Princess Eugenie, husband Jack Brooksbank expecting first child

Congratulations are in order for Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank: The couple are expecting their first child.

In a statement to USA TODAY Friday, Buckingham Palace confirmed the news. The statement was also posted to the royal family's official Twitter account along with a photo of the happy couple from their wedding day.

"Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank are very pleased to announce that they are expecting a baby in early 2021," the statement read. "The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, Mr and Mrs George Brooksbank, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are delighted with the news."

Eugenie, 30, also confirmed the news in a post to her Instagram Friday.

"Jack and I are so excited for early 2021....👶🏻" she captioned a photo of her and Brooksbank holding up a pair of baby slippers.

The baby will be the ninth great-grandchild for Queen Elizabeth II, 94, and Prince Philip, 99, and the first grandchild for Eugenie's divorced parents, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.

Their elder daughter, Princess Beatrice, 32, married her boyfriend, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, in a surprise ceremony in July on the Windsor Castle estate, with only close family in attendance, including her royal grandparents.

Eugenie married Brooksbank, a commoner and her long-time boyfriend, in October 2018. Their wedding was just five months after Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan wed, also in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

In February, Eugenie made headlines for standing by her father by publicly celebrating his birthday amid ongoing controversy surrounding his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in August 2019.

Eugenie's mother, Andrew's ex-wife Sarah, also defended the prince in an Instagram post shared in November. In the post, Sarah called her ex-husband a "real gentleman" and "principled man," announcing she is "with him every step of the way."

Although they have been divorced for 24 years, Andrew, 60, and Sarah, 60, remain close and share a stately home, Royal Lodge, on the Windsor Castle estate, where they have been quarantined during the pandemic.

Sarah gushed her joy about her coming grandchild on Twitter.

"I am so excited by the news that Eugenie and Jack are expecting their first child," she tweeted. "Thrilled for them both and in my 60th year cannot wait to be a grandmother. Welcoming a new baby into the York family is going to be a moment of profound joy."

Andrew, the queen's second son who is eighth in line to the throne, denied any wrongdoing over his involvement with his former friend Epstein, but ultimately stepped away from his public duties as a royal in November following his explosive BBC interview about Epstein.

His new grandchild will be the 11th in line to the throne once he or she is born.

Contributing: Maria Puente, Cydney Henderson

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Princess Eugenie pregnant with first child with Jack Brooksbank