Princess Eugenie has spoken candidly about her experience living with scoliosis and the lasting impact it had on her physical and emotional well-being.
Diagnosed with the condition—a sideways curvature of the spine—at just 12 years old, Eugenie underwent an eight-hour surgery and spent 10 days recovering in the hospital. In a new interview with The Sunday Telegraph, the royal opened up about how difficult that time was, especially as a young girl.
“I couldn’t get out of bed or do anything for myself,” Eugenie recalled. “I felt very embarrassed about the whole thing. I don’t know why or where it came from.”
She also described a moment before the surgery that deeply reflected her fear and anxiety. “I remember being woken up really early before my surgery—I pulled my blanket over my head. I said: ‘I don’t want to see anyone and I don’t want them to see me.’”
Despite the emotional toll, Eugenie says her mother, Sarah Ferguson, played a key role in helping her feel proud of her body—and especially of her surgical scar. “She’d ask me if she could show it to people, then she’d turn me around and say, ‘My daughter is superhuman, you’ve got to check out her scar.’ All of a sudden it was a badge of honor—a cool thing I had,” she said.
Eugenie has spoken before about how her mother helped her overcome the stigma around scoliosis. In an Instagram post from June 2024, she wrote: “My mum caught my scoliosis early and I was lucky enough to get the help I needed at 12 years old. I thank her so much for that and also thank her for the confidence to be proud of my scar.”
“She removed all the stigma around having scoliosis for me by confidently showing people what I’d been through, and it took all the fear and anxiety out of being different at such a young age. I am forever grateful and wish everyone to be proud of their scars,” Eugenie added.
In 2018, the princess made headlines for proudly showcasing her surgical scar in her wedding gown—a statement that continues to inspire others living with similar conditions.
Related topics:
