Princess Eugenia just experienced the circle of life, full stop, and our hearts go out to her. Having just been gifted with a healthy grandson named August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, it seemed like she was surrounded by life and hope. A chance to open the door for a new generation.
Sadly, at the same time that was happening, her father-in-law, George Brooksbank was fighting an illness (after having narrowly beaten Covid last year), and sadly, that sickness came to head in the worst way possible right before baby August’s christening.
Circle of Life
George Brooksbank had been quite ill for some time and sadly lost his battle with mere days before baby August was to be christened. It is hard to imagine experiencing a miracle only to have it quickly followed by a tragedy. It is as if they opened one door to let the baby in, and in doing so, closed another. But it could also be said, more positively, that the blessing and the loss balanced each other out. Fate can be strange like that sometimes.
The sad reality is that Brooksbank was only 61-years-old, which is still very young to pass away from health-related problems. As stated prior, his battle with Covis last year took a lot out of him, understandably, and he never fully recovered. But no one could’ve predicted how close these two incidents would be to one another. But Brooksbank had been on a ventilator for the last five weeks, so the loss wasn’t completely unfounded. Still very painful for them all, regardless.
Grief and Gratitude
One thing that does stand out as very lovely in this otherwise sad story is the fact that the elder did get a chance to meet his grandson before passing on. It makes you smile to know they got to meet. Like one generation passing the torch to another, unofficially. It is almost as if Brooksbank was hanging on for that exact reason, and once he knew little August was going to be okay, he shuffled off this mortal coil, contently.
While you wish this sort of thing on no one, life does sometimes open a door while closing the other. It does seem like Brooksbank died peacefully, and knowing he got to meet his grandchild makes it sadder and happier, all at once. One thing for certain: Princess Eugenia has had a year she will never forget, for both positive and negative reasons.