Sarah Ferguson

Sarah Margaret Ferguson was born on 15 October 1959 at London Welbeck Hospital, London, the second daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson (1931–2003) and Susan Barrantes (née Wright; 1937–1998). She has one older full sister, Jane. After her parents divorced in 1974, her mother married polo player Héctor Barrantes the following year and moved to Trenque Lauquen in the Argentine pampas. Ferguson remained at the Dummer Down Farm at Dummer, Hampshire, which had been her father's home since she was eight. Major Ferguson married Susan Deptford in 1976, and had three more children: Andrew, Alice, and Elizabeth. Ferguson later said that, at the age of 12, when her parents' marriage began to break down, she developed an eating disorder and "turned to overeating for comfort". Ferguson, known informally as "Fergie", once described her family as "country gentry with a bit of old money". She is a descendant of King Charles II of England through three of his illegitimate children: Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond; James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth; and Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex. Her wider ancestry is aristocratic; she is the great-great-granddaughter of the 6th Duke of Buccleuch, a great-granddaughter of the 8th Viscount Powerscourt, and a descendant of the 1st Duke of Abercorn and the 4th Duke of Devonshire. She is distantly related to her former husband as both are descended from the 4th Duke of Devonshire and from King James VI and I. Although she did not shine academically, she showed talent in swimming and tennis. During her teenage years, she worked as both a cleaner and a waitress. After completing a course at Queen's Secretarial College at the age of 18, she took a job at an art gallery. ==Marriage to Andrew==

On 19 March 1986, Ferguson and Prince Andrew announced their engagement. The pair had known each other since childhood, meeting occasionally at polo matches, and were reacquainted at Royal Ascot in 1985. Before the engagement, Ferguson had accompanied Diana, Princess of Wales, during her official tour of Andrew's ship . Her friendly manner and lively spirit made her a welcome addition to the royal family. In February that year, she passed her private pilot's licence after completing a 40-hour training course paid for by Lord Hanson as a wedding gift, and she was presented with her wings at RAF Benson in December. On 22 January 1988, during a visit to New York City to attend a fundraising event, Ferguson was attacked by a young man at the entrance of her hotel. The man, who shouted "murderers 3/8" and carried an Irish Republican Army flag as he rushed towards her, was charged with "attempted assault on the Duchess and assault on a federal agent". Two British newspapers described the trip as a "brash, vulgar, excessive, weak-humored exhibition by two royals". In September, she joined Andrew in Australia for an official visit, a decision that drew criticism from the press for leaving her newborn daughter in the United Kingdom. Their second daughter, Princess Eugenie, was born on 23 March 1990 by caesarean section. During her marriage, the tabloid press frequently mocked Ferguson's weightwhich reached (220 lbs) during her first pregnancyand labelled her "Duchess of Pork" and "Fat Fergie". In 1989, Ferguson was credited with helping to popularise the Callanetics exercise regime in the United Kingdom after reports that founder Callan Pinckney had given her private tuition. She received praise for her weight loss, as well as some criticism for not gaining enough weight during her second pregnancy. Ferguson later said that the press coverage of her weight damaged her self‑esteem and worsened her eating disorder. Separation and divorce Biographer Sarah Bradford wrote that Andrew's duties as a naval officer required long periods away from home. According to Ferguson, the couple saw each other for only 40 days a year during the first five years of their marriage. By 1991, the relationship was under strain, with Ferguson finding life within the royal family increasingly difficult. Her friendship with Texan multimillionaire Steve Wyatt, son of Lynn Wyatt, attracted considerable publicity when photographsincluding one showing Wyatt with Ferguson's infant daughterappeared in newspapers in January 1992. Ferguson and Andrew announced their separation on 19 March 1992. After the announcement, the palace stated that Ferguson would no longer undertake public engagements on behalf of the Queen, , 1991 In August 1992, the Daily Mirror published surreptitiously taken photographs of John Bryan, an American financial manager, kissing Ferguson's toes while she sunbathed topless. The incident led to widespread public ridicule and contributed to her further estrangement from the royal family. The French magazine Paris Match was later ordered to pay £84,000 in damages for printing the