The other day was Sarah Ferguson's 62nd birthday, and we look back on her bumpy relationship with the royal family, including a sudden fallout with Prince Philip and being welcomed back by the Queen back to Balmoral Fort in Aberdeenshire. Fergie's relationship with the royal family is unstable: the generous queen, the prince who does not want to see her, and the concubine has a vendetta.
She joined the royal family when she married, and Fergie and Prince Andrew held a grand royal wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey in 1986, and the 62-year-old's relationship with her royal relatives has been unstable. Not only did she endure the breakdown of her marriage and subsequent divorce, she also found herself snubbed in royal activities.
In recent years, however, Fergie seems to have been re-admitted as a member of the royal family, even staying at the Queen's Balmoral Fort for a holiday this summer, where we look back at her bumpy relationship with the royal family...
The Queen's youngest son, Prince Andrew, and Fergie have been good friends since childhood, but they didn't start dating until 1985, the year at the Royal Jockey Club. Nine months later, they got engaged, on February 19, 1986, for his 26th birthday, and Prince Andrew gave his fiancée a ruby engagement ring. They had a grand royal wedding at Westminster Abbey. They kissed on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, just like Crown Prince Charles and Princess Diana before them. Although she was once the queen's daughter-in-law, Fergie was treated very differently from Diana by the royal family.
According to the British "Daily Mail" report, in the early days of their love, Fergie and the queen formed an indissoluble relationship because of their common love of horses. There are also reports that Fergie also won Prince Philip, who has a "keen sense of humor" and is interested in her father-in-law's favorite carriage driving sport.
1. Break up with Prince Andrew and divorce
After the wedding, the couple welcomed two daughters – Princess Beatrice in 1988 and Princess Eugenie in 1990. But as Prince Andrew, Duke of York, served as he stayed away from his family for a long time, their relationship began to crack. Fergie separated from Prince Andrew in 1992 and formally divorced in 1996.
In a 2010 interview with American television host Ernie Manus, Fergie spoke about court life, saying they made her life difficult. Fergie explained: "My condition was that I marry my man, who happened to be a prince and a naval officer. But what I got wasn't the man, I got the palace but didn't get him... The courtier told me I had to go to Buckingham Palace, and he had to go to sea. For our marriage, I can only see him 40 days a year. ”
2. Unstable relationship with the royal family
Despite separating from Prince Andrew, in 1992 Fergie was invited to join the royal family's traditional summer vacation at Balmoral Castle. Shortly after announcing her divorce from the Duke of York, Fergie revealed that she had an affair with her financial advisers, and the paparazzi took photos of Fergie sunbathing, as well as intimate photos of Fergie and Texas millionaire John Bryan at her holiday home in St Tropez, who sucked and kissed Fergie's toes. The two were still kissing in the pool, while their two-year-old daughter, Princess Eugenie, was still nearby. After these news came to light, the royal family was in an uproar, and Fergie's relationship with the royal family also fell to a low point.
On the morning of Balmoral Castle, while the whole family was looking at the pictures, Fergie had to hide in the breakfast room. In channel five's documentary, Fergie vs Diana: The Royal Wife in the Whirlpool, royal expert Jenny Bond said: "She was there, with all the members of the royal family, and traditionally all the documents were on the breakfast table. The scene where she walked into the dining room was eerie, as her relatives were turning the pages and staring at her naked upper body. It was very embarrassing, and she went to the Queen, who was blue in the face, and she was very angry at Fergie's behavior. ”
3. The rift with Prince Philip
The late Prince Philip is said to have been particularly angry at the photos of sucking toes. His biographer, Gailes Bradders, once said that Prince Philip thought Fergie was "simply incomprehensible" and turned away from her, claiming that the Duke of Edinburgh felt "fed up" and that he did not want to have anything to do with her.
Braders told reporters: "When I asked him (Prince Philip) why he didn't want to see Fergie, he said: 'I don't have a grudge. Then he looked me straight at me and added emphatically: 'I'm not trying to get revenge, but I don't see any point in continuing to see her.' The two were said not to have seen each other for 26 years, and every summer before Prince Philip's arrival, Ferguson was invited out of Balmoral Fort.
4. A feud with Diana
Not only did Fergie stop talking to Prince Philip, she also fell out with her friend Princess Diana, who had a close relationship with Fergie early in their royal marriage. They were often photographed chatting at events like the Ascot Jockey Club and taking the kids on a ski holiday, and Fergie often saw Diana as her best friend.
However, in 1996, the relationship between the two became strained, and during the tragic death of Princess Diana a year later, they did not speak. According to the Daily Mail, the reason for their falloff dates back to Fergie's autobiography, My Story, published in 1996. Before the autobiography was published, Princess Diana had reportedly told her former sister-in-law not to add any gossip about her to it. But Fergie publishes an unpleasant anecdote in the book, saying that she wore a pair of shoes borrowed from Princess Diana and ended up with warts — causing a rift between them.
5. Snubbed at Prince William's wedding
In 2011, After the royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was unceremoniously removed from the guest list, Fergie was snubbed by the royal family. A year ago, she was set in the trap of a journalist demanding and accepting $40,000 in cash in exchange for a chance to meet her ex-husband, Prince Andrew.
Speaking about the magazine, Fergie said, "I don't think I deserve their wedding." I took myself to Thailand and, actually, stayed away from it so I could try and heal. But she had no ill will towards her nephew, Prince William, who had previously said, "I think Diana would be proud of her son, and I really like the feeling that Diana and I are not there." ”
6. Prince Harry was graciously invited
However, when Prince William's younger brother Prince Harry, married and divorced Meghan Markle, married, Fergie's relationship with the royal family began to ease. Fergie also received an invitation for this important day – it marked her return to the royal family. In later years, at the weddings of her daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, Fergie rightfully attended alongside the royal family.
7. Reappeared at Balmoral Fort
Although Fergie had a cold relationship with Prince Philip, she is said to have had a good relationship with the Queen. This year, following the death of the Earl of Edinburgh, Fergie appears to have returned to the royal family's small circle, spending time with Her Majesty the Queen and other members of the royal family at Balmoral Castle Estate. According to royal family expert Angela Levine, this made Fergie "happy" and felt as if she was "back in the crowd.".
8. Thumbs up for the Queen
To express her gratitude to the Queen, Fergie did give her some high praise. In an interview with the Twiggy podcast earlier this year, she said she admired Her Majesty the Queen for being so modern and flexible. Fergie said: "I said to myself, honestly, my mother-in-law is more like a mother to me. I definitely don't think there is a greater mentor than her, because from being a little girl to now, Her Majesty the Queen's consistency has always been a great honor for me and makes me want to cry. ”