Princess Eugenie’s daughter could qualify for Portuguese citizenship as she becomes only the third royal baby born outside Britain in 100 years

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank‘s new daughter could qualify for Portuguese citizenship as she becomes only the third British royal baby born abroad in a century.

The couple’s third child was born on Monday at a hospital in Lisbon weighing 6lb 9oz – with mother and baby said to be doing well.

The birth is a rare occasion where a Royal Family member has been born overseas, with Eugenie and Mr Brooksbank having a home and other connections in Portugal.

Despite being born in Lisbon, the baby automatically qualifies for British citizenship – given this applies to any child born abroad to at least one parent who is a UK citizen.

But the girl will not automatically be eligible for Portuguese citizenship because the country does not give birthright citizenship to the children of foreign nationals.

One way to qualify however is a baby born in Portugal who has at least one parent legally residing in the country for five years at the time of the baby’s birth.

She does not meet this criteria, given Eugenie and her marketing executive husband started spending time in Portugal in 2022 when the latter began a new job there.

But new Portuguese rules which only came into force in May mean the baby could become a citizen by naturalisation after living in Portugal legally for at least ten years.

A photograph issued by Buckingham Palace yesterday of ‘Baby Brooksbank’, after Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank announced the safe arrival of their daughter, born on Monday

The couple now divide their time between Ivy Cottage within Kensington Palace in London and a property at the CostaTerra Golf and Ocean Club on the Melides coast of Portugal. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also own a villa in the same 300-home resort.

The last royal baby born abroad was the girl’s second cousin Princess Lilibet of Sussex, who was delivered at a hospital in Santa Barbara, California, in June 2021.

Lilibet, who is seventh in line to the throne, was born in the US after her parents Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior royals in Britain the year before.

Another relatively recent overseas royal birth was Maud Windsor, born in 2013 in Los Angeles where her parents Lord Frederick Windsor and Sophie Winkleman were living. Maud, the first grandchild of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, is 56th in line to the throne.

But royal historians must go back over a century to find a Royal Family member born abroad – when Prince Philip was delivered on the Greek island of Corfu in 1921.

Born a prince of Greece and Denmark, Philip renounced his foreign titles and became a naturalised British subject before marrying the future Queen Elizabeth II in 1947.

In Portugal, Eugenie and Jack will be taking time to decide on the name of their new daughter while they enjoy time as a family.

It has not yet been announced at which hospital the baby was delivered – despite unconfirmed reports in Portuguese media that it was the private Hospital da Luz – but the couple are said to be deeply grateful to medical staff for their care.

The baby girl will not be an HRH, and is 15th in line to the throne, with her great uncle Prince Edward, moving down to 16th place.

She will also be the 15th great-grandchild of Elizabeth II, and the third to be born since the late Queen’s death in 2022.

The pregnancy was announced in May with Eugenie sharing on Instagram a picture of her young son Ernest, wearing a Chelsea football kit, and her other child August, wearing a long-sleeved grey T-shirt, holding a picture of a baby scan.

The pregnancy was announced in May with Princess Eugenie sharing on Instagram a picture of her young son Ernest and her other child August holding a picture of a baby scan

(From left) Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Beatrice with Jack Brooksbank and Princess Eugenie for Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling’s wedding in Kemble, Gloucestershire, on June 6

In a statement yesterday, Buckingham Palace said: ‘Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank are delighted to announce the safe arrival of their daughter, born on Monday, 3rd August 2026, at 6.20pm, at a hospital in Lisbon, Portugal.

‘The baby was born weighing 6 pounds 9 ounces. Their Majesties The King and Queen and other members of the royal family were delighted to be informed of the news.’

The new arrival is the fifth grandchild of the former Duke and Duchess of York, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, after the birth of Princess Beatrice’s daughter Athena Mapelli Mozzi in January last year.

The happy family news is in stark contrast to Andrew’s fall from grace over his friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Earlier this year the former duke left his Windsor home after a public outcry about his ‘peppercorn rent’ and moved to the Sandringham estate, and he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office before being released.

Eugenie and Beatrice, who are granddaughters of Elizabeth II, have faced scrutiny themselves after their names appeared in the Epstein files, the US Department of Justice’s document dump relating to the late convicted sex offender.

One email exchange suggested their mother Sarah took her daughters to see Epstein in the US days after he was released from serving 13 months for soliciting minors for prostitution. Eugenie and Beatrice were 19 and 20 at the time.

The sisters stayed away from the traditional royal gathering on Easter Sunday, with the agreement of Charles, amid the furore over their father.

Credit: Daily Mail