Sarah, Duchess of York was born 15th October 1959. She is a former British Royal Family member by marriage. However, she can claim Royal ancestry in her own right, from both the Tudor and Stuart lines. Through her father she is descended illegitimately from Charles II of England.
However, Sarah Duchess of York described her ancestry as country gentry with a bit of old money, rather than aristocratic. The family was certainly quite wealthy. Her parents divorced in 1972 when Sarah was a child, and they both later remarried. Sarah stayed in England with her father, Major Ronald Ferguson, Prince Charles’ polo manager. Sarah completed her studies at Queen’s Secretarial College in 1987 and took up employment in a London public relations company until her engagement to Prince Andrew.
Her accession to royalty was made upon her marriage to Prince Andrew, from whom she was divorced in 1996. The Duchess was the first female member of the Royal Family to take flying classes and received a private Pilot License.
Sarah Ferguson’s image in Britain has been controversial. Her relationship with the Texan multimillionaire Steve Wyatt and subsequent photos that the press published in the period that Prince Andrew spent on his naval trips are the main reason for the breakdown of their marriage. Sarah the Duchess of York made a name for herself after the breakdown of her marriage, as a media personality both in the USA and the UK, and also as the writer of the children’s book series about Budgie the Helicopter. She has featured in commercials for Weight Watchers, having succeeded in her own weight loss battle.
Sarah was only the Duchess of York while she remained married to Queen Elizabeth II’s second son, Prince Andrew. After the divorce she lost her title of Duchess but their two daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, retain their titles and are fifth and sixth respectively in line for the succession to the British Throne.
The divorce with Prince Andrew constituted a new beginning for Sarah Ferguson, who was blamed and rejected by the British Royal Family at that time. Unsympathetically dubbed ‘Duchess of Pork” and harangued for her flashy dress sense and excess weight, Sarah Ferguson was given a pretty tough time by the Royal Family who had never seemed to accept her, and by the British press. That was the moment she decided to emigrate to the United States and continue her public career there. However, Sarah, Duchess of York maintained a close relationship with her ex-husband. Prince Andrew and they are often seen out together as a family with their two daughters. Sarah’s main home now appears to be back in London but she regularly commutes between the USA and the UK to maintain her transatlantic media career.
She has campaigned and worked on issues of obesity, particularly child obesity. She has also become involved in popularizing some famous cosmetic brands and trademarks like Avon and Wedgwood China. Sarah Duchess of York is now also becoming well known as a social campaigner and has given her support to several popular media projects centred on social inequality and poverty in Britain.
- Full Name: Sarah Margaret Ferguson
- Father: Major Ronald Ferguson
- Mother: Susan Barrantes
- Born: 15th October 1959
- Married: To Prince Andrew, 1986
- Children: Beatrice (b.1988). Eugenie (b. 1990)
