Sarah, Duchess of York

Sarah, Duchess of York (Sarah Margaret; née Ferguson; born 15 October 1959) is a British charity patron, spokesperson, writer, film producer, television personality and former member of the British Royal Family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, whom she was married to from 1986 to 1996. She is often popularly referred to as "Fergie", a common nickname for people named Ferguson.

The Duchess is the younger daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson and Susan Barrantes (née Wright), both now deceased. Her children, Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York, are respectively fifth and sixth in the line of succession to the thrones of 16 independent Commonwealth realm states.

Early life

Sarah Margaret Ferguson is the second daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson^[2] and his first wife, Susan Mary Wright.^[3] Sarah's older sister is Jane Ferguson Luedecke, a public relations executive now living and working in Australia. After Sarah's parents divorced in 1972, her mother remarried^[4] polo player Hector Barrantes^[5] and moved to Trenque Lauquen in the Argentine pampas. Sarah stayed at the 480-acre (1.9 km²) Dummer Down Farm at Dummer, Hampshire, her father's home since age 8.^[6] Major Ferguson remarried and had three more children.

Sarah attended a senior boarding school that specialised in ballet.^[7] After finishing a course at Queen's Secretarial College at the age of eighteen,^[8] Sarah went to work in a public relations firm in London. Later she worked for an art gallery, and then a publishing company. She says she lived simply.

Ancestry

Sarah once described her family as "country gentry with a bit of old money." She is descended from both the Stuart and Tudor houses. On her father's side, Sarah is a descendant of King Charles II of England via two of his illegitimate sons, Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, and James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. She has aristocratic ancestry, being the second great-granddaughter of the 6th Duke of Buccleuch, a great-granddaughter of the 8th Viscount Powerscourt and a direct descendant of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. Her paternal grandmother was Lady Marian Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, a first cousin of Lady Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott, who married Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, an uncle of Queen Elizabeth II.^[9]

Marriage to Prince Andrew

On 17 March 1986,^[10] Prince Andrew, (the second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and fourth in line to the throne) and Sarah Ferguson announced their engagement, having met at a party at Windsor Castle the previous year.^[11]

After securing the Queen's permission (which is required by a British law, the Royal Marriages Act 1772, for children of the monarch) Andrew and Sarah were married in Westminster Abbey on 23 July 1986. The Queen bestowed the title Duke of York upon Prince Andrew, and as his new wife Sarah automatically assumed her husband's royal and ducal status and became Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York. With her marriage, she attained the rank of Princess of the United Kingdom, which was lost upon her divorce.

The couple became parents on 8 August 1988 with the birth of daughter, Beatrice. Their second child, another daughter, Eugenie, was born on 23 March 1990.^[12]

During her marriage, the tabloid press ridiculed the Duchess after her weight climbed to 15 stone 10 pounds (100 kg) (220 lbs) labelling her unflatteringly as the "Duchess of Pork".^[13]

By 1991, the marriage was in trouble, and the couple had drifted apart. While her husband was away on naval or royal duties, the Duchess was frequently seen in the company of other men, notably Texan multimillionaire Steve Wyatt.^[14] Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York finally announced their separation on 19 March 1992.^[15]

In August 1992, surreptitiously-taken photographs of the Duchess sunbathing topless with John Bryan, an American financial manager, were published in the British tabloid Daily Mirror. The Duchess endured widespread public ridicule contributing to her further estrangement from the British Royal Family.^[16] After four years of official separation, the Duke and Duchess announced the mutual decision to divorce in 1996.^[17]

Post-divorce, Sarah uses the style of other divorced peeresses, using her first name (Sarah) and her former title as surname; her current name, thus, is Sarah, Duchess of York, eliminating the preface "The" before "Duchess of York." Should she marry again, Sarah would lose the use of the style and surname of "Duchess of York."

