Fergie's infamous toe-sucking scandal would seem quaint compared to the shame her ex
would face decades later. And there was plenty of drama in between, too.
When a young Sarah Ferguson first made her way onto the royal stage,
she came with a bubbly persona, wild red hair, and a background the royal family
deemed appropriate for a future duchess. In her book Sarah: HRH The Duchess of York,
royal expert Ingrid Seward detailed those early interactions between Fergie and the royal family,
writing that despite early doubts, Fergie won the firm over with her charm. Seward wrote,
"They had not initially thought of her as a candidate for marriage to Andrew,
but when they considered it the idea of having her in the Firm,
as Prince Philip calls it, looked a most attractive prospect. She was down to earth
without any trace of the snobbishness they so disliked, and she was probably the first
girl Andrew had been serious about who could be considered remotely suitable."
"I asked Sarah some weeks ago, and Sarah actually said yes."
From the beginning of her relationship with Prince Andrew,
Fergie bonded with Queen Elizabeth II thanks to their common interests. Seward wrote,
"Their mutual enjoyment of country pursuits,
their love of dogs and horses, provided them with a common ground."
Navigating your first pregnancy is never an easy feat, let alone
having to do so in the public eye. For Sarah Ferguson, her public image — even
before her pregnancy — had been ripped to pieces in her early years as a royal,
with many headlines dedicated to her weight and body image. To make matters even more difficult,
Fergie's first time going through the pregnancy and birthing experience was largely done solo,
not to mention the heightened media scrutiny she found herself under at the time.
So why was Fergie left to figure out pregnancy by herself? As she told Harper's Bazaar in an
extensive sit down interview, two weeks after she and Prince Andrew tied the knot, he was stationed
overseas, thus leaving his new wife and future mother of his children alone. When she found out
she was pregnant, Fergie was incredibly emotional due to the state of her marriage, telling the
publication that she didn't get any kind of support from the palace. Fergie told the reporter,
"I spent my entire first pregnancy alone; when Beatrice was born, Andrew got 10 days
of shore leave, and when he left and I cried, they all said: 'Grow up and get a grip.'"
If having to go through her first pregnancy alone wasn't difficult enough, Sarah Ferguson
began experiencing cracks in her marriage to Prince Andrew starting around 1990. With time,
it became clear that the two were on very different life paths, with Andrew still
serving in the Royal Navy and Fergie living lavishly as a member of the royal family.
Andrew only made about $40,000 a year from his naval post, meaning that the opulent lifestyle
Fergie wanted to engage in was largely funded by Queen Elizabeth II herself. The couple's estate,
Sunninghill Park, was renovated and finished in 1990, just as things started to go south
for them. Where was Fergie staying in the meantime? None other than Buckingham Palace.
Not only were their lives and interests going in completely separate directions, but Andrew
and Fergie hardly spent any time together. When their children — Princesses Beatrice
and Eugenie [YOO-jin-ee] — were just two years old and a few months old respectively in 1990,
Andrew only spent 42 nights at home with them, leaving a majority of the raising,
baby tending, and royal expectations to Fergie. As such, the Duchess of York began going out
more and socializing with men, even taking little Beatrice to Morocco with her on a group vacation.
"Now, it's not a fairytale. It's real life in there."
It became clear in just six short years that Prince Andrew and Sarah
Ferguson were not meant to be, and the two formally separated. This,
of course, was in chorus with then-Prince Charles and Diana Spencer's official split,
as well as Princess Anne's divorce — no wonder Queen Elizabeth II called 1992
a horrible year. The couple's split was the least of the royal family's problems.
Five months after Fergie and Andrew separated, the Duchess of York was photographed topless,
sunbathing in St. Tropez. To make matters much more scandalous,
oil tycoon John Bryan was seen with her,
pictured sucking her toes — all while young Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were with her.
"I must explain that the British press at the moment is completely and utterly cruel."
Thus began the true crumbling of Fergie's relationship with the royals,
and when the toe-sucking story broke in the United Kingdom, the duchess was at Balmoral with
the queen and Prince Philip. As biographer Tom Quinn recalled of the breaking news,
"Prince Philip came into the breakfast room,
picked up one of the papers and just threw it in front of her and walked out."
Up until the scandalous photos leaked, Fergie and Philip had shared a rather friendly relationship,
as author Katie Nicholl shared in a Channel 5 documentary entitled
The Royal Family At War. However, Nicholl said,
"From that moment on, the Duke of Edinburgh never
forgave Sarah for the embarrassment and the humiliation that she had reaped."
When we think about royal divorce settlements, Diana Spencer's typically comes to mind. She
walked away from the royal family with a hefty sum and a personal reputation that
kept her in the public eye, arguably even more so than her ex-husband.
"I never know where a lens is going to be."
But as for Sarah Ferguson, she did not benefit from such a divorce agreement,
and instead was punished, at least by royal standards. As noted by Express, the duchess
received money for a new house, about $1.6 million in a trust fund for her daughters, and an
additional $400,000 in a lump sum — all directly from Queen Elizabeth. And while that certainly
sounds like a good deal of money to us everyday folk, remember we're talking about the royals.