photographs, although the original claim had been for £1.32 million. On 28 March 1993, it was announced that a formal separation agreement between Ferguson and Andrew had been finalised, following months of speculation that they might reconcile. In 1995, Andrew's aunt Princess Margaret, who had received a bouquet of flowers from Ferguson, reportedly wrote to her: "You have done more to bring shame on the family than could ever have been imagined". Reports and speculation about a possible reconciliation continued into late 1995, ending when Ferguson and Andrew announced their mutual decision to divorce in April 1996. In the years following the divorce, she said she had received £15,000 a year as a divorce settlement and described her role as a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers as her main "source of income". However, senior officials later told The Sunday Telegraph that the settlement had included £350,000 in cash, £500,000 from the Queen to purchase a house for Ferguson and the children, and a monthly allowance that was estimated to have totalled £500,000 by 2010. Ferguson and Andrew shared custody of their children. The decree nisi was granted on 17 April 1996 and the divorce was finalised on 30 May 1996, after which Ferguson legally retained the style "Her Royal Highness" in the same manner as other divorced peeresses. However, it was announced in April that she had chosen not to use the style and would relinquish it under the terms of the divorce. In a 2007 interview, reflecting on why they finalised their divorce she said, "I wanted to work; it's not right for a princess of the royal house to be commercial, so Andrew and I decided to make the divorce official so I could go off and get a job." Since the divorce, Ferguson has attended several events with her daughters, including Andrew's investitures into the Royal Victorian Order and the Order of the Garter, as well as Royal Ascot. On such occasions, she is afforded the courtesy of treatment as a member of the royal family. She hinted at the possibility of remarrying Andrew in several interviews. In August 2013, she was invited to stay at Balmoral Castle with Andrew and their daughters as guests of the Queen, and in September 2013, when asked about the prospect of remarriage, Ferguson said: "He's still my handsome prince, he'll always be my handsome prince." She was not invited to the 1999 wedding of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones nor the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, but she did attend the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018. However, she did not receive an invitation to the evening reception at Frogmore House hosted by Prince Charles, and was reportedly "deeply upset" by her exclusion. She attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, and was seated beside her daughters, but she was not invited to the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023. On 25 December 2023, Ferguson joined the royal family for the Christmas service at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham, marking her first attendance at the event since 1992. The Lord Chamberlain's Office continued to list Ferguson as a member of the royal family until November 2025, alongside other extended family members such as Daniel Chatto and Mike Tindall. ==Personal life after divorce==

After the divorce, the British tabloids continued to report on Ferguson's lifestyle. In 1995, a baggage handler at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City pleaded guilty to stealing her diamond necklace and bracelet, valued at $382,000. Her first autobiography, My Story, was published in 1996 and received poor reviews. A second autobiography, ''Finding Sarah: A Duchess's Journey to Find Herself'', was published in 2011 and addressed her financial difficulties and public challenges. Until 2004, Ferguson and Andrew continued to share the family home, Sunninghill Park in Berkshire. That year, the he moved to the refurbished Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, which had previously been the residence of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, until her death in 2002. In 2007, Ferguson rented Dolphin House in Englefield Green, less than a mile from Royal Lodge. A small fire in the bathroom at Dolphin House in 2008 led her to vacate the property and move into Royal Lodge with Andrew. In 2015, Ferguson was reported to have moved out of Royal Lodge and taken up residence in Verbier, Switzerland, where she and Andrew owned a £13 million chalet. She applied for Swiss residency the following year. As of 2016 she also maintained a rented apartment in Eaton Square, London. In 2025, she sold a townhouse in London's Belgravia for £3.85 million, having purchased it in 2022 for £4.25 million. The property had originally been bought as an investment for her daughters and had been rented to a tenant. As one of the victims of the News