Making a splash with her conservation work princess eugenie tells of her tight-knit family and how motherhood has helped focus her mind on saving the planet

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS

S trolling along a shingle beach in the spring sunshine as boats bob gently on the blue sea behind her, Princess Eugenie is bursting with enthusiasm when she exclusively invites HELLO!

to join her on a mission close to her heart.

For two years, the eco-conscious royal has been an ambassador for the Blue Marine Foundation, which aims to reverse environmental damage to the ocean. And last week, the Princess took part in its Solent Seascape Project – the first initiative to tackle restoration of this kind in the UK.

“When I heard about Seascape, it blew me away,” she tells us. “I couldn’t wait to come down, and seeing it first hand is pretty cool. It’s amazing to watch these people dedicate their time to the biodiversity of our seas and I want to do as much as I can to help, too.”

Eager to breathe new life into coastal habitats for seahorses, oysters, seals, birds and seagrass meadows, the Princess didn’t hesitate to get stuck in. Donning a white lab coat and rubber gloves – and armed with tweezers and a nail brush – she helped marine scientists in the lab at the University of Portsmouth clean hundreds of oysters before returning them to the reef.

“I’d never held a live oyster before,” she says. “And I had no idea that one oyster can filter up to 200 litres of water a day, keeping the sea around it healthy and clean.”

Passionate about the environment, Eugenie, 33, who last year hosted the Ocean Advocate Series on sea conservation, lives by her eco-friendly beliefs. Her wedding to businessman Jack Brooksbank in 2018 was plastic-free, and she spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos this year about avoiding single-use plastics at home and her plans to educate her two-year-old son August about climate change.

LEAVING A LEGACY

With her second child due this summer, the Princess, a director at Mayfair art gallery Hauser & Wirth, tells HELLO! it was becoming a mum that heightened her awareness of the need to protect the planet for future generations.

“Since August came into my life, it’s positively affected my desire to do more. Priorities change when you have children – you want to do everyth