Princess Eugenie is showing off her scar.
Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter, 34, marked International Scoliosis Awareness Day on June 26 by sharing three photos from her 2018 royal wedding day on her personal Instagram page. Princess Eugenie’s bridal gown did not attempt to hide the scar from her spinal surgery at age 12 due to scoliosis, a curvature of the spine.
“Today is International Scoliosis Awareness Day. I just wanted to share my scar and encourage anyone out there who’s gone through something similar to share theirs with me,” Eugenie captioned the Instagrampost.
“Let’s be proud of our scars!” she added, asking followers to share their own photos for her to repost on her Instagram Stories.
“To all of you who have just received the diagnosis, to those wearing braces, to those recovering from an operation and for those who have lived with a scar for years — my thoughts are with you on Scoliosis Awareness Day,” Eugenie continued as she thanked the doctors, nurses, physical therapists and researchers at the charity Scoliosis Support & Research.
Princess Eugenie spoke about the specific decision to show her scoliosis scar when she married Jack Brooksbank in the audio guide that accompanied her bridal look when it went on display at Windsor Castle in 2019.
“I had always wanted a low back — part of it was showing my scar. And I believe scars tell a story about your past and your future, and it’s a way of getting rid of a taboo,” the royal explained. “For me, it’s a way of communicating with people who are going through either similar situations with scoliosis or having a scar of their own that they are trying to deal with.”
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s daughter added that she was “very touched” by the words of support she received after her wedding.
Princess Eugenie wore a custom ivory bridal gown with folded neckline draped into a low back, fitted bodice and full pleated skirt by Christopher De Vos and Peter Pilotto for the ceremony at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. She was heavily involved in the design process (the brand’s first wedding dress!) and revealed that she “immediately could vision” her look after Jack proposed.
Part of that vision? No veil.
“I think it was interesting for her not to have a veil which is very modern, but I suppose it’s because she wanted there to be this attention on the back silhouette and a veil would have covered that,” Royal Collection Trust curator Caroline de Guitaut said at the time.
The royal mom of two has spoken out on social media for International Scoliosis Awareness Day in years past and shared photos of her corrective surgery X-rays for the first time in 2018.
Though she is not a full-time working royal like her cousin Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, Princess Eugenie serves as patron of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Charity, giving back to the hospital system where she had her operation, and Horatio’s Garden, which creates gardens at NHS spinal injury centers across the U.K.