After the divorce

After her divorce, the British tabloids became critical of Sarah's notably open extravagance and lifestyle.^{[18][19][20][21]} The Duchess has asserted that she declined to press for a large divorce settlement, in order to maintain cordial relations with the British Royal Family; her actual settlement included £350,000 in cash provided by the Queen which had no restrictions on its use and £500,000 provided by the Queen for purchase of a home without restriction. In addition, Sarah was not compelled to sign confidentiality agreements as part of her marital dissolution, allowing her to profit by writing of her former life in the Royal family; this paved the way for her to receive £2.2 million from writing her (first) autobiography. Sarah became a U.S. spokesperson for Weight Watchers International, a relationship that lasted several years. Sarah's other commercial interests have included endorsement and product development for Wedgwood china and Avon. She is also a public speaker represented by agencies such as The National Speakers Bureau. Sarah's speeches cover subjects ranging from empowerment and personal growth to health advocacy and international charity.

Sarah was scheduled to meet with her Chances for Children charity at the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001, but her limousine arrived at the area late as charity staffers were waiting for Sarah at the lobby. American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower seconds before Sarah and her entourage arrived, and immediately they left along with Chances for Children staffers.^[22]

Until 2004, the Duke of York and his former wife shared the family’s home, Sunninghill Park in Berkshire. That same year, the Duke moved to the refurbished Royal Lodge, previously the home of his grandmother, who resided there until her death in 2002. In 2007, the Duchess rented Dolphin House, and became next door neighbours with her ex-husband. In 2008, a fire broke out at Dolphin House causing Sarah to vacate the premises and move into Royal Lodge with her former husband, the Duke of York.

According to some sources, Duchess had split her divorce settlement with her mother and had also contributed financially to the upkeep of the Barrantes ranch in Argentina.

In 2009, Sarah participated in a much-criticized ITV "experiment" ^[23] in which Sarah joined families in a council estate (public housing) to provide advice to them on proper living. She stayed for ten days in Northern Moor, a suburb area in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England, and the result was The Duchess on the Estate, transmitted on ITV1 on 18 August 2009. It was considered a "hatchet job".^[24] A previous, similar television venture, "The Duchess In Hull" in which Sarah advised lower-income families on proper diet and behaviour received similar criticism.^[25]

Subsequent to the "cash for access" scandal (see next section,) Sarah was not among the 1,900 people who received an invitation to the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.^[26]

Cash for Access

In May 2010, Sarah was filmed by News of the World offering access to Prince Andrew for £500,000 by Mazher Mahmood, an undercover reporter posing as an Indian businessman.^[27] On the video made as a documentary source for the story, which is publicly available, Sarah is heard to say that "£500,000 when you can, to me, open doors".^[28] She is seen taking away a briefcase containing US$40,000 in cash. Exposure surrounding the incident increased Sarah's public profile and notoriety. For instance, Sterling Publishers substantially increased the print run of Ashley Learns About Strangers, the Duchess's latest book for children; however, the notoriety did not translate into additional book sales.^[29][30] Sarah excused her behaviour in an interview with Oprah Winfrey by saying that that she had been drinking prior to soliciting the cash, and was "in the gutter at that moment".^[31]

Further debt problems

In April 2010, a claim against the Duchess was made by Davenport Lyons, a leading London firm of solicitors, for a reported £200,000 in unpaid legal fees.^[32] It was reported in August 2010 that the Duchess might declare voluntary bankruptcy with debts of £5 million,^[33] though other sources have suggested she owes about £2 million.^[34]

In March 2011 it was reported that Jeffrey Epstein had helped the Duchess avoid bankruptcy by paying off some of her debts. The payments were reportedly made after intervention from the Duke of York.^[35]

In the Summer of 2011, "Finding Sarah" aired on the OWN network. Sarah recorded this 8 part series for the network to record her journey of finding herself again. Several times throughout the show, a re-marriage to Prince Andrew was not ruled out in her future plans.

