Why did Sarah Ferguson not attend Prince Philip memorial? Pair had long-standing feud
Westminster Abbey was packed with more than 1,500 guests, including members of the Queen's extended royal family, on Tuesday, 29 March, for Prince Philip's memorial. But his former daughter-in-law, the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson was absent, which shocked many people. This may have something to do with the feud between the late Duke of Edinburgh and Ferguson, which had been going on for a long time before his death.
The 62-year-old Duchess and the late Duke of Edinburgh did not have a good relationship and she has been excluded from royal celebrations ever since she divorced Prince Andrew in 1996. While Philip loved their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, he is thought to have viewed Fergie as simply beyond the pale after a series of scandals.
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In the early 90s, Philip reportedly started disliking Fergie after frequent reports suggesting that Prince Andrew and Fergie's marriage was in trouble surfaced. Philip decided it was enough when photos appeared in a daily newspaper of a topless Sarah having her toes sucked by a lover in the South of France.
Images of Sarah kissing her financial advisor, John Bryan, taken at her holiday villa in St Tropez left the Duke furious. Reportedly, he also did not consider Fergie's continuing closeness to ex-husband Prince Andrew and them continuing to live together at their home in Windsor as a good idea.
Royal insider Gyles Brandreth said that while Queen Elizabeth had tea with Fergie from time to time after her separation from Andrew, the Duke was resolute in his desire never to see Fergie again. And, reportedly, Sarah never attempted to build bridges with Duke over the years.
But before all these scandals, Fergie was actually regarded as a royal favorite of Philip during the early days of her marriage to Andrew. Fergie grew up in close proximity to the royal family as her father was Prince Charles and Philip's polo manager, and as a result she developed an interest in most things liked by the Queen and Philip, including horse-riding and piloting a plane.
So, she fit in well into the royal family. Fergie was so popular with the royal family that the Queen would invite her for private suppers, a privilege not extended to many, even inside the royal family.
However, their relationship appeared on the mend towards the end of the Duke's life, where he attended Eugenie's wedding and appeared alongside the duchess in the official wedding portrait.
And, looking at her closeness to her ex-husband, the attendance of her two daughters, and her warm relationship with the Queen, royal watchers expected to see the Duchess among the congregation.