Princess Christened her son August just days after death of husband Jack’s father George Brooksbank

Princess Eugenie‘s father-in-law George Brooksbank – dad of her husband Jack – died days before their baby son’s Christening on Sunday, MailOnline can reveal today.

George Brooksbank, 72, passed away in the week of August’s Baptism at the All Saints Chapel in Windsor Great Park, which was attended by the Queen.

A royal insider told MailOnline: ‘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’. 

Another source said it had been a ‘miracle’ George survived Covid last year after five weeks on a ventilator and that it had been ‘wonderful’ that he had been alive to see August born.

Eugenie and Jack  both put on a brave face yesterday and decided the Christening should go ahead despite suffering the secret heartbreak of Mr Brooksbank’s passing. Eugenie’s parents Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, are understood to have been there with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and other senior royals. 

Mr Brooksbank’s death hit the Royal Family just before the double Christening of the Queen’s two great grandsons, August and his second cousin Lucas Tindall, the son of Zara and Mike Tindall. 

August, born in February, is Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s first child and a first grandchild for both their parents. He is also the ninth great-grandchild for the Queen. The baby is 13th in line to the throne. 

George Brooksbank suffered from poor health after being forced into intensive care with coronavirus at the start of the pandemic last April. Before the pandemic the retired chartered accountant and company director split his time with his wife of 36 years Nicola at their homes in Wandsworth, south London, and Bordeaux, France. 

The old Etonian, whose son Jack married the Queen’s granddaughter in 2018, was in a ‘serious but stable’ condition in hospital during the first national lockdown. His wife Nicola, 68, also caught Covid but was able to recuperate at home. 

Eugenie and Jack were warned to ‘prepare for the worst’ when Jack’s father was put on a ventilator for five weeks. But he recovered from the life-threatening battle with the virus and left hospital last June.

Mr and Mrs Brooksbank watched proudly as Jack, 35, married Eugenie at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, at a ceremony attended by the Queen and most senior members of the Royal Family in 2018. The couple rode in a carriage procession around Windsor after the wedding, which was broadcast live by ITV.   

Despite the family tragedy, the Christening went ahead, with the Queen, 95, being among the supportive guests at the All Saints Chapel in Windsor Great Park. 

There were fears Her Majesty would not attend after being forced to miss the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph a week earlier because of a sprained back. 

After cancelling her Poppy appearance last week, the 95-year-old warned that ‘none of us can slow the passage of time’ via a speech delivered by the Earl of Wessex after the monarch failed to address the Church of England’s national assembly for the first time in her 69-year reign.

But she had told courtiers she was set on being present this weekend as her granddaughters Princess Eugenie, 31, and Zara Tindall, 40, christen their first-born sons and was pictured at the ceremony in Windsor. 

There was initial confusion as guests began to arrive at the chapel this afternoon, with reports suggesting the Queen may miss the event because she was still recovering from her injury.  

The royal, who wore her auburn locks loose, wore a silk white dress featuring embroidered detail which she paired with a statement headband and blue pendant necklace, while her grieving husband Jack wore a navy suit, crisp white shirt and light blue, patterned tie.  

Meanwhile, Zara Tindall, 40, opted for a black ensemble and pearl dangling earrings as she drove herself to the venue in a black Range Rover, while her husband Mike arrived in a separate vehicle dressed in a smart blazer.   

In late October, Her Majesty drastically cancelled a trip to Northern Ireland and spent the night at London’s King Edward VII’s Hospital to undergo ‘preliminary’ tests, before being advised to rest after a particularly busy few weeks.

The monarch also did not make an in-person appearance at Cop26 in Glasgow but instead sent a video message, and later missed the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on November 13.

Commentator Penny Junor told the Sun attending the baptism of her great grandsons would have been very important.

She said: ‘I’ve never heard of two royal babies being christened together like this. The Queen is very spiritual, a christening is a very important occasion for the head of the Church of England and being there will be of great importance to her.

‘She’s very fond of Zara and Mike, and Eugenie too.’ 

Many guests arrived in convoy – including Prince Harry’s ex Cressida Bonas, who accessorised with gold hoop earrings and a glittery gold headband, and her husband, Harry Wentworth-Stanley. 

For the double christening, Princess Eugenie opted for a natural makeup look, which included a touch of blusher to the cheeks and a nude-coloured lip. 

Nothing hinted at the fact that she had lost a close loved one just hours earlier.  

The 31-year-old welcomed her son – August Brooksbank – who is 13th in line to the throne, with husband Jack Brooksbank on February at London’s Portland Hospital.  

She had planned to christen him in July at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park.

However, celebrations were apparently scrapped after a fellow attendee is said to have either tested positive for corornavirus or been pinged by the NHS Covid-19 app minutes before meaning the gathering had to be cancelled. 

Little August – the grandson of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson – was christened alongside his second cousin, Lucas Tindall – the son of Zara, 40, and Mike Tindall and grandson of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips. 

Princess Anne’s daughter and the former England rugby star welcomed their third child – and first son – in March.

The royal babies were reportedly christened in Holy Water Prince Charles picked up on his recent trip to Jordan. 

The Prince of Wales was pictured picking up ‘five or six dozen bottles’ of Holy water taken from the River Jordan back to the UK for royal baptisms – which could include that of Lilibet, the grand-daughter he has never met.

The water will eventually wind its way back to the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace, where Prince Louis was christened. It will also be used for non-royal worshippers at the chapel. 

Other children set to be christened are Princess Beatrice’s new daughter, Sienna Elizabeth. 

It’s believed the ceremony will be led by chaplain to Great Windsor Park Canon Martin Poll. 

The church forms part of the Royal Lodge at Windsor Great House where Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson live and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie grew up.

There had been fears the Queen would miss the event but it is understood she made an ’11th-hour decision’ and took advice from her personal doctor, with a source saying she was ‘keen to be there’ as she ‘knows how important it is’ for her children and great-grandchildren.

It’s an unusual move for the two royal cousins to have a joint christening, with the royal commentator Penny Junor saying it would be a ‘fantastic message to the world that she is not ready to leave us yet’.