Princess Eugenie Stars in New Documentary About London’s National Gallery: ‘I Always Wanted to Be an Artist’

Mar. 15, 2025

Princess Eugenie of York attends Vogue World: London 2023 at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Sept. 14, 2023 in London, England.Photo:Mike Marsland/WireImage

Mike Marsland/WireImage

Princess Eugenieis the latest member of the royal family to star in a documentary about a personal passion.

To celebrate the London gallery, which first opened its doors in 1824, art aficionado Eugenie — who studied art history and English literature at Newcastle University and now works as a director at the London art gallery Hauser & Wirth — chose a piece of artwork that particularly resonated with her for the documentary. The piece is Antonio da Correggio’s “The Madonna of the Basket,” painted around 1524 and depicting the Virgin Mary with Christ on her lap and Joseph in the background, at work in his trade as a carpenter.The National Gallery’s descriptionof the piece reads, “The holy family’s simple home has been built alongside grandiose ruins — a symbol of the new faith rising out of the wreckage of pagan antiquity. The picture is a soft harmony of grey-pinks and grey-blues with the gentle, smoky quality for which Correggio is famous.”

As to why Eugenie, 34, chose this particular piece of art, she said on social media earlier this year that “I see a lot of similarities with this and my life.”

Eugenie, who shares sons August, 3, and Ernest, 1, with husbandJack Brooksbank, said of the painting, perThe Daily Mail, that “Correggio is painting a very domestic scene. This is a normal, domestic family. It’s something so personal and so beautiful to see them like this, rather than in opulence or really heralded as these figures that transcend history.”

“Who knows its journey it’s been on, how it got to us, but it’s here and we’re able to admire it,” Eugenie added.

“The Madonna of the Basket,” she said, “means something to be because of where I am in my life now”: “Madonna and child, it’s been painted a million times and we’ve seen it everywhere,” she continued. “This one stuck out to me because of the very relaxed and ethereal nature of this beautiful mother and child bond.”

InMy National Gallery, Eugenie said she has always loved art, saying, “I did art at school. I always wanted to be an artist.”

“I remember going to National Gallery and just sitting and drawing, and now when I go around a gallery I see all the young people doing that and I’m like, ‘I used to do that.’ I wish I could find my drawings from those moments where I was a student right in the front, studying and looking and learning all about history and art.”

Neither Princess Eugenie or her older sister,Princess Beatrice,are full-time working royals, but their motherSarah Fergusonsaid in Septemberthat her daughters “are out there doing the work. Eugenie does a lot with The Anti-Slavery Collective, Beatrice does an enormous amount in technology and with dyslexia and really believes in humanity in the workplace, with compassion.”

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Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York attend the Ellie Goulding x SERVED Private Party at Royal Albert Hall on April 11, 2024 in London, England.Dave Benett/Getty

Dave Benett/Getty

Though they’re not working royals like their cousin Prince William, 42, or uncleKing Charles, 76, the daughters of Sarah Ferguson andPrince Andreware close to members of the royal family because “they have that unique, shared experience and unusual life they all lead,” according to a source speaking toHello!earlier this year. “This is an institution that they all belong to, perhaps in slightly different ways in terms of how they serve it, but they all believe in it and its future and want to do what they can to support it.”

Princess Beatrice (front) and Princess Eugenie arrive for the Sovereign’s Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on May 21, 2024 in London, England.Yui Mok-WPA Pool/Getty

Yui Mok-WPA Pool/Getty

In addition toMy National Gallery, there have been a handful of other royals speaking about passions close to their heart through documentaries lately, fromthe Prince of Wales’Prince William: We Can End Homelessnessin October toQueen Camilla’sHer Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doorsin November to Prince Harry’s latest Netflix offering,POLO, which premiered Dec. 10 on the streaming service.

source: people.com