Sarah Ferguson sympathizes with King Charles III over the amount of work he has to do being a monarch while dealing with the strained relationship between his sons Prince William and Prince Harry.
The Duchess of York talked about family dynamics in an interview with Charlotte Cripps for The Independent. She opened up about having to deal with her own family crisis when her ex-husband, Prince Andrew, was charged with sexual abuse by Virginia Roberts Giuffre and scorned by the public over his friendship with the late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
But instead of abandoning the Duke of York, she stuck by his side and supported him throughout his ordeal. She and their daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, remained supportive as the press and the public continued to shame the duke. “The three of us have helped their father through a very tricky time,” she said adding that she also owed the late Queen Elizabeth II her gratitude for her support.
“And don’t forget also that his mum was amazing. The Queen and I, when she was alive, we both bookended him to help him through this.” Ferguson takes pride in her family saying, “So, we’re a very strong family unit. No one can break the York family.”
The Duchess of York has been very public about her support for her ex-husband, with whom she still remains on friendly terms. She once admitted that she believes him to be innocent and will continue “to stand very firmly by Andrew as a very good and kind man.”
She reiterated the same comments about Prince Andrew in her interview with Cripps, saying that she “married a wonderful, very kind and a very good man.” She said she “fell in love with him. And therefore, nothing was unsurmountable.”
During the same interview, Ferguson also talked about the stress King Charles III must be under being the new monarch and having to deal with his two warring sons. The topic of Prince Harry’s strained relationship with his brother Prince William came up, to which the Duchess of York admitted that she does not know how His Majesty is coping as a parent saying, “I don’t know how he’s managing. I really don’t.”
She added, “We used to go skiing together. And I honestly have no idea how he’s managing with the amount of paperwork and all the overwhelming things he must have to deal with.” Prince Harry and Prince William have not been on friendly terms since Megxit in 2020 and their strained relationship was made even worse following the duke’s explosive Oprah interview in March 2021.
They had to put their differences aside and appear civil towards each other during the funeral events for Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. But in his interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby in January this year to promote his memoir “Spare,” the 38-year-old admitted that he is no longer on speaking terms with his brother and father.
He said his family may never forgive him for the things he wrote in his book. But he is glad to finally be able to share his truth and tell his life story himself to contradict what the British tabloids have written about him.
Prince Harry is expected to reunite with Prince William and the rest of the royals at King Charles III’s coronation on May 6. He has received an email invite but he, and Meghan Markle, have yet to accept the invitation. The date also falls on their son Prince Archie’s fourth birthday so it is unclear if they will stay in California to celebrate his milestone or travel to London for the ceremony.