The heartbreaking reason why Princess Eugenie was forced to cancel her son’s christening

Princess Eugenie has been forced to cancel her son’s christening in the wake of a sudden COVID-19 scare.

The new mum was reportedly set to celebrate the baptism of her son August, whom she shares with husband Jack Brooksbank, on Saturday July 10 at the Royal Chapel of All Saints.

Royal names dominated the 30-person guest list – most notably with The Queen set to attend, but Eugenie had to pump the brakes when a guest was alerted to a coronavirus scare and sent into isolation.

The news came moments before the ceremony began, The Sun on Sunday reporting that a guest was alerted to a virus scare through the UK’s NHS COVID-19 mobile app.

It’s unclear if the guest in question had tested positive for coronavirus, or had been a close or casual contact with someone who was infected.

The guest was immediately sent into a mandatory 10-day isolation and Eugenie and Jack were forced to call off the christening on short notice.

“One guest tested positive or was pinged for COVID contact and therefore no one else was able to gather,” a source told the outlet.

“As a result, they called off the service and reception party afterwards at Royal Lodge, Prince Andrew’s home.”

Eugenie’s parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, were set to attend the christening along with a host of other royals.

The Queen had been invited, as well as Eugenie’s sister Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, the couple expecting their first child in the coming months.

August Philip Hawke Brooksbank was named partly in honour of his late great-grandfather, Prince Philip, and this would have been the first royal baptism since the Duke of Edinburgh’s death in April.

Eugenie gave birth to August on February 9, 2021, just two months before Philip died.

As for COVID-19 scares, this isn’t the first for the royal family, with several members of the monarchy having contracted the virus in the last 18 months.

Prince Charles and Prince William both tested positive for the virus in 2020, and just last week Kate Middleton faced a scare of her own.

The Duchess of Cambridge was forced into isolation after she came into contact with an individual who later tested positive to COVID-19; fortunately the Duchess has since been given a clean bill of health.