Eugenie and Jack welcomed their first child, a boy, into the world earlier this week. The royal baby is the Queen’s ninth great-grandchild and 11th-in-line to the throne. He was born in the comfort of the Portland Hospital in London, where Meghan Markle gave birth to her and Harry’s first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
Buckingham Palace, in a statement, said the Queen, Prince Philip, and Eugenie’s parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, were “delighted”.
It added that Jack was by Eugenie’s side for the birth.
The pair had been together for around seven years before they married in 2018 at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
A strange fact about their relationship is that they are actually related to each other.
The new parents share a common ancestor in the 19th century aristocrat Thomas William Coke, the 2nd Earl of Leicester.
The publication, Nicki Swift, noted: “The link makes them third cousins once removed.”
Coke is Eugenie’s great-great-great-great grandfather, on her mother’s side.
Meanwhile, the aristocrat is Jack’s great great grandfather, via his second marriage.
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Business Insider noted the fact that Eugenie and Jack are related is not uncommon within the Firm.
This was especially given “the relatively contained social circles in which the British aristocracy has traditionally moved”.
The Queen and Philip are in fact related, even more closely than Eugenie and Jack.
The eldest royals share a common ancestor in Queen Victoria.
While Victoria is Elizabeth’s paternal great-great grandmother, Philip’s relationship to the former monarch is a little more complicated.
Victoria’s second daughter, Princess Alice, had a child called Victoria.
The young Victoria later married Prince Louis of Battenberg, and their first child was born at Windsor Castle in the presence of Queen Victoria.
This child was Princess Alice of Battenberg – Philip’s mother.
Until very recently, all descendants of the British monarch were legally obliged to ask his or her permission before marrying.
Parliament, in 2015, abolished this rule with something more lenient.
Now, descendants are required to secure consent from the first six in the line of succession.
Of Eugenie’s first child, the Palace said in a statement: “The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of York, Sarah, Duchess of York, and Mr and Mrs George Brooksbank have been informed and are delighted with the news.”
It added: “Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well.”
Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, later tweeted their congratulations to the pair with a picture of their 2018 wedding day.
Eugenie herself posted a picture to Instagram of the baby boy’s hand clutching her finger.
