Prince William and Princess Kate's wedding was a great cause of celebration for royal watchers across the country, but there was one senior royal who viewed the regal proceedings through slightly more jaded eyes.
Sarah Ferguson, Prince William's aunt, was not invited to the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, from which 'ordinary' girl Kate emerged a fully-fledged princess and future Queen of England. It made for a spectacle straight out of a fairytale but for Fergie, whose own marriage ended in scandal and divorce, the sight evoked a feeling of 'great regret' as she remembered her own time as a young bride entering The Firm.
The Duchess of York, now 65, had known her now ex-husband Prince Andrew since childhood when they would reportedly play tag together. They were reintroduced as adults by her future sister-in-law Princess Diana, who rightly predicted they would get along famously, and suggested the future duchess be invited to a Royal Ascot party at Windsor Castle in the summer of 1985.
A whirlwind romance ensued, and in February 1986, Prince Andrew popped the question at Floors Castle in Scotland. They were married that summer, at Westminster Abbey, and just as they would one day do for Kate, the public turned out in droves to wish the 25-year-old redhead well.
Sadly, it's now a day mum-of-two Fergie looks back on through a bittersweet lens - knowing full well the dramatic twists and turns that awaited her smitten younger self.
Image:
Getty Images)Image:
Getty Images)Speaking on the US-based TV show, The Daily, Fergie, revealed that William and Kate's wedding had triggered 'great soul searching on regret'. She explained: "I was that bride and at 25 years old, I went down the aisle of Westminster Abbey."
Looking back on how her life has changed in the decades since, Fergie reflected: "If I, being me now, could go back to that young girl when I was 24, I would say to her, 'You know what? I will stick with you. I will stay with you. I'm with you…. You don't need to run around trying to get everyone to love you. I love you, i.e. yourself, myself'."
She continued: "'You've got me. Listen to me. I will guide you. Listen to your instincts Sarah and be aware of your behaviour and be aware of how lucky you are. You've got the world. You've got the best-looking prince. You've got the world at your feet. Don't blow it'."
The first few years of married life appeared to be happy ones, with the couple welcoming their first daughter Princess Beatrice in 1988, and second daughter Princess Eugenie in 1990. However, Andrew's Royal Navy schedule took its toll and, in her 2011 book Finding Sarah: A Duchess's Journey to Find Herself, Fergie admitted she only saw her new husband forty days a year for the first five years of their marriage.
She wrote: "We rarely saw each other, and you cannot build a foundation without the bricks and mortar of togetherness and communication."
Image:
AFP/Getty Images)In 1992, a famously turbulent year in the history of the British Royal family, Andrew and Fergie announced their separation. The duke and duchess eventually finalised their divorce in 1996, with Fergie keen to strike out on her own and earn a living. They still remain firm friends, however, even living together at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park with some of the late Queen Elizabeth's beloved corgis.
Fergie said: "We always say we are the most contented divorced couple in the world. We're divorced to each other, not from each other."
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com.
English (US) ·