Sarah, Duchess of York was among the many famous faces to grace the red carpet at HELLO!'s annual Inspiration Awards on Tuesday. At the exclusive event, the 61-year-old wasted no time in gushing over her grandchildren as she stopped to speak with HELLO!.
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Asked how gratifying it has been to watch both her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, become mothers in the past year, Sarah responded: "My children are phenomenal mothers. They were great children but now they're phenomenal mothers. And now, I have these two exceptional grandchildren all in one year.
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"You know it's pretty incredible, but everyone asks me, 'How are your grandchildren?' Well, firstly, I look at my girls being wonderful mothers and then I see these incredible beings."
SEE: Sarah Ferguson, Elizabeth Hurley and Alesha Dixon lead the glamour at HELLO!'s Inspiration Awards
Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank welcomed their son August in February, seven months before her eldest sister Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi welcomed their little girl, Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi.
Speaking of her eldest grandchild, eight-month-old August, the doting grandmother revealed how the royal tot melts her heart every time he hits a new milestone.
"It's so funny because when August smiles at me now, because he's seven and a half months, you actually know he genuinely likes you," she continued. "It's not a put-on smile, he genuinely finds me very funny which is quite lucky."
Sarah at HELLO!'s Inspiration Awards on Tuesday Photo: Justin Goff/Goff Photos
The star-studded event was to mark various inspirational figureheads - both famous and not - whose talents have empowered and inspired others during the last 12 months.
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"The Lewis Foundation is exceptional," revealed Sarah. "It's a classic example of the Inspirational Awards because it's based in the Midlands and this lady is a lawyer yet still manages to go and look after cancer patients and all hours of the night.
"It's not just with hand creams, and everything else, it's with gifts. It's whatever the cancer patient needs. And now, I think she wants to spread it out through to not just the Midlands but all the way through England. What an exceptional lady where is a lawyer and does all that paperwork. How does she do it? I don't know."
© Photo: InstagramPrincess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank welcomed little August in February
Tuesday's event marked Sarah's first public appearance since Beatrice became a mother. The new royal baby is the Queen's 12th great-grandchild following the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's baby daughter Lilibet in June.
Beatrice is already stepmother to Edoardo's young son Wolfie, from his previous relationship with his ex-fiancee Dara Huang.
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The couple, who confirmed their pregnancy news in May, made their first public appearance at the National Portrait Gallery's 2019 Gala. That same year, they were spotted at the Bahrain Grand Prix, and Edoardo accompanied the Princess on a family trip.
© Photo: Getty ImagesSarah gushed about her two daughters being 'phenomenal mothers'
They then made a joint appearance at Lady Gabriella Windsor's wedding to Thomas Kingston at St. George's Chapel in Windsor in 2019. Both Beatrice and Edoardo tied the knot at the Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge in Windsor on 17 July. They were forced to change their original May 2020 ceremony at St James's Palace because of the coronavirus pandemic.
It's unlikely that Beatrice and Edoardo's baby will have a royal title, as their children will take their rank from their father.
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