When asked about her divorce settlement and why she didn't squeeze more money out of the royals,
Fergie told Harper's Bazaar that she wanted to maintain a relationship with the queen,
although it would be different due to the drama and scandal that had
plagued her time in the firm. Fergie said of the experience,
"When I met with Her Majesty about it, she asked, 'What do you require, Sarah?' and I said,
'Your friendship,' which I think amazed her because everyone said I would demand a big
settlement. But I wanted to be able to say, 'Her Majesty is my friend' — not fight her nor have
lawyers saying, 'Look, she is greedy.' I left my marriage knowing I'd have to work. I have."
While Sarah Ferguson appealed to Queen Elizabeth's sense of friendship amid her divorce from Prince
Andrew, the late Prince Philip was having none of it. As mentioned, Philip stormed out
of Balmoral when Fergie's toe-sucking scandal made the headlines, and from that moment on,
he had little to nothing to do with her. As noted in The Final Portrait by Gyles Brandreth,
Fergie wanted to see Philip after she separated from Andrew. But in response,
Philip quipped that while Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie could come and stay with the
royals whenever they pleased, he didn't see the point of being friendly with Fergie.
As it happens, the two did have a run-in in 2005, both being at Balmoral and having
to interact in some capacity. The brief reunion was less than ideal,
and friends of Fergie's turned to the press to dish about what happened. A friend explained,
"[Philip] avoided her like the plague. I don't think they spoke a single word all week."
When most people separate and later divorce their ex-husbands,
the relationship typically deteriorates. But Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew's
relationship seemed to get better once they were no longer spouses — not only that,
but they continued living together at the Royal Lodge at Windsor.
"He's one of the greatest men I've ever met in my life."
Fergie explained that their busy schedules didn't allow for too much time spent together,
but they were happy to have a united front — especially for their daughters. She went on,
"I'm in and out all the time, and he's in and out all the time. And no,
we're not married. We're very happy with the way things are. I think the
great thing is we absolutely are the most extraordinary example of a unified family."
Further gushing about her ex — which is just not a common thing — Fergie
described Andrew as, quote, "the finest man" in her life, adding,
"He's a great gentleman, and he's got an essence of gold. He's a nugget of goodness."
Even the couple's daughters were in awe of their
parents' ability to move past their drama, with Princess Eugenie saying,
"They are the best divorced couple I know."
It was the relationship watched around the world — Prince William, arguably one of the most eligible
bachelors, started dating Kate Middleton while the two were at the University of St. Andrews.
Dazzling photographers and the London nightclub scene, William and Kate became a hot ticket item,
and the public was thrilled when the now-Prince of Wales popped the question. Kate looked
stunning during their official engagement announcement, proudly wearing the sapphire and
diamond engagement ring that had once graced Diana Spencer's finger. And while most were celebrating
the royal news, Sarah Ferguson gave a warning to the couple by way of Harper's Bazaar. Speaking
from experience, she shared that surviving the royal family took a massive amount of courage,
further noting that the young Kate should fight like hell for her marriage. Hinting at the
structure of the royal family and Andrew's career in the Royal Navy, Fergie told the publication,
"All I'd say is, no matter what, stay with your man; don't let him be taken
from you. Prince or no prince, love that man, and that love will hold him."
"I was that bride, you know. Twenty-five years ago I went down the aisle of Westminster Abbey."
When word began to circulate that Prince Andrew had been involved in
the nefarious acts of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein,
it seemed as though the world stood still. The public sought answers as to Andrew's involvement,
friendship with Epstein, and whether or not he sexually abused a minor who had been trafficked.
"It was a really scary time in my life. I had just been abused by a member of the royal family."
Amid the troubling allegations, Andrew maintained his innocence,
denying the allegations in what many felt was a disastrous BBC interview
that drew widespread skepticism. As the evidence against him grew, the queen took steps to strip
him of his military titles. With such acts, Andrew all but disappeared from public life.
While citizens and the world at large made up their minds about Andrew and his behavior
fairly quickly, Sarah Ferguson stunned many when she stood by her ex-husband,
defending his character publicly. In an interview with People, Fergie highlighted
Andrew's role as father to their two daughters and doubled down on her perspective, sharing,
"Whatever challenges he has, I will stand firm to the co-parenters that we are together. [...] I
believe that he's a kind, good man, and he's been a fabulous father to the girls."
Andrew settled with the woman he was accused of assaulting,
Virginia Giuffre, to the tune of $16 million.
When Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022, the world stood still. The queen's status as a
world leader and cultural icon left the public and the royal family in mourning. Attending events,
mourning alongside citizens of the United Kingdom, and honoring the queen's life in an official state
funeral, the royal family went all out for their beloved matriarch. If ever a person was honored
so gloriously, it was the queen. In addition to King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla,
William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales, and — controversially — Harry and Meghan,
Duke and Duchess of Sussex, was Sarah Ferguson. Fergie attended the queen's
funeral despite all the drama that existed between her and The Firm, and she even honored
the late monarch with a touching brooch — a swallow, signifying a safe journey.
Taking to Twitter shortly after the queen's death,
Fergie also honored Elizabeth with the following words:
"To me, she was the most incredible mother-in-law and friend. I will always
be grateful to her for the generosity she showed me in remaining close to
me even after my divorce. I will miss her more than words can express."