Princess Eugenie’s spouse is reportedly standing firm beside her in the wake of the Epstein controversy, yet he is adamant about not having Sarah Ferguson, who is mired in disgrace, move into their residence.

According to insiders speaking with the Daily Mail, Jack Brooksbank, guided by his personal principles, remains supportive of Andrew and Sarah without fully immersing himself in their troubles. His commitment lies primarily with his wife and their two young children, and he’s determined to shield them from the unwanted spotlight this scandal has already cast on them.

This development surfaces as Eugenie and Jack’s connections with the Royal Family are once again put under the microscope due to the scandal involving Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and former spouse Fergie’s contentious involvement with the notorious financier, Jeffrey Epstein.

At 39, Jack, who transitioned from working as a bartender to running the successful AEB Consultants Ltd, is reportedly worried about how these damaging revelations might affect his career. The couple fears the possibility of being ‘stained by association.’

Jack reportedly fears business fallout from Epstein scandal

An insider mentioned, “Jack has invested significant effort into establishing his business, which is thriving. The last thing he wants is for the Epstein scandal to cast a shadow over his achievements. He will strive to maintain a low profile to avoid such repercussions.”

‘Jack has worked very hard building his business, and it’s going well so the last thing he needs is for the Epstein scandal to taint that. He will do everything he can to keep his head below the parapet because of that,’ they revealed.

Meanwhile, Eugenie, 35, and her husband are also said to be fearful that the storm clouds engulfing the former Duchess of York could see Fergie ask to move in with them – a prospect the couple would not relish.

‘Eugenie and Jack are resisting any suggestion from her mother that she should come and live with them. Because to be frank Sarah is difficult to live with and they don’t want the responsibility of looking after her at the moment.

‘That’s not to say they are not concerned about her welfare – they just don’t actually want her to be living with them, even temporarily,’ a second source declared.

Fondly known as the barman who stole the heart of the princess, Jack Brooksbank is widely considered to be a popular and key member in the royal fold.

Yet as his beloved wife gets pulled further into the scandal surrounding Andrew and Fergie’s ties to Epstein, there is a degree of uncertainty surrounding where he may stand with the Royal Family now. 

Son of the late George Edward Hugh Brooksbank, a chartered accountant who studied at Eton, and his wife Nicola, who is great-granddaughter to both Sir Arthur Holland and Sir Frederick Charlton Meyrick, he is not short of his own connections. 

‘Jack has long been well liked by the Royal Family. He is popular and mingles well with other family members at Sandringham at Christmas, for example, and also when he goes up to Balmoral for shoots with them,’ a close source told the Daily Mail. 

But now, ‘the repeated mentions of Eugenie and her sister in the Epstein files may have moved the goalposts’. 

‘There is clearly concern now that Eugenie and Jack will be tainted by association because of her parents and understandably in public the royals are keeping their distance from them.

‘But Jack has his own business interests. He’s not a person who has tried to cash in on his royal connections.

‘He has tried to carve his own path and build his career on his own merits, Jack is glad he has done that and is not dependent on any of them or guilty by association,’ they added.

Business success overshadowed by Epstein scandal fears

The successful businessman reported a £630,000 ($841k) profit in 2022, up from only £36,428 ($48k) in 2021 – recording an astonishing increase of almost £600,000 ($801k) or more than 1,600 per cent.

‘He’s doing very well for himself,’ one of his friends previously told the Daily Mail.

Now, however, there are fears that the ensuing Epstein scandal could damage his reputation – with Andrew and Fergie featuring heavily among the three million pages of Epstein files which were released by the US Department of Justice last month.

Fergie’s emails to the [child predator] financier revealed she took Eugenie and Beatrice to visit Epstein days after his release from prison for child prostitution offences.

Other messages from Fergie to Epstein even talked about Eugenie’s [sexual intercourse] life, declaring in one that the princess had been away on a ‘[sexual] weekend’ when she was 19.

Eugenie met her now-husband Jack during a skiing trip at the beginning of 2010 and later described it as ‘love at first sight’.

