Princess Eugenie mourning the death of father-in-law George Brooksbank

Princess Eugenie was secretly mourning the death of her father-in-law during her son August's christening this week, it has been revealed.

George Brooksbank died at the age of 72 , with reports claiming he never fully recovering from Covid last year and others suggesting he had been "ill for some time".

A source told the 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."

The tragic news comes just hours after the christening, which was a joint service for August and Zara and Mike Tindall's son, Lucas Philip, at All Saints Chapel in Great Windsor Park on Sunday.

George's exact cause of death is not known at this time.

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Eugenie, 31, and former bar manager, Jack, 35, are yet to publicly comment on the heartbreaking news.

Princess Eugenie was said to be heartbroken after her father-in-law was first diagnosed with the coronavirus in April last year.

"It’s a traumatic time for Jack and Eugenie... George has been very sick but the whole family has been rallying round to help,” a source told the Daily Mail at the time.

August is Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s first grandchild, with Fergie previously opening up when the BBC asked her what kind of grandmother she would be.

“Excellent – I used to write children’s books, and I am a child, I haven’t grown up,” she replied.

The royal baby is eleventh in line to the throne, pushing the Queen’s son, Prince Edward, into 12th place.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank married in St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle in October 2018, a few months after Prince Harry married Meghan Markle at the same venue.

Meanwhile, the Queen was in attendance at the rare double christening yesterday.

The appearance at the family event came after Her Majesty was forced to pull out of her Remembrance Sunday duties at the Cenotaph last weekend, due to a back sprain.

It was reported that the queen was determined to make the special occasion.

A royal source had said: “Her Majesty is very keen to be there as she knows how important this is for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It’s set to be a heart-warming family occasion and a time of real celebration after what has been some challenging times for certain royals of late, including the Queen herself. She is keen to attend such a wonderful event after the great personal disappointment of missing last Sunday’s Remembrance events.”

Before the christening, the queen - whose husband Prince Philip died earlier this year aged 99 - carried out an in-person engagement with General Sir Nick Carter, the chief of the defence staff at Windsor Castle last Wednesday (17.11.21), her first since October 19.

And earlier this week, her eldest son, 73-year-old Prince Charles, insisted his mother was feeling "alright", while carrying out an engagement during his and wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall's tour of Jordan.

He said: "She's alright thank you very much. Once you get to 95 it's not quite as easy as it used to be. It's bad enough at 73."

Additional reporting by Bang Showbiz.

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