Over the course of this year, Sarah Ferguson has watched her daughters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice become first-time mothers, roles they are both “wonderful” at. The Her Heart for a Compass author, 61, gushed over her girls at HELLO!’s Inspiration Awards on Tuesday calling them “phenomenal mothers.”

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“They were great children but now they’re phenomenal mothers. And now, I have these two exceptional grandchildren all in one year,” Sarah told HELLO!.

“You know it’s pretty incredible, but everyone asks me, ‘How are your grandchildren?’ the proud grandmother continued. “Well, firstly, I look at my girls being wonderful mothers and then I see these incredible beings and 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. It’s not a put-on smile, he genuinely finds me very funny which is quite lucky.”

Sarah’s first grandchild, Eugenie’s son August Brooksbank, was born in February, followed months later by granddaughter Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi in September.

In a letter to her daughters published in Good Housekeeping last month, Sarah wrote that it is an “extraordinary feeling when your child becomes a mother.” She penned, “Suddenly my little girlies have their own little ones ... such a feeling to get used to. But if I do cry or tear up as you drive away, it is only because I am so proud of you. It has been just us for 33 years, but now you are creating your own families, and I couldn’t be happier for you both and my magnificent sons-in-law, Jack and Edo.”

Sarah added, “Being 61 makes me a young grandma, and I love it. I smile from my heart every day, because that is how it feels to be a granny. I have so many fun ideas of things to do with my grandchildren, and of course they’re a perfect new audience for all my children’s books. You are resilient, calm and oh so kind, and your compassion and understanding of life give me more satisfaction than I can say and make me so deeply proud. I marvel at your cleverness in how you manage your lives. Nothing gives me more pleasure than watching you be incredible mothers.”