Princess Eugenie Cancels Baby August’s Christening After Covid Scare

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank were forced to postpone their son’s christening. Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank via Getty Images

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank were hoping for a celebration over the weekend, but they had to cancel an important occasion due to the coronavirus pandemic. Princess Eugenie and Jack planned to baptize their five-month-old son, August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, this past Saturday, but they had to postpone the christening after one of the guests had a COVID-19 scare.

Just before the ceremony was supposed to take place, one of the attendees was told they had to self-isolate, per People. It’s not clear if the guest contracted COVID-19 or if they came into contact with someone who tested positive, but either way, the ceremony was called off.

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Princess Eugenie, Jack and their families were all supposed to gather at the All Saints Chapel at Windsor Great Park for the christening; no more than 30 guests were invited, in accordance with the U.K. government’s coronavirus guidelines.

Queen Elizabeth was reportedly set to attend the christening of her ninth great-grandchild, as was Princess Eugenie’s pregnant sister, Princess Beatrice, and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson would also have been there, and they were going to host a small party after the ceremony at their shared home, Royal Lodge, according to the Sun on Sunday.

The Queen was set to attend the christening.

It’s not clear when Princess Eugenie and Jack will reschedule August’s christening, but perhaps it will be in the next month, before the Queen heads to Balmoral for her annual vacation. Eugenie and Jack are likely now back at Frogmore Cottage; they moved back into Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s official U.K. residence shortly before August’s birth on February 9.

Princess Eugenie isn’t the only royal dealing with COVID-19 isolation repercussions, as Kate Middleton also had a COVID-19 scare last week. The Duchess of Cambridge reportedly came into contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus, and had to isolate for 10 days. Duchess Kate, who is fully vaccinated, completed the isolation protocols and tested negative, and was able to attend both Wimbledon and the Euro 2020 final over the weekend.