Sarah Ferguson's Absence From The Queen's Mourning Events Hasn't Gone Unnoticed
Sarah Ferguson flew back to the United Kingdom from the Venice Film Festival after the heartbreaking death of Queen Elizabeth II. According to Hello!, the Duchess of York canceled plans and flew home to be with family. Even after her divorce from Prince Andrew, Fergie had a good relationship with Queen Elizabeth. Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York, divorced in 1996 but still live together at Royal Lodge in Windsor. While Ferguson raised eyebrows with her comments about Prince Andrew at times, the beloved monarch held her ex-daughter-in-law in affection. A royal insider told The Telegraph, "The Duchess bonded with Her Majesty over dog walking and riding horses and, even after her divorce, she would continue her great friendship with Her Majesty, by walking the dogs in Frogmore and chatting."
According to The Guardian, Andrew and Fergie will care for the monarch's precious Corgis. The queen and her ex-daughter-in-law shared a love of dogs, but royal expert Ingrid Seward had a cheeky comment about the Yorks caring for the pups. Seward quipped to the Guardian, "It would seem most logical that the corgis go to Andrew ... Let's face it, he hasn't got anything else to do." While it seemed like Ferguson had a good relationship with the queen, her absence from Her Majesty's mourning events hasn't gone unnoticed.
Sarah Ferguson has skipped several royal mourning events
Sarah Ferguson's absence from royal events during the mourning period for the queen is likely due to Prince Andrew. A royal insider told The Daily Beast that Andrew, Duke of York, would "disappear" from public view after the queen's funeral. "The way that kid [protester] reacted should remind the royals that the public would be quite happy to never see Prince Andrew again," a former royal household member explained to The Daily Beast. "He is an unpleasant, arrogant man with no support in the institution. Including him in the events of this week is a mistake. This is not a family funeral. It is a state affair. She may be his mother — but she's everyone's queen."
But after a protester was arrested at the queen's procession after harassing Andrew, it only drew more attention to the bad optics of involving the disgraced prince in the public funeral events. One Twitter user spoke for many when they wrote, "King Charles starting his reign by handing out redundancy notices, allowing the disgraced Prince Andrew back into the fold to carry out Royal duties, and refusing Harry permission to wear his military garb is truly a choice."
Per the Daily Mail, Sarah, Duchess of York, will be at Queen Elizabeth's funeral service on September 19, 2022. However, Fergie did not attend Prince Philip's funeral in 2021 because she and the late Duke of Edinburgh fell out after her and Andrew's divorce.
Sarah Ferguson has been invited back into the family fold
After her divorce from Prince Andrew in 1996, the royal family didn't welcome Sarah Ferguson to big family events. The Daily Mail reported that Sarah, Duchess of York, was invited to Scotland for the family summer vacation in recent years, but left before the Duke of Edinburgh arrived. After the death of Prince Philip, Sarah was invited to more family events. A source told the Mail, "Sarah's very much in the fold now that the Duke of Edinburgh has gone. The Queen has always had a soft spot for Sarah and regards her as an excellent mother."
The Duchess of York posted an emotional tribute to Queen Elizabeth on Instagram with a poignant caption, "I am heartbroken by the passing of Her Majesty the Queen." The queen's former daughter-in-law continued and wrote the queen was "the most incredible mother-in-law and friend. I will always be grateful to her for the generosity she showed me in remaining close to me even after my divorce. I will miss her more than words can express."