International phone hacking scandal, which came into public attention in 2006, Ferguson received an undisclosed sum in an out-of-court settlement. In April 2016, she was named in the Panama Papers. Debt problems In the mid-1990s, Ferguson was reported to have had a £4.2 million deficit in her bank account, which she addressed by undertaking what was described as "a four-year earning spree" in the United States. The lifestyle company was intended to support her "career in publishing, media and public speaking". Hartmoor collapsed in 2009, leaving Ferguson with debts of £630,000. although other sources estimated the figure at closer to £2 million. Email exchanges released in February 2026 suggested that Ferguson might have been lent money by David Rowland and his private bank. In September 2009, a business contact wrote to financier Epstein stating that Ferguson had travelled to Nepal, "paying for the first class flight with her rowland [sic] bank loan." Despite her support, vVoosh filed for administration after failing to launch its app, which collapsed without ever launching a product despite receiving more than £1 million in UK government research and development tax credits and raising about £9 million in total. Fernandez allegedly withdrew large sums and left the country, and the charity never conducted any work and was shut down. Bloom and Evers were driven in Andrew's car from their Knightsbridge hotel to the Palace. They later attended his Pitch@Palace event at St James's Palace before dining that evening with Ferguson, Andrew, and their daughter Beatrice. They had taken out a mortgage of £13.25 million and were expected to pay the remaining £5 million of the purchase price in cash instalments by the end of 2019; Despite reports that the Queen would assist them, a spokesperson for Andrew confirmed that she "will not be stepping in to settle the debt". The Times reported in September 2021 that Ferguson and Andrew had reached a legal agreement with the property's previous owner, and would sell the house to pay back their debt. The owner agreed to receive £3.4 million, half of the amount that she was owed, as she had been under impression that Ferguson and Andrew were dealing with financial troubles. The payments were reportedly made after intervention from Andrew, who had a close friendship with Epstein for which he came under scrutiny in 2019. On 7 March 2011, she admitted getting money from Epstein and called it a "gigantic error of judgment". In the summer of 2011, Finding Sarah aired on the OWN network. One episode of the US-filmed reality series depicted Ferguson meeting with Suze Orman, the internationally known financial advisor, receiving from Orman a strict lecture and practical advice on how to resolve her financial issues. Juan Alessi, a staff member at Epstein's Florida residence for 12 years, said in an unsealed deposition that he believed Ferguson visited "only once and for a short time". In September 2025, newspapers published emails showing that Ferguson had contacted Epstein in April 2011, despite her public statement in March 2011 that she had severed all ties with him. In the email, she wrote that Epstein was a "steadfast, generous and supreme friend" and said she must "humbly apologise" for her earlier remarks. According to her spokesperson, the apology followed what was described as a "Hannibal Lecter-style" phone call in which Epstein threatened to "destroy" her. Following renewed scrutiny prompted by the email's publication, seven charities, of which Ferguson was patron or ambassador (namely the Teenage Cancer Trust, Julia's House, Prevent Breast Cancer, the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, the Children's Literacy Charity, British Heart Foundation, and the National Foundation for Retired Service Animals), individually announced or confirmed that they had ended their association with her. In October 2025, The Mail on Sunday reported on leaked emails between Epstein and his lawyer in 2011 suggesting that Ferguson had celebrated Epstein's release from jail in 2009 by visiting him in New York, where she had taken her young daughters with her. A representative for Ferguson stated that neither she nor her daughters had any recollection of such a visit. However, email exchanges between Epstein and his assistant in July 2009 showed that the latter had bought "British Airways" flights for "the Duchess", totalling "for all tickets: $14,080.10", with another email detailing out a lunch meeting at Epstein's mansion in the same month to which Ferguson intended to be accompanied by her daughters. Another email sent by Ferguson in January 2010 reportedly showed that she was seeking more than the £15,000 she had previously admitted to taking, as she had asked for "50 or 100,000 US dollars to help get through the small bills that are pushing me over". In June 2009, she emailed him to ask for his advice on how to "start The Mothers Army company so it can