Compared to some of her more famous cousins, Princess Eugenie has really managed to fly under the radar over the years. She never fled dramatically to America like Meghan, and she’s not in line for the throne like William…in fact, she’s not even a working royal. It has probably also helped Eugenie’s low profile that her father, the infamous Prince Andrew, has absorbed most of the tabloid attention that might otherwise be focused on her.
With that being said, Eugenie still pops up in the tabloids for a more surprising reason: her fashion choices. There are times when the young princess has tried a little too hard to dress up, resulting in her looking less like a royal and more like a cartoon. On other occasions, she has dressed down so dramatically that people were amazed a member of the Royal Family even stepped out wearing that.
Just what are the craziest fits for this plucky princess? Keep reading to discover the most royally inappropriate outfits Princess Eugenie has ever worn!
Looking like a cartoon villain at William’s wedding
How, exactly, did Princess Eugenie establish a reputation for wearing wild clothing? It all goes back to 2011 when Prince William married Kate Middleton. This wasn’t just another royal wedding…since William was the future King of England, the eyes of the world were on the entire ceremony.
That gave everyone time to scrutinize each royals’ outfit, and Eugenie’s was the one that left all of us scratching our heads in bafflement. On paper, wearing a Vivienne Westwood blue dress might sound like a smashing reality. But Eugenie’s silhouette looked truly weird, though it was hard to focus on that when all eyes were on her Philip Treacy sculptural hat.
Sometimes, it’s the simplest criticisms that stick, and the most persistent Eugenie criticism that day was that she looked like a villain straight out of a Disney cartoon. While the princess has gotten better, this is one fashion faux-pas she’s been trying to live down ever since.
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Short skirt and knee-high boot combo
Before anyone tries to label Eugenie a fashion criminal, it’s worth nothing that royals are held to a different standard than everyone else. In many cases, things that would look perfect on a friend or family member will still be inappropriate for a princess due to the many Byzantine rules royals have to follow. Eugenie found this out the hard way in 2018 when she wore a Whistles floral dress along with knee-high boots to the Commonwealth Youth Forum
Critics online thought that Eugenie’s outfit exposed a bit too much leg and was otherwise not appropriate for a royal to wear. It didn’t help that Meghan Markle attended the same event and received plenty of criticism for her exposed shoulders. Online critics were looking for any and all wardrobe issues that day, and Eugenie effectively got caught in the crossfire of criticisms mostly aimed at Meghan.
Her coronation shoes raised eyebrows
Not all of Princess Eugenie’s wardrobe issues have to do with her breaking any royal protocols on dressing. Sometimes, the issue is as simple as the public not knowing why the heck she wore something so weird. That’s the case with the shoes that she wore to King Charles’ coronation.
She wore some Fendi shoes which were meant to perfectly accompany her Fendi outfit (including dress, coat, and bag). However, the public immediately had questions about her wearing open-toed shoes with a metal wedge shape. The main question was “why” owing to the fact that the shoes looked stunningly ugly (especially for the king’s coronation!) and also looked difficult for the pregnant Eugenie to walk in.
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Going all out as a club kid
Remember when we said that Princess Eugenie wasn’t a working royal? That has some of its own perks, including the fact that one can more easily let their hair down and party. That’s exactly what Eugenie decided to do in 2008 when she went dancing at Kitt’s Nightclub in Sloane Square.
And Eugenie’s outfit had…well, just a lot going on. There was a pink top, a black and yellow skirt, a metallic silver jacket, and so much jewelry it looked like she robbed the royal vault. Throw in some pink fake eyelashes and Eugenie looked a bit more like a peacocking college student than a member of the Royal Family. Overall, the outfit ended up being more infamous than famous among fans of the Royal Family.
Rocking a t-shirt at the World Economic Forum
When it comes to fashion mistakes, there are times that Eugenie can’t seem to catch a break. For example, in April 2024, she attended the World Economic Forum, and she decided to wear a conservative floral dress, but she remembered at the last minute that the event was being held in Saudi Arabia. That country forbids women from having exposed shoulders, so Eugenie needed to come up with a solution.
Rather than changing outfits altogether, the princess simply wore a black t-shirt under her dress. This covered her shoulders, but it immediately had critics online discussing how informal it seemed to wear a t-shirt (even under a dress) to such an event. From a fashion standpoint, many found it unbelievably weird that Eugenie didn’t either cover her shoulders with a stylish blazer or wear a different dress altogether. Once again, the strange fashion choices of this princess made waves for all the wrong reasons.