Sarah Ferguson, however, has somehow managed to gracefully navigate her place in the British institution despite divorcing Prince Andrew in 1996.
Riding the line between royalty and regular person, the Duchess of York is still a strong supporter of her former husband, even though his ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein caused him to step back from his royal duties in November 2019.
Ferguson recently commented on Prince Andrew to People while promoting her debut novel, Her Heart for a Compass: “Whatever challenges he has, I will stand firm to the co-parents that we are together . . . I believe that he’s a kind, good man, and he’s been a fabulous father to the girls.”
Ferguson and Andrew share two adult daughters, Princess Beatrice, 32, and Princess Eugenie, 31, and a new grandson, Eugenie’s 5-month-old August.
Prince Andrew was forced to step out of the limelight since he became associated with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. But he's ready to return!https://t.co/toSUSBO5zP
— SheKnows (@SheKnows) April 12, 2021
Though Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, the Englishman has long been dogged by a photo he appears in with Victoria Roberts Giuffre and Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Giuffre has since attested that the photo was taken while she was being trafficked and kept by Epstein and Maxwell as an underage “sex slave,” and she has specifically alleged that Prince Andrew assaulted her in that time period.
“I think the most important thing in life is familyhood,” she told The Sun of her ex then.
For his part, Prince Andrew has admitted that he “regretted” his friendship with Epstein and only remained friends because he was “too honorable” to do otherwise.
Our mission at SheKnows is to empower and inspire women, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.