WELCOME LITTLE AUGUST!

It’s a boy for first-time parents Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank

- NICI DE WET

THE date will forever be bit­tersweet for Queen Eliza­ beth – a day of both sad reflection and joyous cele­ bration. Her beloved sister, Princess Margaret, died on 9 February 2002 of cardiac complications following a stroke, her body ravaged by years of chain­smoking and heavy drinking.

At just 71, Margaret would never enjoy the longevity afforded her mom the Queen Mother, who was 101 when she died, or her sister, who celebrates her 95th birthday in April.

But there’s happiness too for Her Maj­ esty: her precious granddaughter Prin­ cess Eugenie gave birth to a son on this day 19 years later, presenting her with her ninth great­grandchild.

The queen and Eugenie enjoy a close bond and the princess has even been heard calling the monarch “granny” in public, unlike the more formal “the queen” usually favoured by her grandchildren.

The arrival of Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank’s baby boy, August Phil­ ip Hawke Brooksbank, marks the first of three great­grandchildren the queen and Prince Philip will welcome this year.

Zara Tindall, Princess Anne’s daughter, is due to have her third child with hus­ band Mike Tindall in June. And Harry and Meghan will make son Archie a big brother in the coming months too.

It’s just the happy family news the queen will have wanted after the horror of the pandemic, the drama around the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal involving Prince Andrew and the death of her second­last remaining dog, Vulcan, late last year.