After 20 years, Fergie’s back on Court Circular

DESPITE applying to become a permanent Swiss resident, Fergie’s journey back to the heart of the Royal Family seems to be gathering pace.

Sarah, Duchess of York has been included in the Court Circular for what is thought to be the first time in almost 20 years. Fergie, 56, featured in the list of royal engagements because she attended an event last month as the official representative of Prince Andrew, even though they divorced in 1996.

He could not attend the memorial service, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Mayfair, for businessman Sebastian de Ferranti, who died last autumn. ‘It’s a reflection of the fact that the Duchess has remained good friends with the Duke of York since their divorce,’ one of her friends tells me.

The last time that Fergie is believed to have been included in the Court Circular, which is approved personally by the Queen, was when she attended Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997.

Although Sarah and Andrew had divorced, they continued to share a house, Royal Lodge in Windsor, and jointly bought a £13 million ski lodge in the Alps last year.

It is said that Fergie’s return to the royal fold is being helped by the Duchess of Cornwall. Earlier this month, I disclosed that Sarah (pictured) was restored to her previous place among the guests of honour at events held by the Elephant Family charity.

She had been dropped after Prince Charles and Camilla became its royal presidents in 2014.

However, she was reinstated after apparently impressing the Duchess of Cornwall with her work for the charity, which was co- founded by Camilla’s late brother, Mark Shand. 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 Philip when the snaps emerged.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman says: ‘It is usual practice that whenever a member of the Royal Family is represented at a memorial service, the person who represents them is named in the Court Circular.’