Sarah Ferguson’s Father Blamed Prince Andrew For Divorce, Palace For ‘Gossiping,’ ‘Backbiting’

Sarah Ferguson’s father, Major Ronald Ferguson, blamed Prince Andrew for the breakdown of his daughter’s marriage in 1996.

The Duke and Duchess of York tied the knot in 1986, but they announced their separation just six years later. And after another six years, the couple officially divorced.

While speaking with Daily Mail, the Duchess of York’s father revealed that he already figured out that not everything is going well in Sarah and Prince Andrew’s marriage after Princess Eugenie was born. The royal couple’s youngest child was born on March 23, 1990.

“Things wouldn’t have gone wrong if he had been around more,” he said.

But Ronald didn’t put the blame solely on Prince Andrew. He said that the palace courtiers seemingly added insult to injury because of their constant gossiping and backbiting.

Meanwhile, the Duchess of York also blamed Prince Andrew’s absence for the fall out of their marriage. After giving birth to Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, Fergie no longer spent as much time with her husband.

In fact, during a previous interview with Mirror, she said that she only got the palace after tying the knot with Prince Andrew but not her husband.

Ferguson also revealed in her autobiography “My Story” that she and Prince Andrew had been discussing their plans to separate during the first few months of 1992. However, this wasn’t because the royal couple stopped caring for one another but because she had already reached the end of her rope.

“For six years I had shouldered the demands of Palace life. I’d endured the constant scrutiny of the British press and the barely veiled hostility of the royal household, the courtiers who run the show. Gradually, relentlessly, they had beaten me down. They were killing me by inches. It was time to save my life,” she said.

At present, Ferguson and Prince Andrew are still friends. In fact, they still live at the Royal Lodge together.