Sarah Ferguson determined to play a key role in daughter Princess Eugenie's royal wedding
Princess Eugenie is set to wed her fiancé, Jack Brooksbank, on October 12, and her mother, Sarah Ferguson, is determined to play a central role in her youngest daughter's royal wedding.
Although Ferguson divorced Eugenie's father, Prince Andrew, over 20 years ago, the Duchess of York will be sitting beside her ex-husband in the front pew of St. George's Chapel, according to royal expert Katie Nicholl. In a Vanity Fair article published on July 26, Nicholl states that it has often been reported that Ferguson was ostracized by the royal family since her divorce in 1996. This was underlined recently at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding, where Ferguson had a very different seating arrangement than her daughters.
"While Andrew and the couple’s daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, were at the front of the church in reserved family pews just behind the Queen, Sarah was relegated to a seat further back in the church, presumably so that she was not in sight of Prince Philip," Nicholl writes. An anonymous source also told Vanity Fair that the Duke of Edinburgh "can’t bear to be in the same room as Fergie."
Ferguson has blamed herself for this division. In 2011, the Duchess of York told Oprah Winfrey the reason why her previous scandals may have contributed to any tension. "I felt that I had ostracized myself by my behavior, by my past, by living with all the regrets and my mistakes," she said, Entertainment Tonight reported.
In recent years, Ferguson has been devoting herself to her charity work. "It has certainly made me a better mother to my daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, giving me a sense of perspective, and allowing me to encourage them to use the platform they have to get involved in charitable work," she wrote in a column for Evening Standard. "It has probably saved my life, too, by giving me purpose through hard times," Ferguson stated.
When it comes to the royal nuptial on October 12, Nicholl writes that Ferguson has been taking part for Eugenie's wedding preparation.
“Sarah and Andrew are helping to organize the evening party," a source told Nicholl. "The plan is for a marquee to be set up in the grounds and dancing late into the night. Eugenie and Jack are planning the whole thing, but Sarah and Andrew are very involved. Sarah is bringing a very eclectic and exciting guest list to Windsor.”