She was the wild redhead. He was the black sheep prince. Fergie and Prince
Edward got along swimmingly…until she was frozen out of the palace
waters. Maybe don't trip over the queen's corgis next time.
Sarah Ferguson came on the scene as Prince Andrew's love interest,
but she got off to a pretty rocky start as far as the royal family were concerned. Joining
the firm at the Sandringham Estate way back in the day, Fergie was said to have tripped over
one of Queen Elizabeth II's cherished corgis, commencing the "monumentally wrong" weekend,
according to Express. Royal author Ingrid Seward told the outlet:
"When she walked into the double sitting room at Sandringham, she tripped over one of the Queen's
corgis, she spilled her drink and then in her fluster, she just thought 'who are all these
people' so she just curtsied to everyone, because she knew that way she wasn't making a faux pas."
Despite her initial mistakes, Fergie quickly grew on the royal family members,
and even bonded with the queen over their mutual love of horses, as noted by Vanity Fair.
"Always when I go through troubles I go back into,
I go back to where I'm safe, which is with a horse."
Given her rather clumsy introduction to the family, you may think that Sarah Ferguson was
the establishment's black sheep. This, however, was not the case, and the relatable royal and
Prince Andrew tied the knot in 1986. Speaking of "black sheep," it was Prince Edward who occupied
the title at the time, as characterized by a 1987 article published by Vanity Fair. That said,
Fergie's own wedding seemingly amped up the pressure on Queen Elizabeth's youngest son.
Vanity Fair estimated that Edward — who had just left the service — was "mooching" off the perks of
royal life. As for his older brother, Andrew, he was very pleased that he had found someone
to share his life with, clearly mounting the pressure on his younger, then-aimless brother.
Despite any personal feelings of missing the marriage-bus, Edward stood by Andrew's
side as his best man when he and Fergie tied the knot. The queen's two younger children even rode
together to the nuptials. Once at Westminster Abbey, Edward remained at his brother's side.
While Prince Edward may have seen his older brother's wedding as a small blow
to his own personal life, the young prince and his new sister-in-law, Sarah Ferguson,
got along famously at the beginning of their relationship. In her book entitled Prince Edward,
biographer Ingrid Seward estimated that while Fergie wasn't Edward's "type," the two had
a great bond and broke bread over shared interests. Seward wrote in Prince Edward:
"Initially, Edward got on well with the exuberant redhead. Everyone did. She
was not Edward's romantic type [...] but they certainly only established a friendly rapport."
In those early days, Edward and Fergie were known to join each other for lunch,
sitting down with mutual friends for chats about art, theater, and more. As for palace resources,
Vanity Fair noted that early in Prince Andrew and Fergie's marriage,
they assumed some royal property, which came with a housekeeper. To make up the rest of
their staff, the married couple assumed two secretaries, sharing one with Edward.
Sarah Ferguson was always known
for being the wilder, less prim and proper royal spouse, but her behavior outside the
walls of the palace got her into trouble — and put her relationship with Prince Edward
at risk. As noted by Express, Fergie maintained close bonds with John Bryan
and Steve Wyatt — both Americans — and the palace didn't look fondly on the friendships.
"Everyday somebody writes absolutely diabolical things about me but I know that's not me."
Additionally, Fergie was said to be spending a staggering amount of money, a habit that
the royals added to their list of grievances. Adding fuel to the already dangerously-hot fire,
Fergie and Wyatt were photographed looking a little too cozy in 1992,
while she was still married to Prince Andrew. With Wyatt saying things like,
"She's my woman," in reference to the royal spouse, the palace was "absolutely
horrified," according to Express, and Fergie was on the chopping block.
All you have to do is revisit Prince Harry's sit-down interview with Oprah
Winfrey to know that the royal way of life isn't the glitz and glam that so
many of us associate it with. As noted by Express, Sarah Ferguson was desperate
to "break loose" from the firm, as her relationships were suffering as a result.
"It's not a fairytale; it's real life in there."
While the young royal certainly made her intentions about breaking
away from the royal family known, her relationship with her brother-in-law,
Prince Edward, suffered as a result. Royal biographer Ingrid Seward detailed that,
"Fergie took the decision to try to break
loose — and promptly found herself frozen out by the palace machine."
Of all Queen Elizabeth II's children, Prince Edward is the only one to have sustained his
first marriage. Tying the knot with Sophie, Countess of Wessex, in 1999,
Edward and his wife are often seen as one of the most stable royal couples. But back when
Sophie was a newcomer on the royal block, she was befriended by none other than Sarah Ferguson. The
two young women bonded over the shared experiences and — of course — spilling the English tea.
This shouldn't have come as a huge surprise to the royals. As noted by People,
Fergie and Diana Spencer were often seen fawning over each other and "giggling at
public events," displaying their closeness on a regular basis.
"I mean, she's in my heart. I love her, I love her."
While their friendship would be run of the mill for any two women in their 20s,
royal insiders were reportedly concerned that the crown's image would suffer as a result. As
for Fergie and Sophie, biographer Ingrid Seward noted that "the two
girls started gossiping" early on in their friendship, much to the suspicion of Edward.
