Princess Eugenie thanks mother Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, for giving her confidence
Princess Eugenie is "forever grateful" for the confidence her mother, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, instilled in her.
The 34-year-old royal was diagnosed with scoliosis - curvature of the spine - as a child and underwent surgery to correct the problem, and the princess is thankful her mum always encouraged her to show off the resulting scar and not be ashamed of it.
Alongside a throwback photo of herself as a toddler with the duchess, she wrote on Instagram: "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.
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"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."
The duchess was "touched" by her daughter's praise.
She commented: "I am so touched by this and in awe of you. I hope this inspires young people to own their scars and life’s journey as you have so beautifully done."
Last week, Eugenie showed off her spinal scar in some pictures from her wedding to Jack Brooksbank.
She captioned the post: "Today is International Scoliosis Awareness Day. I just wanted to share my scar and encourage anyone out there who’s gone through something similar to share theirs with me.
"Let’s be proud of our scars! I’d love to repost any of your images on my stories so please tag me and I will share.
"To all of you who have just received the diagnosis, to those wearing braces, to those recovering from an operation and for those who have lived with a scar for years - My thoughts are with you on Scoliosis Awareness Day. Thank you to the doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and researchers at @scoliosis_sr (sic)"