A checkered history, a secret friendship,
and the only ex at the funeral? There's only one person who fits the bill.
Prince Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II,
despite being absent from every other event and service the royal family had organized
in celebration of the late monarch. The Duchess of York wore an all-black ensemble
for the sad occasion, along with a brooch in the shape of a swallow,
which is a symbol of love and mourning from the Victorian era. Ferguson accompanied her
two daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, to the services.
Although Prince Andrew and Ferguson divorced in 1996, the exes still live together at Royal Lodge
in Windsor. When news of the queen's passing was announced, the duchess apparently rushed
back to the U.K. from the Venice Film Festival. Mourning the loss on Instagram, Ferguson wrote,
"I am heartbroken by the passing of Her Majesty the Queen.
She leaves behind an extraordinary legacy: the most fantastic example of duty and service and
steadfastness, and a constant steadying presence as our head of state for more than 70 years."
Even after her split from Prince Andrew,
Ferguson reportedly remained close to the queen, with a source telling The Telegraph,
"The duchess bonded with Her Majesty over dog walking and riding horses,
and even after her divorce, she would continue her great friendship with Her Majesty,
by walking the dogs in Frogmore and chatting."
The Duchess of York mentioned her former mother-in-law's kindness, revealing on Instagram,
"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."
"Her Majesty's an incredible lady, and just, what an icon to the country,
and one of the finest people in the world I've ever met."
Her enduring relationship with the queen meant that Ferguson received an invite
to the late monarch's funeral, an honor that other royal exes were not given. For instance,
Serena Armstrong-Jones, who was married to the queen’s nephew, David Armstrong-Jones,
for 27 years, was not in attendance. Meanwhile, Autumn Phillips, the former wife of the queen's
grandson, Peter Phillips, also didn't receive an invite. And Captain Mark Phillips, the ex-husband
of Princess Anne, didn't attend the monarch's funeral. As for why Ferguson got an invite,
but the majority of royal exes didn't, royal expert Ingrid Seward told Femail,
"Because it was a state funeral, protocol had to be enforced. All the Heads of State,
Commonwealth leaders and foreign Kings and Queens had priority over friends."
As the mother of two princesses, Ferguson holds an important status within the royal
family, which also worked in her favor. Seward further explained,
"Fergie was invited as a personal friend of the Monarch as well as the mother of Beatrice
and Eugenie, the only two of the Queen's grandchildren to have been made Princesses."
According to The Washington Post, the guest list for the committal service had to be trimmed down
to only 800 people. As a result, the line had to be drawn somewhere, and Seward explained,
"Unless they remain close for other reasons, it's usually drawn at former royal husbands or wives."
Everyone else had to watch the televised ceremony alongside
the estimated 4 billion other royal watchers around the globe.
Meanwhile, the queen's close friendship with Ferguson was only solidified by the late monarch's
decision to leave her beloved corgis to the Duke and Duchess of York. As a source told People,
"The corgis will return to live at Royal Lodge with the duke and duchess. It was
the duchess who found the puppies, which were gifted to Her Majesty by the duke."
Queen Elizabeth owned more than 30 corgis throughout her lifetime.
At the time of her passing, the monarch owned two corgis called Muick and Sandy,
and a dachshund-corgi cross, also known as a "dorgi", called Candy. Prince Andrew and
his daughters reportedly gifted Muick to the queen in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic.