Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s wedding included an excerpt of ‘The Great Gatsby’ - because the main character reminds Eugenie of Jack

And after Beatrice’s reading, the Dean of Windsor - who officiated the couple’s wedding - detailed the moving reason behind Eugenie’s decision to include the passage, which described the book’s main character Jay Gatsby.

He said: “One particular passage, in which Jay Gatsby is described, reminded her immediately of Jack. She decided that eventually, she wanted to let Jack know how much those words had brought him to mind, and that’s why they’ve had a special place as our second reading in today’s wedding service.

“The words that particularly reminded her of Jack concern Gatsby’s smile. As we heard from the reading: ‘It was one of those rare smiles, with a quality of eternal reassurance in it. It concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favour’.”

The Dean went on to relate the passage to the couple’s wedding, as they “offer each other eternal reassurance”.

He continued: “Well, a few years have passed, and Eugenie and Jack come here today to smile on each other and to offer each other something like eternal reassurance, and the promise of an irresistible prejudice in each other’s favour.”

The passage read by 30-year-old Beatrice - who also served as Eugenie’s maid of honour - came as the second reading in the ceremony, after Jack’s cousin Charles Brooksbank gave a powerful reading taken from St Paul’s letter to the Colossians.