Experts explain why Sarah Ferguson has not been invited to coronation
‘Sarah Ferguson wasn’t invited to the coronation because it would have provoked criticism – which Charles doesn’t need’: Experts say Fergie ‘is not a member of the Royal Family’ and suggest her presence would have ’embarrassed’ the monarch
- Sarah, Duchess of York is not expected to attend Charles’s coronation on May 6
- But Prince Andrew and their daughters Beatrice and Eugenie are set to be there
King Charles decided to not invite Sarah Ferguson to his coronation because she is an ’embarrassment’ and no longer a member of the Royal Family, experts claim.
The 63-year-old Duchess of York, nicknamed ‘Fergie’, still lives with her ex-husband Prince Andrew at the Windsor mansion of Royal Lodge despite their divorce in 1996.
But she is now not expected to attend the coronation at Westminster Abbey on May 6 – despite Andrew and their daughters Beatrice and Eugenie all set to be there.
Royal commentator Tom Bower told MailOnline today that Sarah had excluded herself because of her previous ‘conduct’, adding that her presence would ‘provoke critical comment which Charles doesn’t need’.
And royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams praised the ‘extremely wise’ decision from the King because she has been an ’embarrassment to the Royal Family for many years’.
Sarah, Duchess of York and Prince Andrew attend Ascot Racecourse together in June 2019
Camilla, King Charles III, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew at Windsor Castle on April 9
Sarah, Duchess of York and then-Prince Charles kiss after a polo match in Windsor in June 1986
The report in The Independent about Sarah’s lack of invite has not been confirmed as yet, with Buckingham Palace not responding to MailOnline’s request for comment.
Who will be attending the King’s coronation?
More than 2,000 guests will gather at Westminster Abbey on May 6 for the nation’s first coronation in 70 years.
As King Charles III is the reigning monarch, Prince William is now heir to the throne – with him and Kate now set to play important roles in the event.
Prince George has also been handed a notable role in proceedings, as one of Charles’s four Pages of Honour.
George will be required to carry the King’s robes with three other Pages of Honour – schoolboys Lord Oliver Cholmondeley, 13, Nicholas Barclay, 13, and Ralph Tollemache, 12. All three are sons of His Majesty’s friends.
Camilla has made her three grandsons – twins Gus and Louis Lopes, 13, and Freddy Parker Bowles, 12, as well as her great-nephew, Arthur Elliot, 11 – Pages of Honour as she is crowned Queen.
Prince Harry will attend, but his wife Meghan Markle will remain in the US with their children Archie and Lilibet.
Prince Andrew is also expected to attend with his daughters Eugenie and Beatrice, but his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York is not set to be there.
Heads of state and representatives from a number of key British allies and Commonwealth nations are also expected to be part of the guest list.
These include leaders from Ireland, France, Spain, Belgium, Japan, Hungary and Monaco. All three presidents of the European Union – Ursula von der Leyen, Roberta Metsola and Charles Michel – will attend.
Foreign dignitaries are also set to include First Lady Jill Biden – but her husband, Joe Biden, will not be there.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata will attend, but Cabinet ministers will be denied a ‘plus one’.
But the apparent decision has surprised some royal watchers – with Meghan Markle’s friend Omid Scobie tweeting: ‘If true, this feels kinda cruel, no?’
And it comes after royal officials revealed on Wednesday that Prince Harry will be at the coronation but his wife will stay back in California with the couple’s children Archie and Lilibet.
Speaking about the absence of Sarah, Mr Bower said she will be left out ‘because she is not a member of the Royal Family’.
He added that she had excluded herself ‘by her past conduct’, saying: ‘Her presence would provoke critical comment which Charles doesn’t need.’
Among Sarah’s most embarrassing moments was when photographs were published showing her having her toes sucked by her financial advisor John Bryan at her holiday villa in St Tropez, while they were also seen kissing, embracing and frolicking in the pool.
She was also said to have had a rift with her once good friend, Princess Diana, after she claimed she got a verruca after borrowing a pair of her shoes. They were reportedly still not speaking at the time of Diana’s death in 1997.
And in 2010 she apologised after being secretly recorded offering to sell access to Andrew in return for £500,000.
Today, Mr Fitzwilliams told MailOnline: ‘The decision not to invite Sarah Ferguson is extremely wise and to be welcomed. She has been an embarrassment to the royal family for many years.
‘Time and again she gives embarrassing interviews, there seems no end to it.
‘There are times when a dignified silence is required which she seems incapable of.’
Sarah did attend the Queen’s funeral at Westminster Abbey last September, but was not one of the 30 guests for Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021.
