When you’re royalty, every family announcement comes with bureaucracy and planning. And that reportedly includes Princess Eugenie’s announcement that she’s having another baby, her third. Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, shared the news with an Instagram post featuring their sons, August and Ernest, holding a sonogram. “Baby Brooksbank due 2026!” she wrote.

Buckingham Palace put out a statement right away, noting that the king was “delighted.” But some are already looking ahead to what happens when the baby is born. That’s because Eugenie’s parents, the disgraced former prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, are in the middle of a scandal that doesn’t seem like it will die down anytime soon.

And Rob Shuter is reporting that William is drawing a line in the sand for a future christening, even if it seems like that’s still far off. “William will not be in the same room as Andrew. Not for this, not for anything,” one insider told the gossip columnist. “If Andrew is there, William won’t be. It’s that clear.”

That means the christening might be the clearest sign of who has chosen sides in this drama. Though it’s hard to believe anyone will choose Andrew’s side publicly. He has just been arrested for suspicion of misconduct in public office and remains under investigation for his ties to Epstein. His ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, meanwhile, also features heavily in the Epstein files.

And Fergie, who has been lying low outside of the UK, is reportedly not keen to return soon, even amid her daughter’s happy news. “She’s extremely cautious about returning right now,” a source told Shuter “There are concerns about potential legal exposure, and she’s not taking risks.”

Every sign points to Eugenie trying to keep a distance from both her mother and father. The statement from Buckingham Palace about her pregnancy read, “Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank are very pleased to announce that they are expecting their third child together, due this summer.”

“August (aged 5) and Ernest (aged 2) are also very excited to have another sibling join the family,” the statement continued. “His Majesty The King has been informed and is delighted with the news.” No mention of her mother and father.

Both Eugenie and her sister Beatrice attended the family’s Christmas gathering at Sandringham, but did not attend the recent Easter service. And reportedly, Eugenie is putting some distance between herself and her parents, particularly her father, Andrew. The Daily Mail recently reported that Eugenie has “cut off” her father and is “refusing to speak to Andrew and did not visit him at Christmas,” with another source adding, “There is no contact at all, nothing. It’s Brooklyn Beckham level – she has completely cut him off.”

Beatrice, meanwhile, is trying to walk the fine line of not cutting her father off and yet remaining close with the Royal Family. They aren’t exactly in regular and close contact at the moment, but Eugenie isn’t trying to walk that line. She’s not speaking to him.”

Perhaps William has nothing to worry about when it comes to the christening.

Prince Harry Is Reportedly “Sad” For Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet Following Princess Charlotte’s 11th Birthday

The Duke of Sussex felt some sort of way after seeing the princess’s birthday portrait.

The Gist

• Prince Harry is reportedly “sad” that his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, don’t have a relationship with their extended family.
• The duke was seemingly reminded of this after Prince William and Kate Middleton shared a photo of his niece Princess Charlotte on her birthday.
• Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, are raising their kids away from the royal spotlight in Motencito, California.

Prince Harry has spent the better part of six years establishing a new life for himself in California, but that doesn’t mean the Spare author doesn’t miss some parts of his old life in the U.K. Perhaps most notably, the duke is reportedly “sad” that his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, don’t have a relationship with their extended family. Harry was seemingly reminded of this after Prince William and Kate Middleton recently posted a photo of his niece Princess Charlotte on her 11th birthday.

“Archie and Lili are having a lovely time in California, but Harry is very sad that they are missing out on life with the rest of their family,” an old friend of Harry’s told The Daily Mail. “Harry feels his children are missing out on the extensive family network that their cousins are enjoying.”

The friend also noted that Harry wants his and Meghan Markle’s kids to have “the very best education,” which would potentially mean sending them to an English boarding school.

“He has retained his closest friendship group of confidants from his days at school at Ludgrove and Eton,” they explained. “He wants that for his own children.”

Prince Harry at Eton College in November 2001.
Credit: Getty Images

Rumors that Archie would follow in his father’s footsteps by enrolling at Eton were shut down last fall, however, by a rep for the Sussexes. “I can confirm that Prince Harry has not put Archie’s name down for Eton, and that the Duke has no plans to send his son to Eton,” they told E!. The aforementioned Daily Mail report likewise claimed that Meghan considers the boarding school system to be “barbaric.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum in April 2026.
Credit: Getty Images

Archie and Lilibet have spent minimal time in the U.K. since their parents relocated to California in early 2020. (Indeed, Lilibet was born in America and has been to England exactly once, for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.) Last year, Harry claimed it would be “impossible” to bring his family back to his native country; however, that was refuted a few months later when it appeared that his taxpayer-funded security in the U.K. was likely to be reinstated. Whether or not the foursome will actually reunite with the rest of the British royal family remains to be seen, however.