Charity work

• 1993, the Duchess founded Children in Crisis^[36] based in London with the support of two current trustees: Grahame Harding and Paul Szkiler. Over the years, Children in Crisis has grown to help over 250,000 children annually in 10 countries around the world.
• 2003, she joined the American Cancer Society at a congressional briefing. Sarah, Duchess of York, was a founding supporter of The American Cancer Society’s Great American Weigh In,^[37] an annual campaign (modelled after the Society’s Great American Smoke Out) aimed at raising awareness of the link between excess weight and cancer.
• 2004, Sarah, Duchess of York, was named the official spokesperson of SOS Children's Villages - USA; she is no longer affiliated with this charity.^[38]
• 2005, Sarah, Duchess of York, was named a global ambassador for Ronald McDonald House; she is no longer affiliated with this charity.^[39]
• 2006, Sarah, Duchess of York, established The Sarah Ferguson Foundation^[40] based in Toronto, which derives funds from Sarah's commercial work and private donations with the aim of supporting charities internationally that serve children and families in dire need. Included under this umbrella organization is her patronage of several British charities, including Mental Disability Rights International,^[41] the Teenage Cancer Trust,^[42] Tommy's,^[43] and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.^[44]
• 2010, she became a supporter of The Mullany Fund,^[45] whose aim is to support UK students wishing to study medicine or physiotherapy.

Books

• Budgie the Little Helicopter books and animated children’s television programme:
  • 1989, Budgie the Little Helicopter^[46]
  • 1989, Budgie at Bendick's Point^[47]
  • 1991, Budgie and the Blizzard^[48]
  • 1992, The Adventures of Budgie^[49]
  • 1993, Budgie Goes to Sea^[50]
  • 1996, Budgie's Book of Colors^[51]
  • 1996, Budgie and Pippa Count to Ten!^[52]
• 1995, Travels with Queen Victoria^[53]
• 1996, My Story (autobiography)^[54]
• For young girls:
  • 1997, The Royal Switch^[55]
  • 1997, Bright Lights^[56]
• Lifestyle books with Weight Watchers:
  • 1998, Dining with The Duchess^[57]
  • 1999, Dieting with The Duchess^[58]
  • 2000, Win the Weight Game^[59]
  • 2001, Reinventing Yourself^[60]
  • 2002, Energy Breakthrough^[61]
• 2003, What I Know Now: Simple Lessons Learned the Hard Way^[62]
• 2003, Reflections. The Duchess published a collection of her photographs in an art book, sold only in Britain, with all proceeds benefiting her UK-based charity, Children in Crisis.
• 2003, Little Red^[63]
• 2004, Little Red’s Christmas Story^[64]
• 2006, Little Red’s Summer Adventure^[65]
• 2008, Tea for Ruby
• 2011, Finding Sarah

Film

In May 2004, Sarah hosted an eleven-minute production featurette on Universal’s DVD 'The Legacy of Pan'. Five months later, Walt Disney Feature Animation released a special DVD The Cat That Looked at a King, with Sarah's voice in the role of the Queen; the story is derived from the Mary Poppins books by P. L. Travers. Sarah had a producing role (credited as "Sarah Ferguson") in the 2009 Jean-Marc Vallée film The Young Victoria, starring Emily Blunt and featured a background player role for Sarah's daughter Princess Beatrice.

TV and radio

• Health advisor in 'The Duchess In Hull' on ITV1.
• In the United Kingdom:
  • Guest editor on BBC Radio 4 Today program.
  • Regular contributor to BBC Radio 2’s primetime lifestyle show Steve Wright.
  • Previously co-produced and served as presenter in a documentary for BBC television called In Search of the Spirit.
  • Hosted an 8-part panel talk show on Britain’s SkyOne television in 1998.
  • Appeared in an episode of the Vicar of Dibley.
  • Travelled to Romania and Turkey for the documentary, Duchess and Daughters: their secret mission, shown on ITV1 on 6 November 2008, investigating poor treatment and conditions in children's institutions in those two countries.
  • 5 March 2009 – The Graham Norton Show, BBC Two.
  • 18 August 2009 – The Duchess on the Estate, ITV1 (about Northern Moor, Manchester).
  • 1 September 2009 – Loose Women, ITV1.

