Why Sarah Ferguson Got to Keep Her Duchess Title Despite Divorcing Prince Andrew
Sarah Ferguson continues to hold the title of Duchess of York despite her divorce from Prince Andrew nearly three decades ago. Her retention of her title reflects longstanding conventions within the British monarchy, where divorced royal wives can maintain courtesy titles but lose the honor of Her Royal Highness (HRH).
This mirrors the precedent set with Princess Diana, who became Diana, Princess of Wales, after her divorce from then-Prince Charles. On 21 August 1996, Queen Elizabeth II issued a letter patent clarifying this rule. Buckingham Palace explained at the time, “The Queen has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 21st August 1996 to declare that a former wife (other than a widow until she shall remarry) of a son of a Sovereign of these Realms, of a son of a son of a Sovereign and of the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales shall not be entitled to hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of Royal Highness.”
The change meant that both Diana and Ferguson lost their HRH status but retained courtesy titles, a protocol enshrined in law. Peerages, after all, can only be revoked through an Act of Parliament. Today, while Andrew, too, can no longer use his HRH after being stripped of his royal titles following the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, his daughters remain entitled to their royal styling.
Interestingly, while Ferguson and Andrew have gone their own ways, her post-divorce life is not too different than his, marked by controversies. In a recently unearthed 2011 email, the Duchess apologized to the disgraced financier, referring to him as a 'supreme friend,' after dissing him in public. This revelation led several charities to sever ties with her. Her spokesperson, James Henderson, defended the email in the Daily Mail, saying that it was sent after a “really menacing and nasty” phone call from Epstein, who allegedly had a “Hannibal Lecter-type voice.” The email, Henderson said, was intended as a protective measure for her family amid his 'chilling' threats.
Following the backlash, Ferguson claims the email was a desperate attempt to shield her daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, from Epstein’s insistence on suing her for defamation. Her spokesperson explained, “The pressure she was put under to protect her family must have been huge,” also noting that this came “long before the Duke’s life had been ruined by his association with Epstein.” He added that “her family and her children will always come first.”