One of Americans’ favorite guilty pleasures
is gossip about the British royal family.
From the scandal of Prince Charles and Camilla’s
affair to Kate Middleton’s style, we can’t
get enough juicy details about the royals.
And if you’ve been paying attention, you’ve
probably noticed, that Sarah Ferguson doesn’t
seem to be the most popular person in the
family.
Known as “Fergie” by the media, Sarah
Ferguson is the ex-wife of Prince Andrew,
one of Queen Elizabeth II’s sons. Americans
know her for her partnership with Weight Watchers
in the ’90s, and her charity work over the
past several decades. But to the British royals,
she’s a lot more.
While initially popular with the royal family,
Ferguson soon became a thorn in their side.
In March 1992, she and Prince Andrew announced
their separation. Later that year, she was
photographed sunbathing topless with John
Bryan, an American financial manager, who
was kissing her feet. The queen’s younger
sister, Princess Margaret, wrote Ferguson
a letter, telling her, “You have done more
to bring shame on the family, than could ever
have been imagined”.
Ferguson has long been plagued by money troubles,
mainly due to poor choices and big spending.
In the years, after her divorce, the duchess
claimed, she had received only 15,000 pounds
sterling a year as a divorce settlement, but
it was later revealed, that she had received
a lump sum settlement of 3 million pounds.
In the mid-’90s, she allegedly had a 4.2
million pound deficit in her bank account,
which she paid off, by going on “a four-year
earning spree” in the U.S..
But while she’d (mostly) managed to stay
out of trouble despite her debts, a 2010 incident
changed everything, including her family’s
opinion of her.
In 2010, the duchess was caught on film, accepting
money in exchange for offering access to Prince
Andrew. The person posing as a businessman,
willing to pay for the access, was an undercover
reporter. Ferguson was busted, and her family
was furious. Fortunately, Prince Andrew forgave
her, and they resumed the friendship, they
had built after their divorce. The rest of
the family, however, wasn’t so quick to
forgive.
Ferguson narrowly avoided filing for bankruptcy,
and she avoided jail time by an even narrower
margin. In 2012, Turkey issued an international
arrest warrant for the duchess, after it was
revealed, that she lied about her motives
for visiting the country in 2008. She had
covertly filmed a Turkish state orphanage,
and Turkey accused her of distorting information
about the orphanage, and smearing the nation.
The duchess avoided extradition, but the incident
didn’t help her strained relationship with
the royal family.
Not all members of the royal family dislike
the duchess. For several years, rumors have
circulated, that Prince Andrew and Ferguson
might remarry. Since their divorce, the couple
has vacationed together many times with their
two daughters, and as recently as 2015, they
were living together. Ferguson had a rather
cryptic response, when asked about their status,
claiming that they “never really left each
other.”
In 2015, Prince Andrew helped Ferguson reconcile
with the royal family, when she attended the
Royal Ascot. While most family members were
courteous, Prince Philip reportedly threw
Fergie some major shade, and apparently looked
furious at her presence.
Ferguson was noticeably absent from Prince
William and Kate Middleton’s 2011 wedding,
likely, because she’s still seen as an embarrassment
(and because of her alleged falling-out with
Princess Diana six months, before Diana died).
Fergie and Prince Andrew’s daughter Eugenie
just announced her engagement, and rumors
are already swirling, that no one in the family
wants Ferguson to attend.
