Why Leaving Royal Lodge Could Be the 'Beginning of the End' for Andrew and Sarah’s Relationship
For over three decades, Sarah Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten Windsor have been together through storms and scandals. Divorced for longer than they were married, the pair continued to stay together under the same roof at Royal Lodge. But with the disgraced royal's eviction from the Estate now confirmed, many close to the former couple believe this could finally be the 'beginning of the end' of their long, complicated bond.
What began as a fairy-tale romance didn't last long. The wedding of Sarah and Andrew in 1986 at Westminster Abbey was one of the biggest spectacles of the decade. Fergie later described it as "the happiest day of [her] life." However, their union was short-lived. With Mountbatten Windsor deployed with the Navy, gone for months on end, and Fergie chafing under scrutiny, the cracks widened fast. Royal author Phil Dampier explained to HELLO!, "He was away...She got very bored, very quickly, and found constant scrutiny much harder than she thought."
And by 1992, the marriage was over, and four years later, the divorce. But, instead of parting ways completely, the couple remained close; close enough that by 2008, Ferguson had moved back into Royal Lodge. The living arrangement back then did manage to raise some eyebrows, but Fergie dismissed the speculation. “My duty is to him. I am so proud of him. I stand by him and always will,” she told the Daily Mail in 2018. She stressed, “Although we are not a couple, we really believe in each other. The Yorks are a united family.”
And as per Dampier, it suited them. “It suited them initially with the children, then they just got stuck in a groove — can’t live with each other, can’t live without each other. They’ve been bolted together through their mutual sort of lifestyles.” Fergie’s finances, often in flux, made it easier for her to put up in Royal Lodge, while Andrew benefited from the presence of a steady companion amid his own growing controversies. “Fergie got a roof over her head,” Dampier noted, “And Andrew had the stability of family life while enjoying his freedom.”
However, that arrangement was well and good until Andrew’s scandalous past caught up with him. It started fraying as soon as dicey correspondences with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein started resurfacing, and the call for them to leave Royal Lodge grew louder. "They've both been involved in scandal," Dampier added. "It's a kind of mutual survival — welded together by self-interest, and possibly bringing out the worst in each other."
But the latest developments have forced an unavoidable reckoning. On October 17, Andrew announced he would no longer use his titles or honors. Less than two weeks later, Buckingham Palace confirmed that King Charles had formally removed his styles, titles, and privileges. And now it is reported that he will be moving to a property on the Sandringham estate, which is privately funded. Meanwhile, Fergie is said to be making her own arrangements for new accommodation. For a couple whose post-divorce lives have been inextricably linked for decades, this is a profound change in course.