Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and Princess Eugenie. Photo / Getty Images
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and Princess Eugenie. Photo / Getty Images
The Duchess of York has denied reports that Princess Eugenie is to marry her long-term boyfriend Jack Brooksbank next year.
A spokesman for Sarah, Duchess of York, last night categorically denied the claim her daughter was about to get engaged. He said: 'This story is absolutely not true.'
A source said the family were together this weekend and all - including Eugenie - had roundly denied engagement claims.
The Sunday Express reported that the couple were planning to become officially engaged by the end of the year.
The 26-year-old royal has been in a relationship with nightclub boss Brooksbank, 29, for the past six years.
Princess Eugenie poses for the September issue of Harper's Bazaar. Photo / Harper's Bazaar
While no official announcement has been made, the couple are reportedly to become officially engaged by the end of this year with a view to marrying in 2017.
It was reported that the pair are set to live in Kensington Palace, which also serves as the official royal base of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Eugenie and Mahiki manager Brooksbank have dated since they were introduced in Switzerland in 2010.
The son of an accountant, Jack was educated at £10,000-a-term Stowe school in Buckinghamshire and at one point considered a career in the City. But, with the support of his parents, he chose to work in hospitality.
He took a job at Chelsea's Admiral Codrington, a pub and private dining room, before being poached by Piers Adam to work at The Markham Inn, also in Chelsea, where he spent three years.
He then went on to become the manager of Mahiki, one of the West End's most prestigious night-clubs and a popular haunt of the royals.
Eugenie currently works at Hauser and Wirth, an art gallery.
Buckingham Palace tonight declined to comment.
The pair are said to be 'very serious' about their relationship - and Brooksbank has become close to the Duke and Duchess of York.
Princess Eugenie. Photo / Harper's Bazaar
A family friend said: 'Jack is very close to Eugenie's family. He is always invited away with them in the summer.
'Sarah sees him as a son-in-law already. She and Andrew adore Jack. He is a lovely boy and he has really fitted into the family.'
The news will undoubtedly be met with mixed emotions by Princess Beatrice, who split with her partner of ten years Dave Clark just weeks ago.
A source close to Beatrice, 27, told The Mail on Sunday last week: 'After ten years together, Beatrice and Dave had to wonder why they were not married.
