The countdown is on for Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank's wedding. With less than 30 days before she walks down the aisle, wedding invitations have officially been sent, according to Vanity Fair.
The outlet has exclusively published one of Eugenie and Jack's invites for the first time on its website (you can see it here). And once you take a look, it seems pretty on trend with the rest of the royal invitations we've seen before (a.k.a. super regal), except for one major thing: the embossed badge on top.
While we’re used to seeing Queen Elizabeth II’s seal, which shows an E for Elizabeth and R for Regina (Latin for “Queen”), we don’t typically see the one featured on Eugenie’s invites.
If you remember, the Queen's cypher was featured on top of Prince William and Kate's wedding invitations and Prince Charles's was on Prince Harry and Meghan's.
"Both Prince William’s and Prince Harry’s invites included crests printed in gold at the top, but Harry and Meghan’s featured the three-feathered badge of the Prince of Wales because he paid the bill," Hamish Shephard, founder of bridebook.co.uk, tells GoodHousekeeping.com. "William and Kate’s had St. Edward’s crown above the royal cypher of Queen Elizabeth II since she hosted their wedding in 2011."
The badge on Eugenie's invites is a royal blue emblem with the white rose of York in the center that is surrounded by the motto “Honi soit qui mal y pense.”
According to the royal family’s official website, the Latin phrase translates to "Shame on him who thinks this evil." It’s the motto for the Order of the Garter, which includes "the oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry in Britain."
Eugenie’s father, Andrew, Duke of York, was appointed to the Order in 2006. And all of these items together make up Andrew's badge. And because he and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson (best known as “Fergie”), Duchess of York, issued the invitations, his emblem is obviously featured.
If you look at the announcement for Eugenie and Jack's engagement, the badge is also in the top left corner of the memo.
And while it's unclear whether the wedding will be televised, it will certainly be the talk of the town — er, world — on October 12.
