Prince Andrew’s ex-wife has found herself in hot water this week as an email she once sent to Jeffrey Epstein has resufraced – but it’s by no means the only scandal she has faced since joining the royal family
Sarah Ferguson has weathered many storms – but the latest scandal might prove to be final straw.
Prince Andrew’s ex-wife has been dropped by multiple charities this week after a recently resurfaced email from 2011 revealed that she called sex offender Jeffrey Epstein her “supreme friend” and seemed to apologise for her public criticism of him.
Many believe it will signal the end of her time in the royal family. But Sarah has previously shown herself to be a great survivor in royal circles.
While married to Andrew, she was famously caught up in a shocking affair, which ultimately helped seal the couple’s fate.
READ MORE: Damning photos show how close Sarah Ferguson and Jeffrey Epstein really wereREAD MORE: ‘Toxic’ Sarah Ferguson ‘faces financial destitution’ as she’s axed over Epstein scandal
Andrew and Sarah have actually known each other since they were children but it wasn’t until 1985 that they started dating after being seated together at Royal Ascot that year.
They got engaged nine months later on February 19, 1986 – his 26th birthday – with Andrew presenting his wife-to-be a beautiful ruby engagement ring.
Their wedding took place at Westminster Abbey on 23 July 1986 and two years later, they welcomed their first child, Princess Beatrice, followed by Princess Eugenie in 1990.
But cracks had begun to appear in their relationship. Andrew’s naval career saw him away from the family for long periods of time.
Fergie later claimed she spent eight months of her first pregnancy alone, once telling Rosie magazine that Prince Philip forbade her from living with her naval husband wherever he was stationed.
Speaking to US TV host Ernie Manouse in 2010, she said: “My deal was that I was marrying my man, who happened to be a prince and a naval officer.
“But what I got was not the man, I got the palace and didn’t get him. For our marriage, I saw him 40 days a year.”
It was that loneliness that apparently saw Sarah fall into the arms of another man. The Duchess was in her third year of marriage and pregnant with Eugenie when she is said to have met American Steve Wyatt.
They reportedly crossed paths in 989 at Houston Grand Opera’s British Opera Festival, and quickly fell for each other.
It was later claimed that Steve, not Andrew, was the ‘love of her life’ and that she fell ‘head over heels’ in love with him. “Steve Wyatt was the main reason for the breakdown of her marriage,” claimed David Leigh, co-author of The Duchess of York uncensored.
“She met him at a time of her life when she was exceptionally low and felt Andrew wasn’t supporting her. She went to Texas and she met a very handsome and rich Texan who was very attentive and loving and they very quickly fell in love.
“Andrew may have been her best friend, and he probably still is now and probably always will be, but Steve Wyatt was the love life of her life.”
But it wasn’t to be, and Sarah was apparently left heartbroken when Steve got engaged to Cate Magennis.
Then all hell broke loose in August 1992 when Fergie was pictured having her toes sucked by her American financial advisor John Bryan – Steve’s close friend – as they soaked up the sun in the South of France.
She would later insist she didn’t actually want a divorce from Andrew, but from that point on the choice was taken out of her hands.
The royal couple separated in January 1992 with the Queen confirming their parting in a tense statement.
It read: “In view of the media speculation which the Queen finds especially undesirable during the general election campaign, Her Majesty is issuing the following statement…
“Last week, lawyers acting for the Duchess of York initiated discussions about a formal separation for the Duke and Duchess. These discussions are not yet completed and nothing will be said until they are.
Andrew was entirely blameless in the whole saga. In 2006, Courtney Love made the revelation that he had once turned up to her Hollywood house wanting ‘to party’.
“He’s come to Hollywood to look for chicks. I don’t know what he expected at my house; I think he thought it was going to be like a party,” she claimed.
Andrew also reportedly embarked on a huge number affairs. “According to his former driver, the duke had slept with ‘more than a dozen women before their first anniversary’,” royal author Andrew Lownie writes.
While Fergie and Andrew’s relationship remained uniquely amicable – with family holidays and joint appearances continuing unabated – her banishment from the royal fold was swift and savage.
The Queen’s sister Princess Margaret even penned a brutal note accusing her of doing, “more to bring shame on the family than could ever have been imagined.”
“Not once have you hung your head in embarrassment even for a minute after those disgraceful photographs. Clearly you have never considered the damage you are causing us all. How dare you discredit us like this?” she wrote.
And while the Queen was believed to have forgiven her, Prince Philip’s wrath was equally as ferocious through to his final days. He was apparently distinctly unexcited about coming face-to-face with his former daughter-in-law when Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank in Windsor in 2018.
But Sarah has remained a constant by Andrew’s side – they contonue to live together at Royal Lodge – despite the very many scandals that have engulfed him.
The Prince was forced to step back from public duties following his bombshell interview with the BBC about his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which aired in November 2019, just over five years ago.
His mother, the late Queen, then stripped Andrew of his military titles and patronages in January 2022.
But Fergie’s support has never wavered. Last Christmas she was praised by royal insiders for helping to keep Andrew away from public events when he was caught up in an alleged Chinese spy scandal.
The Christmas before she had been back in the royal fold, joining a royal festive gathering in Sandringham for the first time in decades. That was despite the former couple not being working royals.
But this latest scandal surrounding Sarah’s email is certainly going to raise difficult questions about any future return.
