Sarah Ferguson Andy Kropa/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
A new beginning. Sarah Ferguson opened up about how her life has changed in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
The queen dying has sort of liberated me a bit,” the Duchess of York shared in an interview with Entertainment Tonight published on Monday, March 6. “My sense of purpose has always been, for 62 years, 63 years, to be very loyal and to uphold Her Majesty’s values.”
The late monarch passed away at the age of 96 in September 2022. Noting that the queen was “more a mother to me than my own mother,” the My Story author added, “Now she’s not there anymore, I feel as though maybe I can be free to be Sarah. I feel as though I’m liberated from my own mental shackles.”
Ferguson’s history with the British royal family goes deep. She grew up alongside Prince Andrew before the pair reconnected as adults. They got engaged in 1985 and tied the knot one year later, welcoming daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie in 1988 and 1990, respectively.
Queen Elizabeth II Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock
Amid allegations that Andrew, 63, was unfaithful to his then-wife, the royal couple called it quits in 1992 after six years of marriage. The finalized their divorce in 1996.
The exes have remained friendly over the years, even after Andrew stepped back from his senior royal role in 2019. At the time, he denied Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s sexual assault accusations, as his connection to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein was called into question. Giuffre later filed a lawsuit against the prince in August 2021, and the case was settled for an unspecified sum in February 2022. Amid the drama, Andrew was stripped of his royal an military titles.
Ferguson — also known by the nickname “Fergie” — has been candid about her highs and lows with the royal family, but always respected her former mother-in-law, whom she called “an iconic legend” while chatting with ET. “I would be very ignorant if I did not study every time I was with Her Majesty, just ask questions … [I would ask], ‘How do you manage with a new prime minister? How do you manage to filter chaos as well as you do?’” she said on Monday. “I also thought how lucky I was ’cause every single moment I was with Her Majesty I felt such an honor … I have been the luckiest girl, I really have.”
The Finding Sarah writer had a special bond with the queen, but she admitted that a “switch” went off following her divorce from Andrew, allowing her to “feel free to be myself.” She stated: “The switch was I think realizing I had a career, and I wasn’t just the duchess, and that I’m a strong, redhead, and it’s OK to be strong, it’s OK to be very colorful and feisty.”
Queen Elizabeth II and Sarah Ferguson Duchess of York. Eddie Boldizsar/Shutterstock
When news broke of Elizabeth’s death in September 2022, Ferguson shared her condolences with the world. “I am heartbroken by the passing of Her Majesty the Queen,” she tweeted. “She leaves behind an extraordinary legacy: the most fantastic example of duty and service and steadfastness, and a constant steadying presence as our head of state for more than 70 years.”
She was in attendance at the late monarch’s funeral later that month, mourning alongside her ex-husband and their children. The service was held at Westminster Abbey in London, the same church Ferguson and Andrew were married.
The former spouses were later given custody of two of the queen’s Pembroke Welsh corgis. The A Most Intriguing Lady: A Novel author called inheriting the pets “a big honor” in an October 2022 interview with The Telegraph.