LONDON — Princess Eugenie has candidly revealed that entering motherhood completely altered her psychological baseline, unexpectedly triggering a new and intense phobia of flying. The 36-year-old royal, who shares sons August and Ernest with her husband Jack Brooksbank and is currently expecting her third child, reflected on how becoming a parent rewrites a person’s risk perception. Speaking during a roundtable at the World Economic Forum, Eugenie explained that the profound hormonal and emotional shifts of childbirth heightened her anxiety regarding safety, noting that she suddenly became terrified of airplanes and heights—a fear she had never experienced prior to having children.
Psychologists note that post-birth anxiety and newly acquired situational phobias are highly common among new parents, driven by the overwhelming sense of responsibility for a vulnerable dependent and a perceived lack of control during travel. Beyond personal anxieties, Princess Eugenie emphasized that her high-profile advocacy for environmentalism and ocean conservation has also been profoundly reshaped by her children. She noted that preserving the planet is no longer just a global cause for her, but a deeply personal mission, stating that her environmental work is now entirely focused on securing a sustainable future for her sons.
