, Eugenie shared an adorable picture of their two sons – taken from above so their faces can’t be seen – holding a picture of mum’s baby scan.
I have no desire to diminish any parent’s joy over such a happy event, but what is most shocking to devout monarchists such as myself is that the baby – who, unlike its mother, won’t be eligible for the title HRH – will still be 15th in line to the throne.
This means the child will bump its great-uncle Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, down to 16th place and Princess Anne, the late Queen’s second child, to 19th place in the royal hierarchy.
In what kind of modern world do we think it decent or reasonable for the newborn child of a non-working royal – Eugenie works part-time in an art gallery – to be elevated above two of the hardest-working royals.
Thanks to the vagaries of our labyrinthine succession system, Eugenie’s two sons – August, five, and Ernest, two – are already listed 13th and 14th in the royal line despite the fact they will never be expected to spend a single day of their lives working for ‘the Firm’.
The unpalatable truth is that the Royal Family currently consists of just 11 senior working royals: King Charles, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Princess Anne, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester Prince Richard and his wife Birgitte, the Duke of Kent Prince Edward and Princess Alexandra.

Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank are expecting their third child. The couple are pictured this week leaving a restaurant in London
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Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank are expecting their third child. The couple are pictured this week leaving a restaurant in London

In her post announcing the pregnancy on social media, Eugenie shared an adorable picture of their two sons holding a picture of mum’s baby scan
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In her post announcing the pregnancy on social media, Eugenie shared an adorable picture of their two sons holding a picture of mum’s baby scan

And yet, Eugenie’s ‘Baby Brooksbank’, as she described her child on Instagram in a reference to her married name, will benefit from their royal association without lifting a finger, just as its mother has done her entire life.
I can’t be the only one wondering if Eugenie’s announcement, coming just a day after her husband’s 40th birthday, which she marked by posting a cute snap of the Tequila brand ambassador and property developer with their son August, represented incredibly fortuitous timing.
After all, when your hideous parents have been rightly pilloried for their appallingly inappropriate relationship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – and you have suffered an element of guilt by association – what better way to distance yourself from your parents and rehabilitate your reputation than by highlighting your own wholesome family life.
The King was even gracious enough to celebrate the news on Buckingham Palace’s official website in a statement that included the line: ‘His Majesty The King has been informed and is delighted with the news.’
It’s intriguing that there was no mention of Queen Camilla’s delight, a rather startling omission given that one of Charles’s favourite refrains is: ‘The Queen and I’.
I have the utmost respect for the King, but his congratulatory words in no way reflect the mood of the nation.