Imagine that you and your friend are just talking as normal — and
then her boyfriend accuses you of spreading said-gossip to everyone
you know. That's essentially what happened between Sarah Ferguson and Prince Edward.
When Edward and Sophie started dating in 1993, they made sure that their romance stayed behind
closed doors. After all, royals aren't granted a ton of privacy. It was during that time when
Sophie and Fergie began to bond, gossiping about royal life together. Well, by the end of 1993,
the press had found out about Edward and Sophie's relationship thanks to a leak,
and the prince accused none other than Fergie of being the leaker. She was,
naturally, offended. In her book, Prince Edward, Ingrid Seward noted:
"The source was in fact an employee, not a member of the royal family,
but the criticism to which the royal family have been subjected in recent years has
produced a siege mentality breeding theories of conspiracy and betrayal."
Seward also added:
"This was one charge too many, and when [Fergie] discovered that she was being accused,
not only by Edward, but by the royal household itself she was incensed."
Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew's relationship was fraught with issues from the start,
there's no denying it, but the 1990s proved to be incredibly difficult for the pair. After Prince
Edward accused Fergie of being the leak to the press regarding his own relationship, the royal
family doubled down on the royal spouse. On the issue of speaking to the press, the accusations
against Fergie didn't begin or end with being blamed for leaking Edward's relationship status.
Royal author Tina Brown detailed exactly what happened, as it was leaked to the press in 1992
that Fergie and Andrew were separating. In her 2007 book, The Diana Chronicles,
Brown estimated that Queen Elizabeth was personally angry by the leak, and detailed that
the firm was "convinced [Fergie] had handed out the information herself." To add insult to injury,
the royal family further accused the mother of two of "hiring a PR company" to assist her in the
leak aftermath — though none of this turned out to be true. Truth aside, Fergie's relationship
with her brother-in-law — and the rest of the royal family, at that — was close to over,
as the leak was "ruinous for Fergie's relations with the palace," according to Brown's book.
While it was finally realized that
Sarah Ferguson in fact wasn't the person behind the Prince Edward/Sophie relationship
news getting out, the damage was already done. Not only did the 1990s prove to be fraught for
Fergie and Prince Andrew, but the royal spouse's relationship with the firm altogether ceased to
exist. By the time Edward and Sophie tied the knot in 1999, Fergie was nowhere to be found.
Edward and Sophie's wedding was a more intimate affair than your typical royal wedding,
and the guest list was filled with family members, friends,
and celebs rather than politicians and public figures. But in any case,
Edward and Fergie's once "fond" relationship was taken out with the trash, and the 1999
nuptials commenced a string of royal events that Fergie was intentionally left out of.
From there on out, Sarah Ferguson and Prince Edward's relationship was done,
and Fergie's ongoings with the royal family all but ceased. Yes, she was the mother of two
princesses and had immense name recognition, but given that she was divorced from Prince Andrew,
she no longer experienced the bells and whistles that come with royal
life. Thus began a number of royal snubs handed down to Fergie, most notably being
not receiving an invite to the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William in 2011.
Speaking to Town & Country about the matter, Fergie admitted that she took herself on a trip
to Thailand during the course of her nephew's wedding, hoping to "heal" from the still-open
wound. And as if being snubbed by Edward's and William's weddings weren't enough, Fergie once
again had to sit out Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's reception. As noted by Marie Claire,
the former royal was one of the 600 guests to attend the ceremony in 2018,
but given "her history," Sarah didn't make the reception cut.
If it's not clear that Sarah Ferguson and Prince Edward have some skeletons in their
shared closet by now, we don't know what other info to present to you. And as it turns out,
not a lot has been revealed about their dynamic these days.
Of course, Fergie was inevitably wrapped up in Prince Andrew's scandal involving his connection
to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Despite Andrew's dwindling royal status,
and the subsequent stripping of his military titles, Sarah remained steadfast in her support
of her ex. During an appearance on the Italian talk show, Porta a Porta, Sarah confessed:
"I completely stand by Andrew 100%. [...] I married the best man in the world."
"He's one of the greatest men I've ever met in my life,
and best friend and great father to my children."
As for Edward, he has made it clear that the last mess he wants to step in is Andrew's
faltering status, with the Daily Mail reporting that he has actively avoided Windsor Great Park,
as that's where Andrew has taken daily refuge amid the disturbing
allegations lodged against him. A source told the Daily Mail:
"Edward doesn't think it is wise to be seen anywhere near Andrew at
the moment and he certainly has nothing he wants to say to him about the case."
Despite previous snubs, Sarah Ferguson was in attendance at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral on
September 19, 2022. Ferguson reportedly maintained a relationship with the queen
after her divorce from Prince Andrew, so it makes sense that she accompanied her daughters,
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie to pay her respects.
Though not much has been said about whether Fergie and Prince Edward have been able to
reconcile their relationship in the wake of the queen's passing, one new development has
solidified Sarah's position in the royal family. She's always been the mother of two princesses,
but now Fergie will add "corgi mom" to the list. People reported that Prince Andrew and
his ex-wife will take care of the late queen's beloved dogs. Only time will tell if Ferguson's
adoption of his mother's corgis will endear her former brother-in-law to her once more.