be commercial". In October that year, she sought his assistance with her financial difficulties, writing: "I urgently need 20,000 pounds for rent today. The landlord has threatened to go to the newspapers if I don't pay. Any brainwaves?" Ferguson and Epstein also discussed her potential personal bankruptcy in a 2009 email chain with businessman David Stern. On 30 January 2010, she emailed Epstein saying, "I am at your service. Just marry me". In March 2010, a "Sarah" appeared to refer to Eugenie's love life in response to an email from Epstein, stating she was "Just waiting for Eugenie to come back from a shagging weekend!!". In July 2010, Epstein asked whether there was "any chance of your daughters saying hello" to his god-daughter Celina; Ferguson replied that Beatrice was in London with Andrew, though it is unclear whether any meeting took place. Cash for access In May 2010, Ferguson was filmed by the News of the World offering Mazher Mahmood, an undercover reporter posing as an Indian businessman, access to Andrew (who was Special Representative for International Trade and Investment) for £500,000. On the video made as a documentary source for the story, which is publicly available, Ferguson is heard to say, "£500,000 when you can, to me, open doors". She is seen taking away a briefcase containing £40,000 in cash. Exposure surrounding the cash for access incident increased her public profile and notoriety. Sterling Publishers substantially increased the print run of Ashley Learns About Strangers, Sarah's latest book for children; however, the notoriety did not translate into additional book sales. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, titled Oprah and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, Ferguson explained her behaviour by saying that she had been drinking prior to soliciting the cash, and was "in the gutter at that moment". She also claimed that her intention was initially to help a friend who "needed $38,000 (£28,000) urgently" but she ultimately asked for more money due to her own financial problems. In November 2016, it was reported that Ferguson intended to sue News Group Newspapers (parent company of the News of the World) and its owner Rupert Murdoch for £25 million in damages citing her "loss in earnings" as well as the subsequent "distress" that the media sting brought to her as the main reasons. In January 2018, it was reported that the actual amount Ferguson was seeking was £45 million. In March 2022 it was reported that the wife of jailed Turkish politician İlhan İşbilen alleged that Ferguson received at least £225,000 from businessman Selman Turk, whom Mrs İşbilen is suing for fraud. An additional £25,000 was sent by Turk in October 2019 to the bank account of Ferguson's younger daughter, Eugenie, the second instalment of which was referenced "birthday gift", reportedly "to pay for a surprise birthday party for the Duchess". Ferguson was owed £225,000 by Pegasus Group Holdings for her role as brand ambassador, but she received the full amount from Turk, who was then set to reclaim the money from Pegasus. These charges carry sentences of up to 22 years imprisonment. Turkey and Britain have an extradition treaty; however, Home Office officials have stated: Turkey maintains that Ferguson distorted information about the orphanage and used an isolated incident in a smear campaign against the Republic of Turkey. Turkey invited international human rights organisations to inspect any orphanage of its choosing to show its transparency in relation to the issue. On 5 May 2012, the trial began into the charges brought by the Ankara State Prosecutor's office. Cansu Şahin, representing Ferguson, who was not present, told the Ankara court that her client has apologised and would like to plea-bargain with the prosecution. Health In June 2023, it was announced that Ferguson had been diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer following a routine mammogram. She successfully underwent a single mastectomy at King Edward VII's Hospital, and her doctors stated her prognosis as "good". She also underwent reconstructive surgery following her mastectomy. In January 2024, it was announced that Ferguson had been diagnosed with melanoma after having several moles removed for analysis. ==Charity work==