She was not invited to Prince William and Kate’s wedding in 2011, saying she went on holiday to Thailand instead – but did attend Harry and Meghan’s marriage at St George’s Chapel in Windsor in May 2018.
Speaking about the coronation, one of Sarah’s friends told the Independent: ‘She has been hugely supportive of Charles and Camilla and does not want this to become about her.
Sarah, Duchess of York (centre, left) posted a picture in May 2020 of her with Prince Andrew (centre, right) and their daughters Princess Eugenie (far right) and Princess Beatrice (far left)
Princesses Beatrice (left) and Eugenie at the Easter Sunday service in Windsor on April 9
‘The whole day is about the new King and the success of his reign but she has always championed the royal family and the Queen undoubtedly would have wanted her to be there.’
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Her lack of coronation invite comes despite Andrew turning up at the Easter Service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, although her ex-husband is still excluded from most of life within the Royal Family.
Sarah herself has also had something of a renaissance in recent months, having been invited to join King Charles and other senior royals at Sandringham at Christmas, as well as looking after the late Queen’s corgis.
She was also a favourite of the late Queen and they were known to spend plenty of time together including walks at Windsor Park.
They knew each other before Sarah’s marriage to Andrew because her father Major Ronald Ferguson was the royal polo manager.
Last month Sarah revealed during a chat with Glamour editor Samantha Barry that she had not received an invitation to the coronation – joking that it was ‘TBD’ whether she would end up going.
‘The invitations haven’t gone out yet. Have they?’ she asked when questioned whether she plans to go.
Sarah also insisted that a lack of invitation did not bother her, saying: ‘Well I’ve decided the best thing about being British around a coronation – although I’ve never been to one – I think we should, I should set up a tea room at the bottom of the drive with bunting and cakes.’
Just over a week ago she spoke of her continued sadness at the Queen’s death but also her admiration for Charles.
Royal experts Tom Bower (left) and Richard Fitzwilliams (right) have spoken about Fergie
Charles speaks with Sarah during Princess Eugenie’s wedding in Windsor in October 2018
In an interview to promote her new historical fiction book ‘A Most Intriguing Lady’, Sarah told OK! magazine: ‘I have known both the King and the Queen Consort since I was a child.
READ MORE — Royals ‘have no interest in talking to Prince Harry beyond basic greetings’
‘I think if you look at the King’s track record in areas like the environment, where he was decades ahead of his time, and the Prince’s Trust, it’s clear what an extraordinary man he is and how fortunate we are to have him on the throne.
‘I also admire the way the Queen Consort has worked tirelessly in areas like literacy and domestic violence.’
While speaking to Royal Central to promote her new book, Sarah also revealed that she is considering writing another autobiography.
Fergie has already written two memoirs of her own – the first being My Story, published in 1996 just months after her divorce from Andrew was finalised.
She then wrote Finding Sarah, which came out in 2011 after another bout of financial woes.
Any new autobiography is likely to cover more recent years, including the period around Andrew’s very public fall from grace.
Despite the pair having been divorced for nearly 30 years they are still said to remain best friends and live together.
It has been rumoured that Andrew is also considering putting his own side of recent events down in print – but sources close to the disgraced royal have denied this.
Sarah, Duchess of York has recently been on a publicity tour to promote her new historical fiction book ‘A Most Intriguing Lady’. She is pictured in conversation in New York on March 6
Sarah, Duchess of York (centre) with Jack Brooksbank (left) and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (right) at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in London on September 19, 2022
Yesterday, Buckingham Palace ended months of speculation when it confirmed Harry will be a guest at Westminster Abbey, despite his troubled relationship with his family, though Meghan will stay in the US and miss Charles’s big day.
READ MORE — King Charles attends Sandhurst for 200th Sovereign’s Parade
The King’s second son, who moved to California after stepping down as a senior working royal, is currently taking legal action against the Home Office over his security arrangements in the UK.
More than 2,000 guests will gather at the Abbey on May 6 to witness the nation’s first coronation for 70 years, with foreign dignitaries set to include First Lady Jill Biden.
A mass police presence will be out in force on the streets of central London as well-wishers flock to the capital to see the King, Camilla and the royal family take part in a grand carriage procession and make an appearance on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.
Harry’s stay in the UK will be brief, with the duke heading quickly back to California to join the celebrations for Prince Archie’s fourth birthday, which coincides with the day of the coronation.
The duke will only be attending the ceremony and not taking part in other coronation festivities during the three-day bank holiday weekend.
A concert is being staged at Windsor Castle on Sunday May 7, with people also encouraged to come together across the country for a Coronation Big Lunch, while on Monday May 8, the focus is a Big Help Out volunteering drive.
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