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Princess Eugenie opens up about her harrowing experience with scoliosis.

Princess Eugenie has opened up about her struggle with scoliosis on Instagram, posting a photo of an X-ray that shows the several pins and rods surrounding her spine.

In the post, the 28-year-old royal wrote, “Today is International Scoliosis Awareness Day and I’m very proud to share my X Rays for the very first time. I also want to honour the incredible staff at The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital who work tirelessly to save lives and make people better. They made me better and I am delighted to be their patron of the Redevelopment Appeal.”

She also linked to The RNOH Charity which provides care for people with musculoskeletal conditions. On their website, Princess Eugenie has written about her struggle with scoliosis.

“During my operation, which took eight hours, my surgeons inserted eight-inch titanium rods into each side of my spine and one-and-a-half inch screws at the top of my neck,” the 28-year-old wrote.

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“After three days in intensive care, I spent a week on a ward and six days in a wheelchair, but I was walking again after that,” she continued.

The princess also shared that she hopes awareness will help to make the process less daunting for other children undergoing the surgery.

“My back problems were a huge part of my life, as they would be for any 12-year-old. Children can look at me now and know that the operation works. I’m living proof of the ways in which the hospital can change people’s lives,” she wrote.

An ambassador for The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, the royal has opened her own wing in the hospital named Princess Eugenie House.

Interestingly, Princess Eugenie is one of the only royals who is able to raise awareness of issues on social media.

There is a strict social media policy that doesn’t apply to Princess Eugenie – or her older sister Princess Beatrice, who has a Twitter account.

The reason for this is because while the sisters are royals who work, they are not “working royals”, Hello magazine explains.

Unlike Princess William and Kate, or Prince Harry and Meghan, the 28-year-old’s full-time job is not representing the royal family at events – although she still does that often.

The ninth in line to the throne has a full-time job at Hauser & Wirth, an art gallery in London. Last year she was promoted to director after working for the art house since 2015.

Luckily, the princess is using the social media privilege to raise awareness about important issues such as scoliosis.

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