Jack Brooksbank turns 40 on May 3, but celebrations are expected to be subdued, with royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams telling the Daily Mail that the Jeffrey Epstein scandal has cast a pall over the family. Once known as 'barman Jack' in his party-going youth, Brooksbank's early life was far from the quiet existence he now leads. He celebrated his 21st birthday dancing with a naked stripper, long before he met Princess Eugenie. He is now an ambassador for Casamigos tequila, the brand co-owned by George Clooney, and was photographed promoting it with friends in 2018.
Brooksbank comes from an aristocratic background: his father, George, is an Old Etonian chartered accountant, and his great-great-grandfather was Viscount Thomas Coke, the 2nd Earl of Leicester. He was educated at Stowe School in Buckinghamshire. According to multiple reports, he went straight into work with his parents' backing instead of pursuing a finance career.
According to the Daily Mail, Fitzwilliams noted that Brooksbank is far less social these days, partly because the couple moved to Portugal. The same outlet quoted Fitzwilliams raising questions over who financed Eugenie and Beatrice's luxury party lifestyle.
Brooksbank met Princess Eugenie in March 2010, and they have been married for nearly eight years, multiple reports indicated. They have two sons: August, 5, and Ernest, 2.
Princess Eugenie is pregnant with their third child, due in summer 2026, major media outlets reported. The pregnancy was announced via an official Buckingham Palace statement, which noted that King Charles was informed and is delighted, according to multiple media reports. On her Instagram account, Eugenie shared a photo of her sons holding a baby scan, captioned 'Baby Brooksbank due 2026!', multiple outlets confirmed.
The unborn baby will be 15th in line to the throne and will not hold HRH status, pushing Prince Edward to 16th in line, according to multiple reports. According to the same reports, the child will be the 15th great-grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and the third since her death in 2022, as well as the fifth grandchild of Prince Andrew.
the brother I have always wished for
Fitzwilliams also told the Daily Mail that Princess Beatrice's marriage to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi has been rumored strained. Beatrice gave birth to a daughter, Athena Mapelli Mozzi, in January last year, multiple outlets reported.
Princess Eugenie discussed the challenges of motherhood in an appearance on the 'Lessons From Our Mothers' podcast last May, multiple outlets reported. She was recently seen in public twice: at a wedding in Sicily and lunching with Beatrice in London, major media reported. According to the Daily Mail, Fitzwilliams noted that both sisters do useful charitable work, though Eugenie has stepped down from Anti-Slavery International.
Eugenie fell largely silent on Instagram due to her parents' links to Epstein, multiple reports have noted. For Jack's 40th, she posted a series of Instagram stories: a beach photo, a picture with son August, a sombrero photo captioned 'Here's to another 16... xx', and a beach selfie. Multiple media outlets reported that the posts were later taken down and reposted with slightly altered captions, leading to speculation about the state of her marriage. The episode has only intensified questions about how deeply the Epstein scandal has affected Eugenie's family life beyond public appearances.
In 2009, Sarah Ferguson took Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice to meet Jeffrey Epstein in Miami, after his release for child sex trafficking offenses. According to www.dailymail-co-uk.zproxy.org, Fitzwilliams described the visit as 'simply bizarre'.
Princess Eugenie is mentioned in the Epstein files alongside her sister, multiple outlets have confirmed. An email from 2010 sent to Epstein referred to Princess Eugenie's 'shagging weekend', but it remains unclear whether the email was sent by Ferguson or another individual.
According to multiple outlets, in communications with Epstein, Ferguson described him as 'the brother I have always wished for'. A 2010 email, also published by those outlets, showed her writing: 'I am at your service. Just marry me.'
I am at your service. Just marry me.
Email exchanges between Ferguson and Epstein reveal repeated financial dealings and requests for money, all dated after Epstein's 2008 conviction for prostituting minors, according to research cited by multiple sources. According to multiple reports, a September 2011 email signed 'Sarah' congratulated Epstein on the birth of a baby boy, mentioned 'The Duke', and indicated she was unaware of the pregnancy.
Prince Andrew stepped back from public life after his disastrous 2019 Newsnight interview, multiple outlets have reported. He denied any wrongdoing but settled out of court with Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was a minor, multiple outlets have reported.
Thames Valley Police confirmed that Andrew was arrested on his 66th birthday, February 19, on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Reports allege that he sent confidential documents to Epstein while serving as a trade envoy in 2010-2011. His current legal status remains uncertain, as no formal charges have been announced.
King Charles issued a statement expressing concern over the allegations and has begun stripping Andrew of royal titles, according to multiple sources. Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and has been served formal notice to surrender the lease on Royal Lodge, multiple sources reported.
According to multiple reports, a second victim came forward after the January release of Epstein files, though the individual's identity has not been disclosed. A photo from those files, published by multiple outlets, shows Andrew appearing to kneel on all fours over a female on the ground. Andrew is heavily featured in the documents released by the US Justice Department, multiple outlets confirmed.
Virginia Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025 at age 41, and Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges, multiple reports stated. According to www.dailymail-co-uk.zproxy.org, Fitzwilliams warned that more embarrassing information may yet be released.
The official pregnancy announcement, released by Buckingham Palace, omitted any mention of the child's grandparents, Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, multiple outlets noted. However, King Charles invited Eugenie and Beatrice to spend Christmas at Sandringham, where they were photographed attending church on December 25, multiple reports indicated.