• In the United States:
  • Special correspondent to the NBC Today Show, with regular "From the Heart" segments that profile inspiring Americans who make extraordinary contributions to others despite formidable personal obstacles.
  • Substitute host for CNN’s Larry King Live.
  • Substitute host for ABC's The View.
  • Appeared as herself in the episode "The One with Ross's Wedding" of popular American sitcom Friends.
  • Appeared as herself in The Celebrity Apprentice.
  • Appeared on The Tyra Banks Show, talking about her work with Weight Watchers and her personal style.
  • Appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on 11 May 2011.
  • Appeared on mini-series on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, Finding Sarah: From Royalty to the Real World, in June 2011. Talks about her struggles through life with family and finances.

Cultural references

• Sarah's marriage is mentioned in the Sue Townsend book The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole. It mentions Mr. Mole calling Buckingham Palace and asking for the Duchess, and also him sending her a note to meet him outside the gates of Buckingham Palace to run away with him as she is his soul mate.^[66]
• In the 1992 Bottom episode "Digger", the Duchess is rejected with great disgust as a potential match for Eddie when visiting a dating service, giving an outcry of "Do you mind?! I'm a respectable man!"
• From 1995 onwards, the character of The Girlfriend in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake is thought to be based on, or has similarities to (in terms of her acceptance by the rest of the Royal Family) the Duchess.
• In May 1998, Sarah appeared as herself in the fourth season finale^[67] of the television show Friends. She was credited as "Sarah, The Duchess of York".
• In May 2000, in the American sitcom Will & Grace episode "My Best Friend's Tush," the characters Grace Adler (Debra Messing) and Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) visit a taco restaurant to find Helena Barnes (Joan Collins). While there, Karen, under her alias Anastasia Beaverhousen, claims to see "The Duchess of York". In shock, Grace asks "Do you think that Weight Watchers knows about this?"
• The 2006 title of R&B/Hip Hop singer Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson's debut album, The Dutchess^[68] (dutchess is a Middle English spelling of duchess) was a reference to the fact that the two are associated with the same surname. According to various media outlets, the Duchess of York called Fergie after the release of her album and remarked: "Fergie, it's Fergie... Now that you've done this, you have to sing at a concert for my foundation, 'Children in Crisis'."^[69] Fergie agreed and committed to charity concerts in London and New York City.
• In November 2006, Sarah was honoured for her AIDS campaigning at the New York AIDS Film Festival.
• In February 2007, Sarah was named Mother of the Year by the American Cancer Society.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 15 October 1959 – 23 July 1986: Miss Sarah Margaret Ferguson
• 23 July 1986 – 30 May 1996: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York
• 30 May 1996 – 21 August 1996: Her Royal Highness Sarah, Duchess of York
• 21 August 1996 – Present: Sarah, Duchess of York

Sarah's full title during her marriage was: Her Royal Highness The Princess Andrew Albert Christian Edward, Duchess of York, Countess of Inverness, Baroness Killyleagh.

Immediately after her divorce she retained the style Her Royal Highness; however on 21 August 1996 letters patent were issued which removed the title from divorced former wives of princes.^[70] She remained titled Sarah, Duchess of York in keeping with the standard form of address for former wives of peers. After divorce she was no longer a British princess but remained a duchess.

Arms

Ancestry

Issue

References

External links

• The Sarah Ferguson Foundation
• SarahFerguson.com (official website)
• (website for the off-Broadway show about the life of Sarah Ferguson)
• Sarah, Duchess of York at the Internet Movie Database