The royal family certainly isn't short on interesting characters, and while she may no longer be an official member of the royal family, there's no denying that Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, continues to captivate the public's interest.
Here, some of the must-know facts about this fascinating figure.
She and Prince Andrew were married in July of 1986 at Westminster Abbey.
They have two daughters together, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. While they separated in 1992 and announced their divorced in May of 1996, the couple has remained close, and rumors persist that they are still together. As Eugenie put it, "They are the best divorced couple I know."
Fueling speculation that they are still in love, Fergie told a radio station in 2016, "We've never really left each other."
She's a grandmother—several times over.
In September 2020, Princess Eugenie confirmed that she was expecting her first child with her husband Jack Brooksbank. Fergie was "delighted."
Following Princess Eugenie's pregnancy announcement on Instagram, Sarah posted her excitement. "I am so excited by the news that Eugenie and Jack are expecting their first child. Thrilled for them both and in my 60th year cannot wait to be a grandmother," she wrote. "Welcoming a new baby into the York family is going to be a moment of profound joy."
On February 9, 2021, Princess Eugenie gave birth to a baby boy. Get all the details here.
And just a few months later, in May of 2021, Fergie's other daughter Beatrice announced that she too was expecting. Beatrice gave birth to a baby girl, Sienna, in September 2021. Naturally, Fergie was once more "delighted."
Most recently, Fergie welcomed her third grandchild when Eugenie gave birth to her second son on May 30, 2023. Named Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank, the baby takes part of his name from Fergie's father, Ronald Ferguson, making for an extra sweet family connection.
After her divorce, she retained the title Sarah, Duchess of York.
When Fergie married Prince Andrew, she received the titles of Her Royal Highness and The Duchess of York. After their split, her title became Sarah, Duchess of York, as is the customary styling for former wives of peers.
She's a prolific author.
She's written multiple memoirs and children's books, and most recently, she's turned her attention toward historical romance. Pick up her latest title here.
She hosts a podcast.
On May 31, 2023, just one day after the birth of her third grandchild, Fergie debuted the first episode of her new podcast with friend and entrepreneur Sarah Thomson. Titled Tea Talks With the Duchess & Sarah, the show offers "candid conversations," in which the two Sarahs "spill the tea on the roller coaster of life."
For a time, she was estranged from the royals, but in recent years, they seem to be on better terms.
Her invitation to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding back in 2018 may have been a sign that she's at least partially back in the royal fold. "Harry knows all too well what it feels like to be branded as the black sheep of the Royal Family," royal biographer Christopher Andersen told the Daily Beast. "Prince Philip, who has always detested the Duchess of York, may never be in a forgiving mood. But Harry is far more compassionate than previous generations of royals, and he obviously believes Fergie deserves another chance."
In recent years, the Duchess has also been invited to stay with the royals during their annual trip to Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Still, Prince Philip refuses to be there while she's visiting. "Sarah wasn’t invited for years after she and Prince Andrew separated but she’s back on the invited list," a source told Vanity Fair in 2019. "She has gone the last couple of years, but she’s not there when the Duke [of Edinburgh] is in residence."
Following the Queen's death, Fergie was seen mourning her late former mother-in-law alongside the rest of the royal family, and it was later confirmed that she and Prince Andrew inherited the Queen's corgis. In October 2022, Ferguson shared that it was "a big honour" to inherit the Queen's dogs, calling them "national treasures" and revealing that they had "been taught well."
That said, she did not attend King Charles's Coronation. Fergie explained,"It's a state occasion, and being divorced I don't think you can have it both ways. I am divorced and I'm really loving being divorced to my ex-husband; not from him but to him, it's important to differentiate."
Fergie has seen her fair share of scandals.
Namely, she was photographed with her toes in the mouth of another man while still married to Prince Andrew. She was also captured on film offering to take cash in exchange for access to her ex-husband.
In light of Jeffrey Epstein's arrest (and eventual death by suicide), another one of the Duchess's former scandals has recently resurfaced. Ferguson accepted $18,000 from Epstein, to help restructure her debts. After the Telegraphbrought the payment to light in 2011, Ferguson also admitted that Prince Andrew had arranged it. She called the arrangement a "gigantic error of judgment."
She had a complicated relationship with Princess Diana.
"I really miss Diana. I loved her so much," Ferguson told Harper's Bazaar in 2011, explaining that she and Diana hadn't spoken for a year before her tragic death. "Diana was one of the quickest wits I knew; nobody made me laugh like her. But because we were like siblings—actually, we were fourth cousins and our mothers, who went to school together, were also best friends—we rowed. And the saddest thing, at the end, we hadn't spoken for a year."
In 2021, she reflected on her late friend once more in T&C. “I believe that Diana would be so proud of her boys…and she’d be so proud of her grandchildren,” she said.
She once wrote to The Crown executive producer Andy Harries about her character.
“I said to him, ‘Why can’t I help my character?’” she told T&C last year. Sadly, they didn't take her up on the offer.
She has a very active social media presence.
While many members of the royal family do not have personal social media accounts, the Yorks have embraced both Instagram and Twitter. For her part, Fergie is very active on both Instagram and Twitter, sharing photographs of her daughters and ex-husband, inspirational quotes, and details of her latest philanthropic efforts. See a few recent posts below. She also has a reading series on YouTube:
