Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson got married on July 23, 1986 – just one year on from the start of their relationship.
After 10 years of marriage, the pair officially divorced in 1996.
During their marriage, the couple welcomed two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. The pair are also now proud grandparents to Beatrice’s one-year-old daughter, Sienna, and Eugenie’s two sons, August, two, and baby Ernest.
Despite the end of their marriage, the former couple now appear closer than ever, with their relationship often deemed as unconventional.
Exactly 37 years on from their wedding day, here is a look into Andrew and Fergie’s unusual relationship.
Marriage and Divorce
Andrew and Fergie began dating in 1985, after being seated together at Royal Ascot.
Just nine months later, the pair became engaged on Andrew’s 26th birthday in February 1986.
The pair got married that summer, before welcoming their two daughters in 1988 and 1990.
The intensity of Andrew’s naval career saw him spending less than with his family – and cracks began to appear in the marriage. The pair separated in 1991, with their divorce finalised in 1996.
During an interview in 2010, Fergie claimed that, due to his career, she only saw Andrew for 40 days a year during their marriage.
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… and the courtiers told me I had to go to Buckingham Palace and he had to go to sea.”
Living together
Over two decades on from their divorce, the couple still live together at Royal Lodge when she is in the UK.
During an interview with the Sunday Times in 2021, Sarah said: “I travel a lot and I’ve always been able to make wherever I am home. If I am staying in a hotel I have the same family photographs and scented candles around me.
“When I’m in the UK I’m lucky enough to stay at Royal Lodge. I wouldn’t call it my home as that would be presumptuous.”
Due to their close relationship, rumours have circulated over time. However, Sarah appeared to shut down rumours in the past, having once said: “”We’re the happiest divorced couple in the world. We’re divorced to each other, not from each other.”
Endless Support
The couple have continued to openly support each other through various points in their lives over the years.
Previously speaking to the Mirror, Fergie opened up about how supportive Andrew is of her.
Around the time of the release of her novel, ‘A Most Intriguing Lady’, she told the publication, Andrew “tells me they [books] are fabulous”.
Earlier this month, Fergie revealed that she recently found out she had breast cancer during a routine mammogram, and Andrew has stepped up to support her.
Sarah has also been known to support her former husband through the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, which Andrew has continuously denied.
Speaking to the Independent, she said: “The Queen and I, when she was alive, we both bookended him to help him through this. So, we’re a very strong family unit. No one can break the York family.”