Since her marriage, and continuing after the divorce, Ferguson has been involved with a number of charities. From 1990 until 2025, Ferguson served as patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust. Over those years, she opened many of the charity's specialist units, including those at Middlesex Hospital, University College London, St James's University Hospital, Cardiff University Hospital and Royal Marsden Hospital. She began her work with people suffering from motor neurone disease in the 1990s. In her capacity as patron of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, she promoted fundraising campaigns for research about the disease and later became president of the International Alliance for ALS. To help and support those affected by drug misuse, she joined therapy sessions at the Chemical Dependency Centre and was later made their patron. She founded the charity after meeting a young cancer victim named Ania during her visit to Poland in 1992. In December 1994, Ferguson went to the US to take part in a fundraising event for Peace Links and to launch her own charity, Chances for Children, in the US. Her decision to launch a fundraising event for her charity in the US was criticised by the British press, who claimed that through her Budgie the Little Helicopter series she was "expected to earn 400 million pounds over the next five years, with 3 million pounds a year going into her royal pocket" despite her promise to donate part of her earnings to charity. , NIH associate director for women's health, at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, United States, June 1998 In June 1998, Ferguson made a brief trip to Bethesda to receive an award from the Journal of Women's Health. She also visited the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center. Ferguson has also described herself as "a little bit dyslexic". an annual campaign (modelled after the Society's Great American Smoke Out) aimed at raising awareness of the link between excess weight and cancer. In 2004, Ferguson was named the official spokesperson of SOS Children's Villages – USA and in 2005 she became a global ambassador for Ronald McDonald House Charities. In 2006, she established The Sarah Ferguson Foundation based in Toronto, which derived funds from Ferguson's commercial work and private donations with the aim of supporting charities internationally that serve children and families in dire need. Included under this umbrella organisation was her patronage and support of several British charities, including Mental Disability Rights International, the African-Caribbean Leukaemia Trust, Tommy's, the Motor Neurone Disease Association, and CARE International. In 2009, it was reported that despite its income of £250,000 over 18 months, the foundation had spent only £14,200 on grants, £6,300 of which was given to the charitable arm of a South African private game reserve owned by Sir Richard Branson, a friend of Ferguson's. Following the report, the foundation released a list that showed they spent around $400,000 on donations in 2008. In 2008, Ferguson became patron of Humanitas, a charity focused on providing children with education, healthcare and family support. In the same year, she became an ambassador for New York mayor Michael Bloomberg's anti-poverty campaign. In 2010, Ferguson became a supporter of the Mullany Fund, whose aim is to support British students wishing to study medicine or physiotherapy. In 2011, Ferguson became the global ambassador for Not For Sale, a charity focused on human slavery. In 2013, Ferguson, along with her former husband and their daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, founded Key To Freedom, a business structure for women in vulnerable situations in India who can sell their wares through the British retailer Topshop. In 2014, Ferguson was appointed an ambassador for the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London. In 2015, Ferguson revealed her connection with India and polo when she attended as a chief guest of HVR Baroda Cup in New Delhi under the invitation of Harshavardhan Reddy, chairman of HVR Sports. and Marcis Skadmanis in Lancaster House, London, June 2017 In 2016, Ferguson collaborated with British contemporary artist Teddy McDonald and her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, to create the first Royal contemporary painting. Titled Royal Love, it was painted on the lawn of Royal Lodge and features positive thoughts and quotes by Ferguson and the princesses. The painting was exhibited in London at the Masterpiece Art Fair, Chelsea in June/July 2016 and later auctioned at private dinner. The proceeds from the sale of the painting were donated by McDonald to the charity Children in Crisis. British GQ magazine published an exclusive on the creation of the painting. In 2017, Ferguson was joined by her daughter Eugenie to mark the second anniversary of the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at Alder Hey Children's Hospital. On the 25th anniversary of Children in Crisis's foundation in 2018, Ferguson said that working with this charity "gave her a sense of perspective and purpose during tough times". She merged her charity foundation with Street Child, an organisation run by Tom Dannatt in Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone, of which Ferguson has become a patron, She became an ambassador for the technology infrastructure company Pegasus Group Holdings. Ferguson was chosen to initiate "the company's philanthropic endeavors" as they develop an "off-grid renewable energy data center". In June 