Princess Eugenie’s father-in-law dies days before her son’s christening
Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank have been left heartbroken after his father died just days before the christening of their son, August, on Sunday, it has emerged this morning.
George Brooksbank, 72, is said to have been ‘unwell for some time’.
He spent five weeks on a ventilator in an intensive care unit battling Covid last year but survived, in what doctors hailed as a ‘miracle’.
His grandson was baptised at All Saints Chapel in Windsor Great Park, with the Queen among guests.
The ceremony was a double christening of the monarch’s two great-grandsons, August, Princess Eugenie and Jack’s first child; and his second cousin Lucas Tindall, whose parents are the Queen’s granddaughter, Zara Tindall, 40, and husband Mike Tindall, 43.
Despite their grief, Eugenie, 31, and Jack, 35, decided the event, believed to be the first of its kind, should go ahead as planned.
The cause of Mr Brooksbank’s death has not yet been confirmed. Buckingham Palace has been approached for comment.
One insider told Mail Online: ‘George had been in hospital with covid and had not been the same after that. He had been unwell for some time.
‘It’s been a difficult time for Jack losing his father before the christening.’
Mr Brooksbank, a retired chartered accountant and company director, and his wife of 36 years, Nicola, split their time between homes in London and Bordeaux, France.
He is said to have been admitted to hospital at the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020.
Mrs Brooksbank, 68, also caught the virus but was able to recover at home, reports suggest.
He proudly watched son Jack wed Eugenie in 2018, with royal sources saying it was “wonderful” he was alive to meet his grandson August.
August, born in February this year, is the Queen’s ninth great-grandchild and 13th in line to the throne.
The Queen told courtiers how she was determined to attend the double christening despite having to pull out of various events including the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph due to a sprained back.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.