Sarah Ferguson is 'divorced to' Prince Andrew and it's paying off for the Duchess of York with an increasingly prominent role in the Royal Family after years of loyalty to her embattled ex husband

• READ MORE: Andrew leads the Royal reserves: Duke heads into church ahead of Princess Anne and her husband – as Zara and Mike, Fergie and Beatrice are drafted in to flesh out the slimmed-down Monarchy

She was banished to the sidelines for years following her high profile divorce from Prince Andrew in 1996 – but now, Sarah Ferguson appears to be firmly back in the royal fold.

Indeed, the Duchess of York, 64, still affectionately known to most as Fergie, was invited to the King’s Coronation Concert in May and spent Christmas in Sandringham, where she walked alongside members of the Royal Family to church.

If that wasn’t enough to prove the mother of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie has been brought in from the cold, yesterday, she was front and centre at the memorial service for the late King Constantine of Greece at Windsor Castle.

In an extraordinary turnaround after he was banned from royal duties and stripped of his HRH and military titles by his mother the late Queen just two years ago, Andrew, 64, led the Firm into St George’s Chapel – and his ex-wife was right by his side.

‘Prince Andrew and the Yorks are firmly back in the fold,’ one royal watcher told MailOnline after the Duke and Duchess’ united display at the service.

The extraordinary reversal of fortune for Sarah – which would have been unthinkable if Prince Philip were still alive – has been credited to the King rewarding her loyalty and the Duchess finding a powerful advocate in Queen Camilla.

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson arriving at the memorial service for the late King Constantine of Greece at Windsor Castle

A source told The Mail On Sunday earlier this month: ‘There’s a feeling that, no matter what Sarah’s personal faults – and she can be like Marmite in that respect – she has been a good mother to the girls and loyal to Andrew.’

A friend of Charles’ echoed this sentiment, telling The Daily Mail’s Richard Kay in December: ‘[The King] has always prized allegiance and he appreciates all Fergie has done for his brother.

‘It may be an exaggeration to say she has been keeping him alive, but she has certainly been keeping him sane. Imagine what Andrew would be like without Sarah who, despite everything, is one of life’s optimists?’

In the four years since Andrew’s fall from grace over his links with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, no one has been more supportive than his ex-wife, who hasn’t shied away from publicly defending him.

The King – who softened his approach to Sarah last year – also admires the way the Duchess has gone about restoring her own reputation while keeping her family together.

It’s unlikely the Royal Family has forgotten the ‘toe-sucking’ pictures of Fergie, taken when she was on holiday with her Texan tycoon lover, nor the way in which she offered access to Andrew in exchange for cash and was caught in a newspaper sting.

But in recent times, the Duchess – who still lives with Andrew at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park in Berkshire – has found a powerful advocate in the King’s wife, who ‘likes Sarah’, according to a source.

The insider told the Mail On Sunday earlier this month: ‘They’re both gentry. They share a love of horses and Fergie will be smart enough to play the game with Camilla and realise she is the power behind the King. That she must be nice to them and support them.’

Sarah (pictured alongside Lena and Zara Tindall) spent Christmas in Sandringham, where she walked alongside members of the Royal Family to church

Sarah Ferguson (left) and Princess Beatrice (right) in the Royal Box viewing the Coronation Concert held in the grounds of Windsor Castle, Berkshire, to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in May, 2023

In December, the Duke and Duchess of York walked behind senior royals as crowds lined the road outside the St Mary Magdalene Church for the traditional Christmas Day service on the Norfolk estate.

It signalled the first time Fergie had joined the royals for the walk in 32 years, after being banned from attending by Prince Philip.

She was ‘beyond the pale’ as far as Philip was concerned, according to his biographer Gyles Brandreth, and ‘vulgar, vulgar, vulgar’ as one courtier memorably said.

For years, her ex-husband would take their daughters to Royal Family celebrations without Sarah. She was even left off the guest list for Prince William and Kate’s wedding in 2011, while the rest of her immediate family attended the glittering occasion.

In an interview with Town & Country in 2021, the Duchess revealed she herself felt she wasn’t ‘worthy’ of attending the event, and left the country.

‘I didn’t think I was probably worthy to go to their wedding. I took myself to Thailand, actually, to be far away from it so that I could try and heal,’ she said.

It is understood that the Duke of York (pictured alongside Sarah) was attending the service as a member of the British Royal Family and had been invited by the Greek Royal Family

Prince Andrew was seen leading members of the Royal Family at a service of thanksgiving at Windsor Castle for the late King Constantine of Greece

Filing behind Prince Andrew was Sarah, the Duchess of York, followed by Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, Zara and Mike Tindall, and Princess Anne

But attitudes towards Fergie softened slightly in 2018, when she was invited to Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle.

Then in May 2023, Sarah was invited to the Coronation Concert as a ‘VIP attendee’, according to reports by The Sun. Although she wasn’t allowed to attend the coronation itself; her daughters and Prince Andrew attended the historic Westminster Abbey event.

Meanwhile, Camilla was the most senior royal at the event for the late King Constantine of Greece yesterday, with her husband King Charles absent as his cancer treatment continues.

But after Prince William pulled out of the service at St George’s Chapel at the last minute for unspecified ‘personal reasons’ – Prince Andrew was left as the next most senior royal present, as he led others including Princess Anne and Zara and Mike Tindall on foot.

Phil Dampier told MailOnline: ‘It’s quite extraordinary that Prince Andrew and his former wife Sarah Ferguson were front and centre as they walked into the Chapel, almost like the old days.

‘Yes, it was a private family event but it was a large turnout of royals seen by the public.’

It is understood that the Duke of York was attending the service as a member of the British Royal Family and had been invited by the Greek Royal Family, and yesterday’s appearance was not an official royal engagement as such.

The service marked the first public event attended by the Duke since the Christmas Day service at Sandringham – and it came almost two years to the day from when he settled the sexual assault case filed against him by Virginia Giuffre, a sex slave victim of Andrew’s friend Jeffrey Epstein.

Sarah still lives with Andrew. For years, her ex-husband would take their daughters (pictured all together) to Royal Family celebrations without Sarah

The settlement was never disclosed but was estimated to be worth around £12million ($16.3million).

It spared him having to give evidence under oath at any trial in the US and there were claims that the Queen helped him pay for it. Andrew has vehemently and repeatedly denied all allegations against him.

The Duchess has consistently defended her ex-husband and branded him a ‘thoroughly good, very gentle man’ who ‘shines’ as a grandfather during an appearance on Lorraine in August 2021.

‘Prince Andrew is just such a good man, he’s a really thoroughly good man,’ she said during the TV interview.

‘He’s a very gentle man, he’s a really good father and we did co-parent very well, hence the reason our girls are very solid and have their feet on the ground.

‘But now as a grandfather he’s really good, he can go for hours talking about football, and those things. It’s a joy to see him really shine as a grandfather.’

In 2018, Sarah told the Daily Mail: ‘We’re the happiest divorced couple in the world. We’re divorced to each other, not from each other […] My duty is to him. I am so proud of him. I stand by him and always will. The way we are is our fairytale.’

Recently, speculation has mounted that the Duke and Duchess of York are thinking about marrying again.

The rumours came after Sarah revealed she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma just months after undergoing a second round of reconstructive surgery following her breast cancer diagnosis.

Despite a double health blow, the Duchess has maintained a business-as-usual approach, including posting on Instagram and attending events like yesterday’s.

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