Why Princess Eugenie Gave Birth in Portugal — And What It Means for Her Baby’s Citizenship
Princess Eugenie welcomed her daughter in Portugal, but the royal newborn won't automatically qualify for Portuguese citizenship.
Princess Eugenie welcomed her third child on August 3 with her husband Jack Brooksbank. The couple shared the happy news the next day with a sweet social media post of their newborn daughter. Interestingly, she did not give birth to her baby girl in the U.K.; instead, at a hospital in Lisbon, Portugal.
On August 4, Eugenie and her husband shared a sweet first photo of their newborn. They captioned the post: “Jack and I are so excited to announce Baby Girl Brooksbank!! We are beyond in love with our girlie.”
Previously, both of Eugenie’s sons were born in London, but it is not the same with her youngest. The family has been splitting their time between the U.K. and Portugal since 2022 after Brooksbank relocated for work. Following his stint with George Clooney's tequila brand Casamigos, he took on a new role working with real estate developer Mike Meldman, one of Clooney's longtime business partners.
With their daughter becoming the first of the couple's children to be born in Portugal, many royal watchers have been wondering whether she will also be entitled to Portuguese citizenship alongside her British nationality.
Since both Eugenie and Brooksbank are British citizens, their daughter automatically inherits British citizenship, even though she was born overseas. But Portugal does not automatically grant citizenship based solely on where a child is born, meaning the newborn won't have Portuguese nationality simply because she was born in Lisbon.
A child born in Portugal is only eligible if at least one parent has completed the country's required period of legal residency before the birth. Since the couple only relocated there part-time in 2022, they fall short of the five-year mark, meaning their daughter doesn't qualify.
The rules were more lenient until recently. Before changes introduced on May 19, 2026, foreign parents only needed one year of legal residency for a child born in Portugal to qualify, compared with the current five-year requirement.
The happy news was also confirmed by Buckingham Palace, which revealed that Eugenie gave birth to her daughter on August 3 at 6:20 PM in a hospital in Lisbon. The newborn weighed 6 pounds, 9 ounces. While the palace added that King Charles, Queen Camilla, and other members of the Royal Family were 'delighted' to hear of her arrival, the official name for the little one has not yet been announced.
