Princess Eugenie said she was nervous but couldn't wait to exchange vows with Jack Brooksbank, 32, because "it was love at first sight".
Princess Eugenie said she was nervous but couldn't wait to exchange vows with Jack Brooksbank, 32, because "it was love at first sight".
Princess Eugenie has revealed she is so excited to be marrying the love of her life today that she will be "running down the aisle".
In an interview on the eve of the royal wedding, the Queen's granddaughter said she was nervous but couldn't wait to exchange vows with drinks industry executive Jack Brooksbank, 32, because "it was love at first sight", the Daily Mail reports.
Eugenie, 28, the daughter of Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, will marry her boyfriend of seven years at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle at 11pm NZT in a ceremony attended by most senior members of the Royal Family and with Prince George and Princess Charlotte as page boy and bridesmaid.
Her grandfather, Prince Philip, is coming out of his retirement from public life for the event, despite having an enduringly frosty relationship with his former daughter-in-law, the duchess.
The princess will arrive with her father in the same Rolls Royce 1950 Phantom IV that was lent to the now-Duchess of Sussex on her wedding day by the Queen.
It was made for the monarch when she was still a princess and the first Rolls Royce that she and Prince Philip had, a sign of how special the vehicle is.
In an interview with presenters Eamon Holmes and Ruth Langsford, who will be anchoring live coverage of the wedding on ITV's This Morning from 9.25am today, Eugenie and her fiancé described the moment they first saw each other on ski holiday in Verbier, Switzerland.
Brooksbank said: "We were skiing in a friend's place out in Switzerland, and [looking at Eugenie] I saw you first, didn't I? And we just stared at each other."
Eugenie continued: '"Yes, and I thought, 'what a silly hat!'... and I thought, 'who's that?' and then you came over and shook my hand and I was all butterflies and nervous.
"I think I rang my mum that night and said, 'I've met this guy Jack'... and that was it I think about how it started.
"I remember being like, 'I really, really like this guy, I really want him to like me too,' and then you gave me this huge windscreen wiper wave and that was it, right, he likes me."
Jack described his bride-to-be as a "bright shining light," while Eugenie said: "Jack's the kind of guy, you know when you're lost at a party and you can't find anyone to talk to, and you start panicking and you need help?
"He'll walk in and make everyone feel so special. He'll scoop you up and talk to you and make you feel a million dollars and that's you, and you're so humble and generous."
Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank will be married at Windsor Castle today. Photo / AP
The couple both said they immediately knew they wanted their siblings to be best man and maid of honour - Jack's brother, Tom, for him and Princess Beatrice for her.
Eugenie said: "She's my big sissy - I've looked up to her my whole life. I've wanted to be her at times, we've fought over Converse trainers and who gets what... and you know, we're best friends and I can't think of anyone I'd want by my side more than her.
"She's the biggest supporter of 'Team Eug and Jack' and so it's a great honour for me that she said 'yes' and she's doing that duty."
Eugenie said the whole experience of such a big wedding - they will have 800 guests and the event will be televised - was "nerve-wracking and a bit scary."
But she added: "But at the end of the day you get to marry the person you love.... and you're going to be at the end of the aisle, and I'm going to be running towards you!"
Jack said Eugenie, who works for a leading London art gallery, was far from a "bridezilla," despite the lavish nature of the occasion.
"Eugenie has been amazing. She's been incredible, she has the ability to do a million things at once in her brain, including working as well as organising everything to do with the wedding," he said.
The couple were at Windsor yesterday, along with the whole bridal party, including George and Charlotte, for a wedding rehearsal in the chapel, which has been decorated with flowers, including the white rose of Yorkshire, appropriately for the Yorks.
Some of the young choristers who will sing at the wedding performed at Harry and Meghan's nuptials earlier in the year.
It is the first time in living memory two royal weddings have been staged in the same year at Windsor Castle's St George's Chapel, so the choristers will be part of an historic double.
Alexios Sheppard, 11, said: "It's one of the best experiences we're ever going to have - it's just amazing. They call it a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but not for us."
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank announced their engagement in January. Photo / Getty Images
David Conner, the Dean of Windsor, will officiate and has also been giving the pair the traditional pre-marital guidance counselling.
He said: "They just come across as just the perfect couple. They are very natural with each other, they obviously love one another but they also have a lot of fun together and it's been a real pleasure to work with them.
"You just have to remember it's their day and really do your very best to focus on them and not on the hundreds of famous and semi-famous people who will be around."
He said the princess regarded St George's Chapel as her "parish church" even though it was a "bit grand".
Buckingham Palace has said it will not announce the designer of Eugenie's dress until she arrives.
But in a previous interview the princess said: "(The dress) is the one thing that I was really decisive about. As soon as we announced the wedding, I knew the designer, and the look, straight away. I never thought I'd be the one who knew exactly what I like, but I've been pretty on top of it."
Erdem is often Eugenie's go-to choice but Stella McCartney has also been hotly tipped.
Royal fans will be hoping for some fun-filled antics from the young helpers in the bridal party, who include George and Charlotte, Zara and Mike Tindall's spirited four-year-old Mia, and Peter and Autumn Phillips' mischievous daughters Savannah and Isla.
But royal watchers will also be looking closely at Duke of Edinburgh, who hasn't acknowledged Eugenie's mother, Sarah, Duchess of York, for several decades.
Philip hasn't been able to forgive her for being photographed having her feet kissed by financial adviser John Bryan in 1992, which ultimately led to her divorce from his son.
But as the mother of the bride, Sarah has taken a major role in organising the wedding and will be centre stage, with the rest of the Royal Family, on the day.
Stars predicted to attend the second royal wedding of the year include singer Ellie Goulding, supermodel Cindy Crawford, Prince Harry's ex, actress Cressida Bonas, who is one of Eugenie's best friends, model Cara Delevingne, singer James Blunt and George and Amal Clooney, who also attended May's royal wedding.
The Queen is hosting an afternoon reception afterwards in the castle's St George's Hall, but the festivities will continue into the early hours with an evening party at the York family home.
The Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park has had a fairground set up in the garden, complete with dodgems and a coconut shy.
Members of the public will have the chance to see the newlyweds in a carriage procession through Windsor town centre.
About 1,200 members of the public have also been given balloted invites to the castle's Lower Ward, as have charity representatives, children from Eugenie's old schools, and royal household staff.
Broadcast footage will be live streamed on The Royal Channel and the Duke of York's YouTube channels, and the royal family and Andrew's Facebook pages.
Republic, a campaigning group working for an elected head of state, has criticised the security cost to the taxpayer, saying estimates have put the bill at £2 million.
