Brutal royal reality that destroyed Fergie and Andrew's marriage

23 July 2023 , 12:04

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The couple divorced in 1996 (Image: Getty Images)

On what would have been their 37th wedding anniversary, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson are a model example of an amicable separation as they are still close friends.

What's more is that they still live together at Royal Lodge on the Windsor Estate. Their set-up may appear strange to some people, but they have been dubbed “the happiest divorced couple in the world” by their eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice.

Sarah echoed her daughter in an interview, saying: "We always say we are the most contented divorced couple in the world. We’re divorced to each other, not from each other."

Fergie opened up about her marriage (Getty)

While they married in a fairy tale ceremony at Westminster Abbey on July 23, 1986, the realities of marrying into the royal family and to someone dedicated to their career in the Royal Navy soon hit home.

Speaking to US TV host Ernie Manouse in 2010, Sarah said: "My deal was that I was marrying my man, who happened to be a prince and a naval officer."

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But what I got was not the man, I got the palace and didn't get him. For our marriage, I saw him 40 days a year."

Prince Andrew was in the Royal Navy (Getty Images)

Fergie admitted how little she saw her husband (Getty)

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The couple announced their separation in 1992 and finalised their divorce four years later in 1996.

In a piece for the Sunday Times, Sarah explained why she continues to stay at Royal Lodge with her ex-husband, saying: "I travel a lot and I've always been able to make wherever I am home.

"If I am staying in a hotel I have the same family photographs and scented candles around me.

"When I'm in the UK I'm lucky enough to stay at Royal Lodge. I wouldn't call it my home as that would be presumptuous," she added.

Sarah still lives at Royal Lodge whenever she is in the UK (2023 Getty Images)

In an interview with US TV show Good Morning America in 2021, Sarah called Andrew a "great man" and said their wedding day was "the best day of [her] life".

"He is a great man and [our wedding day] was the best day of my life," she said.

"I would do it all over again because he was a very good-looking sailor, but I fell in love with him and I think love conquers all."

Rebecca Russell