Queen Elizabeth shares a special bond with granddaughter Princess Eugenie despite strained relationship with Sarah Ferguson

With the sheer amount of attention that Prince Harry and William receive from the Queen, one could easily forget the fact that the monarch has eight grandchildren, all of whom she cherishes with all her heart. And while her grandchildren occupy different places when it comes to being in line for the throne, they all have same right to call Queen Elizabeth granny.
However, out of all the Queen's grandchildren, it's Princess Eugenie who shares a very rare and close bond with the monarch, says Town&Country magazine. Although the Queen has had her doubts about Sarah Ferguson, Eugenie's mom, she has always remained close to her granddaughter, and never let her feud with Fergie get in the way of their beautiful relationship.

Although it looks like Princess Eugenie lives a busy life, what with working at the art gallery Hauser & Wirth in London and forging a life with her husband-to-be Jack Brooksbank, she has always taken out time to spend with her grandparents. Both Eugenie and Beatrice, who are daughters of the Queen's second son Prince Andrew, are not working royals, or working members of the royal family, as a lot of people would know. It was previously reported that Prince Andrew, believed his daughters should have a higher royal profile and more royal duties, but his elder brother and heir to the throne, Prince Charles, thought differently.

Prince Charles, as per reports, believed that in the modern era, the focus should only fall on a few members of the royal family, namely him, his wife Camilla, and his two sons, William and Harry. At the time, the Queen rose in support of her younger son and wished to give her granddaughters more power and responsibility, but in the end, Charles won the argument. However, the palace refused to confirm any of this at the time.
But to undo the wrong that had been done years ago, Princess Eugenie still gets to attend the Queen's annual summer garden parties at Buckingham Palace, and this year she even participated in the Commonwealth Youth Forum alongside the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Eugenie ideally would not have been a part of such royal engagements if the Queen wasn't really fond of her sixth-born grandchild.

The special bond between the princess and the Queen is also quite visible when they speak of each other during public events. She always makes it a point to address the Queen as 'granny' during her speeches, as opposed to William or Harry who often err on the side of formality and call her 'the queen'. Speaking about her grandma's Scottish estate Balmoral, where the monarch vacations every year from July to October, Princess Eugenie said in the ITV documentary 'Our Queen at Ninety', "It's the most beautiful place on Earth."
“I think Granny is the most happy there, I think she really, really loves the Highlands... Walks, picnics, dogs — a lot of dogs, there's always dogs! — and people coming in and out all the time. Family-wise we're all there, so it's a lovely base for Granny and Grandpa to be — for us to come and see them up there, where you just have room to breathe and run."

A lot of people wouldn't know this, but the Queen was the first person to hear about Eugenie's engagement, even before she told her cousins William and Harry, her friends, as well as the rest of the family. The princess said in her engagement interview with BBC’s 'The One Show', “Granny actually knew right at the beginning, she was one of the very few people.”
Prince Harry recently commented on his formidable grandmother in the new documentary 'Queen of the World', “If you suddenly bump into her in the corridor, don’t panic. I know you will. We all do!” he said. However, Eugenie often can be seen showing her carefree, playful nature, especially when she's with the Queen.
In recent years, Princess Eugenie has become known for her quirky fashion sense, and more than once, the Princess of York has attributed her style to her grandmother, the monarch. In an interview, she referred to the Queen's style as being elegant and classic, saying, “Lots of my friends say, ‘Oh she’s just the best style person there is, you know she looks great in her clothes.’ The style is something that is very unique to her.”
Eugenie recently backed up her comments when she wore a deliberately Queen-flavored Erdem dress for Ladies Day at Royal Ascot this year. The fashion house’s website stated of the dress’ inspiration: “Erdem Moralioglu delves deep into Queen Elizabeth II’s past for his Spring ’18 collection — he was particularly drawn to her style in the ‘50s.”

In a way of giving back to her granddaughter for all the love and affection that they have shared through the years, the Queen plans to host a wedding reception for Eugenie at Windsor Castle, in the same way as she did for Prince Harry earlier this year. We hope that this too will go on to become a milestone in their enchanting and wonderful relationship.
