A Day In The Life of Princess Eugenie Of York
Eugenie of York is sitting in the TV room of her family home, Royal Lodge, in Windsor Great Park. It's the definition of comfy cozy, with family pictures scattered around and Norfolk terriers wandering in and out. Eugenie, 26, the younger daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, has just completed a shoot for Bazaar in the lodge's sitting room. During the week, however, she lives in London and works as an associate director at the contemporary-art gallery Hauser & Wirth. Before returning to London in 2015, she spent two years in New York as a specialist at the online auction house Paddle8. Art is in Eugenie's bones as much as the monarchy.
6:45 A.M. I get up around 6:45 to start exercising by 7. I read my personal e-mails when I wake up. My mum always says, "What's the point of rolling straight out of bed and looking at your e-mails? It can ruin the first few hours of your morning. If you just wait …" But I really can't! I go to the park from 7 to 8. I do circuits, which I love because they're quick: burpees, squat jumps, lunges, the whole lot. It's much better, as I can't run for a long time. Or I go with my best friend to this amazing, women-only gym called Grace Belgravia. If I need to pick up some groceries, I go to Waitrose, right next to my gym. In the morning class, I can smell the fresh croissants coming in and I'm like, "Don't do this to me!"
8:15 A.M. I come home, have a shower, get dressed. My first conversation is often with my mum, saying, "Good morning, what are you doing today?" Or it's with my boyfriend, Jack. Sometimes I don't speak until I get in to work and talk to the team. Or it's my doggie Jack—yes, my boyfriend and my dog have the same name—total accident! If you can call that a conversation. [Laughs.]
8:45 A.M. I do my makeup in the car. I'm really good at doing it on the move! I use Charlotte Tilbury and Bobbi Brown—Charlotte's mascara and Bobbi Brown bronzer. They are geniuses.
9:00 A.M. I start at work. The Hauser & Wirth London office is on Savile Row. I moved back from New York last year to join the gallery. I work with colleagues in London as well as our galleries in L.A., New York, Somerset in the U.K., and Zurich. Part of my job is planning special projects, supporting the artists in the gallery and managing events. We work with many artists and estates around the world, including Mike Kelley, Philip Guston, and, most recently, Lygia Pape. We have been working with some of our artists from the time the gallery was founded almost 25 years ago, like Pipilotti Rist. I've loved art since I was very little. I knew I definitely wouldn't be a painter [laughs], but I knew this was the industry for me. I love being able to share my passion for art with people. If someone doesn't understand something, you have the ability to suggest, "Maybe you can look at it this way." That's what I find most thrilling about working in a gallery. A seminal moment for me, at age 16, was when I saw a Jean-Michel Basquiat show in New York. Basquiat is my hero. I did a study on him at school, and learned to paint like him. I'd never done anything like that! But art is all around us—sculpture, architecture, fashion …
10:00 A.M. I wear a dress and boots to work. I've started wearing high heels, which is so grown-up. But they're painful by the end of the day. I look at people wearing heels in movies and I'm like, "How do they do that?" For clothes, I love Sandro and Maje. Zara is great for work, and bits from Topshop. My favorite is my lace bomber jacket from Essentiel Antwerp. And I live in my Rag & Bone ankle boots.
11:00 A.M. At work, I read the New York Times arts section, Artnet, the FT, and Contemporary Art Daily. I don't get newspapers delivered; I read news online. I also follow some incredible Instagram accounts, like other galleries', Christie's, Sotheby's, also Klaus Biesenbach from MoMA PS1. He recently posted artist Katharina Grosse, who spray-painted a house in the Rockaways [New York] that was ruined during [Hurricane] Sandy. It's an amazing artwork.
1:00 P.M. For lunch, I walk over to the Detox Kitchen, which is right across Regent Street in Kingly Court. They do the best food, all healthy. There's often a queue outside. I try to not eat at my desk because it's good to go outside, especially in the summer, and it's always fun to explore Soho. During the day I drink everything from green tea to coffee, Diet Coke to fizzy water.
3:00 P.M. We usually have team meetings in the afternoon to discuss plans for events such as the next Venice Biennale, where Phyllida Barlow is representing the U.K. and Mark Bradford the U.S.
5:00 P.M. In the evenings, I often have engagements related to my family or a charity I support. Hauser & Wirth is very accommodating and understanding of my sense of duty. So I'll work until 5 P.M., then leave to do the engagement. My sister, Bea, and I have charities we're patrons of. We also try to support Granny and Grandpa in any way we can because that is what family is for.
6:00 P.M. I'll go home, change, and go to the event. I love trying new looks. I don't want to be pigeonholed. You wear the same thing twice? Great. If you don't, great! And if that means wearing a green Sandro dress, great. I wore that to Granny's birthday parade, with a Vivien Sheriff hat. I also wore this amazing red Eponine dress for Granny's 90th-birthday service at St. Paul's.
8:00 P.M. I like to go out for dinner when I can. My friends and my boyfriend love trying new places. I collect restaurant cards. (I also collect airplane tickets, by the way—since I was 16. One day, I'm going to turn them into wallpaper and paste it into my cupboard.) Two of my favorite restaurants in London are Bocca di Lupo and the Palomar in Soho. For dinner, when I'm being good, I cook my own food. When I'm being really bad, it's Basilico pizza. My favorite drink is vodka soda with loads of lime. Can't beat that.
10:00 P.M. When I get home depends on whether there's an art opening, or if I have an event or a dinner. If I'm home, I cook and watch TV. It's very relaxed. At the moment I'm watching How to Get Away With Murder—Viola Davis, she's insanely good—and Outlander, my favorite. When I'm with Jack, we watch The Walking Dead, which we're obsessed with. Maybe Game of Thrones is our next thing. I don't watch reality shows, but I love cooking programs. Indulgences? Chips—fries, as you say—Diet Coke, nuts! Cashew nuts with mustard are the best. Netflix.
11:00 P.M. I wash my face with Jo Malone Eucalyptus & Mint cleanser. My bedroom is full of photos my parents have taken. Mumsy took one of an elephant spraying water on its back, which is incredible, and there's one Papa took of Balmoral Castle. I've got a lot of art that needs to be put on the walls. And there are shoes everywhere.
12:00 A.M. Sadly, my bedtime is late. Less than seven hours' sleep? I guess so! What can't I live without? My family. That sounds cheesy, but I really can't. Especially my mum. I wouldn't be able to make tough decisions without her. And my sister. My mum always says that we're the only ones who know exactly what's going on in each other's lives. My father as well. He's the rock. And I couldn't live without my doggies. [Laughs.] What might people be surprised to learn? That I have a full-time job. And I have metal rods in my back keeping me straight. I was born with scoliosis and had an operation when I was 12. Those rods live with me permanently.
This article originally appeared in the September 2016 issue of Harper's BAZAAR.
Hair: Ken O'Rourke for Charles Worthington; Makeup: Attracta Courtney for Bobbi Brown; Manicure: Chisato Yamamoto; Production: Rosa Curtain for Lock Production.
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