Camilla helps bring outcast Fergie back into royal fold
SINCE divorcing Prince Andrew 20 years ago, the Duchess of York has been persona non grata at royal gatherings — she was even forced to stay in a farm house on the Sandringham estate while her daughters spent Christmas with the Queen.
Now, however, there seems to be a thawing of relations between Fergie and the royals, with the Duchess of Cornwall apparently helping to bring her in from the cold.
I can disclose that the former Sarah Ferguson was dropped from the guest list at events held by a charity of which she has been patron since 2008 — Elephant Family — after Prince Charles and Camilla became its royal presidents in 2014.
‘Sarah’s name used to be first on the list at Elephant Family events but, as soon as Charles and Camilla got involved, she was dropped like a stone,’ a source close to the charity tells me. ‘It was really striking.’
Fergie, 56, was conspicuous by her absence at a reception Charles and Camilla hosted for the charity at Clarence House in 2015.
However, this year Fergie has been restored to her previous place among the guests of honour after apparently impressing the Duchess of Cornwall
with her work for the charity, which was co-founded by Camilla’s late brother, Mark Shand, in 2002.
‘It’s true that Sarah was dropped from the guest list after the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall became presidents, because of the sensitivities involved,’ confirms one of the Duchess of York’s f riends. ‘ She came to an agreement with the charity that her name would not appear. She did not want to embarrass anyone.
‘However, since then Camilla has been very impressed by Sarah’s work for the charity.’ Sarah’s ostracism by the Royal Family is said to have been led by Prince Philip, who was appalled when pictures were published of her having her toes sucked by her financial adviser John Bryan in 1992. To add to the embarrassment, Fergie was staying at Balmoral with the Queen and Prince Philip when the snaps emerged. A spokesman for Elephant Family says: ‘The Duchess of York’s support for our work has always been hugely appreciated.’