The couple, who wed in Windsor 2018, once shared a rather public romance. However, little is now known about their whereabouts following the tranche of Epstein files released at the start of this year.

At the time of her father’s arrest, Eugenie was holidaying in the exclusive ski resort of Gstaad with her family – and was said to be ‘in a state’.

The princess was spotted in Switzerland by diners at the exclusive Restaurant Waldmatte in Gstaad, with Jack and their sons August and Ernest.

One guest who saw her at lunch told Hello! Magazine: ‘I was surprised to see her because I thought she would be keeping a low-profile in light of everything that has been going on.’

The family were with friends who had also joined them at the eatery with a large terrace and impressive views of the Alps, although they opted to stay inside.

The diner added: ‘Eugenie and Jack were with the children, the nanny and a group of friends. They were tucked away in a corner and casually dressed in ski gear and jackets, and Jack was wearing a beanie hat as they both browsed the menu.’

Earlier this month, Eugenie stepped down from her role as patron of Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest human rights organisation, as the Epstein scandal continued.

The charity had once hailed Eugenie’s work ‘across the board with leaders in the fight against modern slavery’.

But the royal’s profile has since been removed entirely after seven years of partnership – with the group confirming their ‘patronage from HRH Princess Eugenie of York has come to an end’, the Observer reported.

Sisters ‘aghast’ over mother’s Epstein emails

Eugenie and Beatrice were previously said to be ‘aghast’ at their mother’s embarrassing tranche of emails to Epstein.

Sources close to the sisters also said they were ‘appalled’ and ’embarrassed’ about the photos of their father crouching over a mystery woman lying on the floor in Epstein’s New York mansion. 

Jack and Eugenie’s paths first crossed in the Swiss ski resort of Verbier in 2010 when she was 20 and he was 24. At the time, Eugenie had been on holiday with her family.

Yet while ‘sparks’ flew from the beginning, things weren’t always quite so smooth sailing for the pair in the early days – with Eugenie juggling her time between London and New York, where she worked for former online auction house Paddle8.

At the time, Jack told the Daily Mail: ‘We spend a lot of time on Skype. It’s great. We are still very much together.’

After seven years of dating, Jack invited to spend time with the Royal Family and the late Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral in 2016.

Following an eight-year romance, Jack popped the question in January 2018 during a holiday to Nicaragua, but without a ring because he ‘didn’t want to do anything until Eugenie had signed off on it.’

The loved-up pair said  ‘I Do’ in October 2018 at Windsor’s St George’s Chapel in front of 850 guests, with more than three million viewers in the UK tuning in to watch the lavish affair on ITV. 

According to reports at the time, Jack’s wedding speech was ‘filled with devotion to Eugenie’ and he told his new wife she ‘lights up his life and makes him feel complete’.

Jack’s speech was so moving that it was reported that disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor broke royal protocol to give him a hug.

The couple now share two children together: August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, five, and Ernest George Ronnie, two. 

Ernest’s name is a loving tribute to the youngster’s great-great-great grandfather George V, his paternal grandfather George Brooksbank and Sarah Ferguson’s father Major Ronald Ferguson.

As a young boy, Jack attended prestigious Stowe School in Buckinghamshire – famous for its stately-home buildings and magnificent grounds – before taking up a place at the University of Bristol.

After completing his university studies, he began working as a bartender before eventually working his way up to the post of general manager of Mahiki, a popular Mayfair nightclub which was often frequented by princes William and Harry.

As his career progressed, Jack later worked as a brand ambassador for Casamigos Tequila, a company famously co-founded by George Clooney, Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman.

A successful businessman and entrepreuneur, he was made European Brand Director of the £45 ($60)-a-bottle tequila business in September 2018 – just a month before he and Eugenie tied the knot at Windsor Castle.

In 2022, Mr Meldman offered Jack a role in the marketing, sales and promotion branch of his property developing business, Discovery Land Company in Portugal.

In addition to his career in marketing, Jack set up his own wine business in 2016, for the ‘wholesale of wine, beer, spirit and other alcoholic beverages’.

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