2020, Ferguson launched her new charitable foundation called Sarah's Trust. The charity provided aid for NHS, care home and hospice staff by delivering more than 150,000 items, including food, masks, scrubs, and toiletries. Organisations such as Under One Sky and NOAH Enterprise have helped the foundation by giving sleeping bags to homeless people in the UK. Essentials and supplies have also been sent to Ghana. In March 2022, Ferguson visited Denver after being chosen as the keynote speaker at a Junior League of Denver fundraiser. In the same month, she travelled to Poland amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian refugees and help her charity the Sarah's Trust in organising goods donated by UK citizens. In the following month, she travelled to Albania and met Afghan refugees at a resort in Golem. In her capacity as chief ambassador of the Montessori Group, Ferguson visited Croatia in June 2022 where she promoted the organisation's work on providing help for Ukrainian refugees and supporting children. In July 2022, her charity secured money to fund £14,000-worth of computers for Ukrainian refugees in Poland. She also helped with setting up the 'Play in a Box' tent in Upper Silesia to host refugee children for reading, playing, and baking. In March 2024, Ferguson co-chaired the Global Citizen NOW summit in Melbourne, Australia with the aim to end extreme poverty and address the climate crisis. In February 2026, Sarah's Trust announced that it would close for the "foreseeable future" after months of internal discussion. The announcement followed the release of court documents related to Epstein, which detailed Ferguson's continued contact with him. ==Business life==

Film and television In 2000, Ferguson co-produced and served as presenter in a documentary for BBC television called In Search of the Spirit. In September 2003, she was a co-host for three days on BBC Radio 2's afternoon show Steve Wright. In May 2004, Ferguson hosted an eleven-minute production featurette on Universal's DVD Peter Pan, titled The Legacy of Pan. In the same year she travelled to Romania and Turkey for the documentary Duchess and Daughters: Their Secret Mission, shown on ITV1 on 6 November 2008, investigating poor treatment and conditions in children's institutions in those two countries. In August 2009, her documentary The Duchess on the Estate, which was about Northern Moor, Manchester, was shown on the same network. Her report on the suburb area in Manchester caused criticism for exaggerating crime in the area. It was Ferguson who conceived the idea for a film based upon the early years of Queen Victoria. Since her marriage, she had been interested in the Queen, and had written two books about her with the help of a historian. The Victoria-Albert relationship in particular drew her into the queen's history, as she believed there were parallels between their marriage and her own with Andrew, as they both "fought for their love" in the midst of public scrutiny. In 2019, Ferguson said that she was producing a TV documentary about Prince Albert's mother Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. The documentary would focus on her life, particularly her separation from her husband Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In July 2020, it was reported that Ferguson had been a judge on the pilot for Fox's Dancing with Horses but the production and distribution were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2025, it was reported that Ferguson had been dropped from ITV's Loose Women and This Morning as a guest after insiders said there were no plans for any future appearances. Other ventures Ferguson's commercial interests have included an eleven-year endorsement with Weight Watchers and product development and promotion with Wedgwood and Avon. In the 2000s she designed a set of tea-scented candles for Bath & Body Works, and in 2007 she raised the possibility of launching a Duchess Originals homeware range, similar to the then-Prince Charles's Duchy Originals. In 2020, it was reported that she could possibly launch a lifestyle brand, Duchess Inc., and later in the year designed a range of tea and biscuits called the Duchess Collection in aid of her charity Sarah's Trust. In April 2020, Ferguson launched a new series on her YouTube channel, called Storytime with Fergie and Friends, in which she and a number of authors, including Nanette Newman and Imogen Edwards-Jones, read stories to children from their homes during the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From March to July 2021, the same channel showed 10 short episodes of Little Red News featuring characters from Ferguson's book series, Little Red. In May 2022, she co-founded the independent production house Vestapol Films, which is based in Paris. In May 2023, she launched the weekly podcast Tea Talks with the Duchess & Sarah together with Sarah Thomson, which premiered in June 2023. ==Notable appearances on TV and radio==

