Sarah Ferguson

Born in October 1959 in Drummer, Hampshire, England, Ferguson attended the Queen’s Secretarial College before working for public relations firms and publishing companies. 

Ferguson began dating Prince Andrew, whom she knew from childhood, in 1985 and the twosome announced their engagement less than a year later. They were later married at Westminster Abbey in July 1986 and gifted the titles of Duke and Duchess of York by the now-late Queen Elizabeth II. Following their nuptials, Ferguson automatically assumed her husband’s royal and ducal status and carried out various royal engagements. 

Ferguson welcomed her first child, daughter Princess Beatrice, in August 1988. Their second daughter, Princess Eugenie, arrived two years later by c-section. 

After she and Andrew announced their separation in January 1992, Ferguson was negatively portrayed in the press. While the scrutiny affected her relationship with the royal family, she remained friendly with Queen Elizabeth II over the years. In September 2022, she was named the new guardian of the late monarch’s corgies. 

Her divorce from Andrew was finalized in 1996 but the duo have continued to share a home since their split. 

Ferguson was once a spokesperson for Weight Watchers and has authored multiple books over the years including Reinventing Yourself With The Duchess Of York and a series of children’s books about Budgie The Helicopter. She founded the Children in Crisis charity in 1993 and works as a patron for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Ferguson lost her royal title after divorcing Andrew, who gave up his honorific in 2025 after his alleged ties to the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.