Princess Eugenie & Jack Brooksbank's Relationship Timeline Proves They Can Go The Distance

Every love story is different, of course, but every royal love story is utterly fascinating. I feel like my own love stories, such as they are, would take on a magical patina as well if I could just tag a little Princess to the front of my name and wear a tiara every now and again. Because those darn royals make everything so intriguing, you know? Especially their weddings, this I know for sure. And as we are moving towards our next royal wedding, perhaps it's time to have a definitive look at the relationship timeline of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank. Just so we can all feel extra invested in their love story as we watch them get married (on television, thanks be) at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle next week.

Princess Eugenie, the youngest daughter of the Duke of York and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, and Jack Brooksbank, the UK ambassador for George Clooney's tequila brand Casamigo, are all set to be wed on Oct. 12. And while the venue might be the same as Eugenie's cousin Prince Harry and his new bride Meghan Markle, their love story is quite different. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had something of a whirlwind romance. But Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank? They've already been loving each other for years.

Love In The Alps

The couple first met in 2010 in Verbier, Switzerland, a beautiful ski resort area in the Swiss Alps. At the time Princess Eugenie was 20 years old and Brooksbank was 24, and he was already a friend of Eugenie's cousin, Prince Harry, according to The Express. At the time Brooksbank was working as a waiter at a local gastropub and a friend close to the pair explained to The Express:

There was an immediate attraction and since that meeting, they have barely been apart.

That All-Important Royal Ascot Appearance

Just one year after the couple starting dating in 2010, Brooksbank made his first official appearance beside the royal princess at the Royal Ascot in 2011. This is slightly unusual for the royal family, who tends to be slightly rigid with their rules. But Princess Eugenie told the BBC that her grandmother Queen Elizabeth loved Brooksbank from the get-go:

Granny actually knew right at the beginning [of the engagement]. She was very happy as was my grandfather.

Cross Country Romance

After those first initial sparks were ignited, there could well have been trouble. Princess Eugenie was studying at Newcastle at the time and Brooksbank was working in London. Which would bode well for them as their lives unfolded...

Two Happy Worker Bees

Despite the differences in their lives, the pair made it work, as a source told The Daily Mail, in part because of their mutual drive and ambition.

She is very uncomplicated. She's a doer, a worker, as is Jack. They are very suited. Jack's always worked hard. He chose not to go to university so that he could get on the career ladder and Eugenie loved that. She didn't care at all that he was a waiter. She might be a princess, but Eugenie comes with few airs and graces.

The Art Of Skype

The couple were truly put to the test in 2013 when Princess Eugenie began to work at Paddle 8 in New York, an online auction house, while Brooksbank was still working in London. But apparently Skype helped them stay together, as he told The Daily Mail:

We spend a lot of time on Skype. It’s great. We are still very much together.

Fortunately Princess Eugenie moved back to London in 2015.

Netflix, Chill, & Dogs

Once the couple were back on the same side of the ocean they settled into a nice routine. Watching television together and hanging out with Princess Eugenie's dog, who is coincidentally also named Jack, as she told Harper's Bazaar in a 2016 interview:

When I'm with Jack, we watch The Walking Dead, which we're obsessed with. Maybe Game of Thrones is our next thing. I don't watch reality shows, but I love cooking programs.

Welcome To The Family

Over the next year, Brooksbank appeared to be fully embraced by the royal family; he was invited to Balmoral Castle in Scotland, a favorite retreat of Queen Elizabeth, to celebrate Prince Harry's birthday in September 2016 and attended the wedding of Pippa Middleton with Princess Eugenie in May 2017.

The Big Proposal

Brooksbank proposed to Princess Eugenie while the two were on holiday in Nicaragua in January, and the soon-to-be-bride couldn't have been happier, as she said in a YouTube video posted to the Royal Family's account:

The lake was so beautiful. The light was just a special light I had never seen. I actually said this is an incredible moment, and then he popped the question, which was really surprising even though we have been together seven years. I was over the moon.

And if that's not enough to get you excited about their wedding on Oct. 12, I guess you don't love love.