• In the United Kingdom: • She participated in the programme The Grand Knockout Tournament, informally known as ''It's a Royal Knockout'', on 15 June 1987, in which four teams sponsored by her, the then Duke of York, the Princess Royal, and Prince Edward competed for charity. The programme was criticised by the media and it was later reported that the Queen was not in favour of the event, with her courtiers having advised against it. • The Vicar of Dibley in 1999. • Parkinson in 2003. • The Meredith Vieira Show in 2015, discussing her former husband's alleged sex scandal. • This Morning in 2019 to discuss "Natasha's Law". She guest-edited and co-hosted an episode in 2023. • In the United States: • The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996 and 1999. In 2010, she was interviewed for a special episode on the same show, titled Oprah and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, in which she discussed the "cash for access" scandal. • In May 1998, Ferguson made a cameo in the fourth-season finale of the American television sitcom Friends. • In Australia: • In 2013, Ferguson was interviewed for an episode of Nine Network's 60 Minutes, titled "Seeing Red". ==Cultural references==

• She was caricatured in the satirical puppet show Spitting Image, "with horsey teeth amid a mane of frizzy ginger hair". • The 2006 title of R&B/hip-hop artist Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson's debut solo album, The Dutchess (dutchess is a variant spelling of duchess dating to the 17th century) was a reference to the fact that the two are associated with the same nickname. According to The Boston Globe, Ferguson contacted Fergie after the release of her album and remarked: "Fergie, it's Fergie... Now that you've done this, you have to sing at a concert for my foundation, 'Children in Crisis'". The singer later performed at the event. • Between 2016 and 2020, a fictional version of her was portrayed by Katy Wix in the British sitcom The Windsors. • In 2020 Ferguson was portrayed briefly by English actress Jessica Aquilina in the fourth season of Netflix's The Crown. • The 2024 series A Very Royal Scandal, which depicted the events surrounding the 2019 BBC interview between the then Prince Andrew and Emily Maitlis, featured Claire Rushbrook in the role of Ferguson. • She was portrayed by Natalie Dormer in the 2026 British drama series The Lady. • In March 2026, Ferguson was parodied by Emma Sidi in a Saturday Night Live UK cold open, in which she was depicted as an MI5 agent whose role was to make other members of the royal family appear more favourable by comparison. ==Titles, styles, honours and arms==

Titles and styles During her marriage, Ferguson was styled "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York". On 21 August 1996, letters patent issued by Elizabeth II declared that former wives of British princes, other than widows who did not remarry, were not entitled to the style of Her Royal Highness. Meanwhile, divorced peeresses (such as duchesses) cannot "claim the privileges or status of Peeresses which they derived from their husbands", but may continue to use the peeress title. The Royal Household referred to Ferguson as "Sarah, Duchess of York", but on at least two occasions (the announcements of the engagements of her daughters), she was referred to together with her former husband as "The Duke and Duchess of York". On 17 October 2025, following her former husband Andrew's agreement to cease using his peerage titles, it was reported that Ferguson would no longer use "Duchess of York" as a courtesy title. On 21 October, she removed the title from her social media page handles. Honours Academic honours • 1991–1995: University of Salford, Chancellor • 2016–2021: University of Huddersfield, Visiting professor of Philanthropreneurship Appointments • 1988: Honorary Freeman and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers Freedom of the City • 23 February 1987 – 26 March 2026: Freedom of the City of York Other honours and awards • The rose cultivar Rosa 'Duchess of York' was named in her honour in 1994. • In 1998, Ferguson received the ''Journal of Women's Health'' Award from Bernadine Healy. • In 2007, she received the ONE X ONE Difference Award for humanitarian work benefiting children worldwide, presented at the Toronto Film Festival. • In June 2019, she received the Inspiration of the Year Award at Hello!s Star Women Awards for her work with charity organisations, including Street Child. • In July 2022, she received the Global Humanitarian award at the 25th Magna Grecia Awards. • In April 2023, she received the Golden Heart Award at the Women Changing the World Awards for her humanitarian work. • In November 2023, she received the Red Cross International Award in recognition of her philanthropic activities. • In March 2024, The Independent included her on its "Influence List". Arms ==Bibliography==