Why Sarah Ferguson joined the royals for their Christmas walkabout for the first time in years
Sarah Ferguson appears to be back in the royal family fold, decades after her divorce from Prince Andrew.
The Duchess of York, 64, surprised many when she was spotted with Andrew, 63, and the rest of the Firm on Christmas Day during their annual walkabout at St Mary Magdalene Church at Sandringham.
Ferguson — who is also affectionately known as Fergie — joined the Windsors for the holiday alongside her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, for the fist time since the ’90s.
According to “Charles III: New King. New Court” author Robert Hardman, the reason she was welcomed back for the Yuletide occasion was due to King Charles’ love for Beatrice, 35, and Eugenie, 33.
“Life moves on. I think it’s a sort of readjustment,” the royal author told the BBC, as reported by the Express Tuesday.
“The king in his [Christmas Day] speech [spoke] about compassion,” he went on.
The monarch, 75, released his yearly Christmas message on Monday, where he spoke about “doing unto others as you would have them do to you” and honored “selfless” people.
Hardman continued: “Fergie was out in the cold, if you like, really ever since the breakdown of her marriage back in the mid-’90s. And there she was yesterday.”
The disgraced Duke of York and the former Weight Watchers spokesmodel married in 1986 and divorced in 1992.
However, they have remained amicable friends and even co-habitate at their home, the Royal Lodge.
“She’s always been really close to her ex-husband, but particularly, I think, the king is very fond of his nieces, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. This is a way of showing that,” he said.
Beatrice and Eugenie also took the walk to church, alongside their respective husbands, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank.
Andrew was stripped of his royal titles in 2022 due to his affiliation with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
However, he still attended the holiday service with his family for the second year in a row since Charles became the sovereign.
Charles ascended to the throne in September 2022 after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. She was 96.
Andrew and his daughters have been rallying around Fergie ever since she was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year.
She revealed she was suffering from an early stage of the illness during a routine mammogram in June and has since undergone a mastectomy.
The TV personality spent recovery time with her family at the Royal Lodge and the surgery was successful due to the early diagnosis.
