Sarah Ferguson’s family ‘unsure’ on marriage to Prince Andrew, royal expert claims

Andrew Lownie alleged the Duchess of York’s family were “not sure” about the match

A royal expert has claimed Sarah Ferguson’s family were originally “not sure” about her marriage to Prince Andrew.

The mother of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie was with Andrew for 10 years, before the pair parted ways in 1996. While their marriage was no longer binding per contract, the two actually continued to live together in Royal Lodge in Windsor.

Both Andrew and Sarah actually still live together, with the two once declaring themselves as “happiest divorced couple in the world.”

However, it seems the Duchess of York, who turns 66 today was once at odds with her family who allegedly questioned the match.

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Andrew Lownie, royal biographer, has made the explosive claims after delving into the relationship between Andrew and Sarah in his book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York.

According to Mr Lownie, Sarah’s family were not all that sure if Sarah really loved Andrew at the start of their relationship – or if she just really liked the idea of being a royal.

He wrote: “Even Sarah’s own family were not sure about the relationship. She’s either in love with Andrew or in love with the Royal Family and I think it’s the latter.”

Even Fergie was allegedly alarmed by the speed of the relationship, as the couple had only met for the first time at Ascot in June 1985, and were engaged to be married less than a year later, the Mirror reported.

One friend of the Duchess of York even told Mr Lownie: “While she was enormously happy, she was petrified about what she was letting herself in for.”

Buckingham Palace announced their engagement on February 19, 1986, and the pair married on July 23, 1986, at Westminster Abbey in front of the entire royal family, and floods of royal fans.

Despite the happy occasion of their wedding day, not everyone in the Firm was overjoyed to welcome newcomer Fergie into the royal fold.

The author added: “There were mixed feelings in the Royal Family. They had known Ferguson all her life as she was part of royal circles and shared their interests in outdoor pursuits, in dogs, horses, even charades. Compared to Diana, she was easy-going and clearly made Andrew happy, but according to a well-connected source: Fergie couldn’t stop talking, and inappropriately.”

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“There were also concerns that there might be scandals in her private life,” Lownie said.

Lownie explained that Prince Andrew was “feeling under pressure from his family to settle down” and was “driven by a strong physical attraction to Ferguson and loneliness.”

Sarah and Andrew had a famously tumultuous relationship, culminating in their separation in 1992 followed by a divorce in 1996. Despite their difficult relationship, the Duke and Duchess of York still live together in the Royal Lodge in Windsor.