Princess Eugenie breached royal protocol twice with the birth of her daughter, August

Princess Eugenie celebrated her son August’s first birthday on February 9th, but she chose to welcome her newborn boy in a modern royal style — via Instagram!

The princess released a poignant black-and-white snapshot of her and husband Jack Brooksbank’s hands cuddling their baby son’s small fingers and arm hours after his birth in 2021. She added three blue hearts and two exclamation points to the photo’s description.

Typically, new royal newborns make their first public appearance outside the hospital within hours of birth, as Princess Diana, Sarah, Duchess of York, and the Duchess of Cambridge all did.

When their son Archie was born in May 2019, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose to offer the first look of their infant in a photocall and brief interview at Windsor Castle two days later. The modern couple also announced the birth of their baby boy on their Instagram account, @SussexRoyal.

Another distinction between Eugenie’s birth and other royal births is that Eugenie’s was announced ten hours after August’s arrival, when previous announcements were made within hours.

The Palace also issued a statement announcing the newborn’s arrival, which stated at the time: “Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie gave birth to a son at The Portland Hospital today, 9 February 2021, at 0855hrs. Jack Brooksbank was in attendance. The infant weighs 8 pounds and 1 ounce.

“The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke of York, Sarah, Duchess of York, and Mr and Mrs George Brooksbank have all been notified and are overjoyed.

“This is Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s first child, The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York’s first grandchild, and The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh’s ninth great-grandchild. Her Royal Highness and her child are in good health.”

Eugenie has been sharing adorable updates on her son throughout his first year, and she has also shared new photographs of August to commemorate his birthday this week.

The personal photos showed the family of three on a recent skiing trip, as well as August at a baby play group.