Princess Eugenie’s Struggle to Balance Her Royal Status and Social Media Presence

Princess Eugenie, the 28-year-old granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, recently revealed in an interview with British Vogue that she is still trying to find a balance between her status as a royal and maintaining a social media presence.

In her first joint interview with her sister, Princess Beatrice, for the magazine's September issue, Eugenie shared her experience of getting in trouble for posting a photo of her dad, Prince Andrew, on Instagram during Trooping the Colour in June.

Prince Andrew was appointed Colonel of the Grenadier Guards last year following the retirement of his father, Prince Philip.

Eugenie snapped a photo of her father during the parade and shared it on Instagram with the caption, “A wonderful and proud day celebrating Her Majesty's birthday and HRH the Duke of York for his first Trooping the Colour as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.”

However, the photo gave her nearly 300,000 followers an unintended peek behind the royal curtains.

Eugenie told Vogue that she got into trouble for posting a picture of her dad in the corridor of the palace that was off-limits to the public.

The hallway features stunning portraits lining the walls, which are painted pale blue.

The sun streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows lights up the ornate end tables and trail of bus sculptures.

The photo also offers a rare glimpse of the lavish red palace carpet that runs the length of the impressive corridor.

During her session with Vogue, Eugenie carefully weighed which photo she should share in honor of Prince Andrew for Father's Day.

She ruled out a photo from Balmoral as too personal and decided an Ascot photo was too formal.

She ended up with a throwback photo of herself and Beatrice as little girls planting a kiss on each cheek of their smiling dad.

Princess Eugenie launched her own independent Instagram account in March, making her the only royal with her own social media account.

Meghan Markle, who married Prince Harry last year, followed royal protocol and deactivated her social media accounts after getting engaged.

So why is Eugenie allowed to maintain her own Instagram page while Meghan, Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton rely on the palace social accounts?

It is likely because Eugenie doesn't have a formal working role within the royal family.

While she does accompany her father on official duties and engagements, she doesn't have a fixed role within the family like her cousins, although she does have causes she supports.