Last week, Princess Eugenie announced that she and her fiancé, Jack Brooksbank, would not only be following in the footsteps of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry by tying the knot in St George’s Chapel in Windsor, but that they would be inviting 1,200 members of the public to come and watch, too. So far, so royal.

Off the back of the news, though, one publication decided to rip apart the couple’s wedding plans and heavily criticise pretty much every aspect of Eugenie’s existence. 

Think we’re exaggerating? Think again. Writing for the Daily Mail, Jan Moir gives her hot take on the future Mr and Mrs Brooksbank’s big day plans, berating Eugenie for wanting a wedding in the same building as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

According to Moir, Eugenie’s claim to the throne (she’s ninth in line) makes her “as constitutionally important as one of the Queen’s corgis”.

In the piece, Moir goes on to dictate that Eugenie has “done absolutely nothing to distinguish herself or to encourage public affection.” She also mocks her physical appearance (obviously), by saying that she “is most famous for her ridiculous fashion faux pas, including an irrational fondness for wearing teapot-shaped skirts.” 

The columnist even pits the Princess against other women in her family, painting a rosy picture of “the Queen’s adored niece, Lady Sarah Chatto” and asking why Eugenie can’t follow her good example and “quietly get on with her own life”?

Comparing Eugenie to a seagull, Moir wrote the royal drifts “along in the richly foaming wake of the Queen, picking off what she can from the royal catch.”

“But won’t an awful lot of people, even while once more being dazzled by the pomp and pageantry in Windsor town, be asking themselves this once more—Eugenie who?” Moir concluded the piece. 

Read more: How Princess Eugenie’s Instagram sparked a debate about Meghan Markle

It almost goes without saying that, over the years, the royal family have received their fair share of gossip column inches. However, it’s generally presumed that, unless it’s a special circumstance, the monarchy won’t respond. 

This time, though, it appears the Daily Mail have gone too far for Princess Eugenie’s mum, Sarah Ferguson, who has since voiced her thoughts on the article. 

 Taking to Instagram, the Duchess of York shared a letter penned by colleague Sarah Wade, the CEO of Sarah’s Humanitas charity.

“I am appalled at the vitriol that is expressed in the piece,” Wade began in her letter before questioning what the purpose of the article was.

“Is it to make a young couple feel embarrassed or ashamed of the choices they have made for their wedding day or it is to invite anger and hatred towards them?” she writes. 

“Either way, the outcome is negative and tantamount to bullying.” 

Damning the letter as “inflammatory and divisive”, Wade also asks if Moir has ever spent any time with Princess Eugenie herself and asks what is the “source of her malicious contempt for a 28 year old [woman].”

“It is imperative that we support freedom of expression,” she concludes, “but not when the intended outcome is to inflict pain on another person or incite others to do so.”

Agreeing with the letter wholeheartedly, Ferguson writes: “Couldn’t agree more with this letter about the disgusting article that Jan Moir wrote about @princesseugenie and Jack. Bullying at its’ premium and hiding behind a newspaper commenting about people you’ve never met.” 

Images: Getty