They might be royalty they’re not exempt from the stressful family politics that come with organising a wedding.
And now, a new report from the Mail On Sunday reveals Sarah Ferguson and Prince Philip’s long-running feud will have to be expertly managed at Princess Eugenie’s upcoming nuptials to Jack Brooksbank in October.
Sources close to the waring royals worry that if the pair aren’t kept away from each other, it could all boil over on what should be the happiest day of Princess Eugenie’s life.
Columnist Kate Hind admitted there would “family friction” at the wedding and referenced a recent example showing just how much Fergie and her former father-in-law go to great lengths to avoid one another.
Last weekend, Sarah Ferguson and Prince Philip reportedly timed their visits to Balmoral to ensure there was no overlap.
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Prince Philip reportedly cut off Fergie after that toe-sucking scandal.
According to the Mail on Sunday, the 58-year-old children’s author arrived for her annual stay at The Queen’s country estate in Scotland with Prince Andrew and their daughter Princess Beatrice, 30, on Thursday.
On Sunday, Sarah left the property at 10:30am for Aberdeen airport and in a sign of a carefully managed execution, Prince Philip, 97, arrived to Balmoral that same morning at 11:15am.
“Her Majesty often has the Duchess for a few days at Balmoral early in her annual summer holiday there, but Prince Philip does not like being in the same building as her. He just can’t bring himself to forgive her for some of the outrageous things she has done,” a source explained to the new outlet.
As for the palace, they insist Prince Philip simply had a prior “private engagement” that kept him returning to Balmoral any earlier.
The royal cold shoulder: “Prince Philip does not like being in the same building as her. He just can’t bring himself to forgive her for some of the outrageous things she has done,” a source tells the Mail on Sunday.
It’s well-known in royal circles that Prince Philip isn’t a fan of his Prince Andrew’s ex-wife but despite the beef, Andrew and Fergie remain the friendliest of exes.
Following Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s separation, the tabloids had a field day when paparazzi shots of Fergie sunbathing topless emerged as well as some infamous pictures of John Bryan, an American financial manager, sucking her toes. She was also caught on camera accepting money from an undercover reporter in exchange for promising access to Prince Andrew.
And while the Duke of York forgave her for her indiscretion, the rest of the royals weren’t so forgiving.
Royal correspondent James Whitaker said Prince Philip once described the Duchess of York as “having no point” and she was not invited to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding day in 2011.
Speaking to talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, she said, “It was so difficult. Because I wanted to be there with my girls and to be getting them dressed and to go as a family. And it was also hard because the last bride up that aisle was me.”
Philip may not be a Fergie fan, but the royals have gradually welcomed her back into the fold.
Despite her scandal-prone past, in May she was welcomed back into the royal fold after landing an invite to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding ceremony at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and the lunchtime reception. However, she was not invited to the third and final act – the evening reception at Frogmore House.
“Numbers are limited to the evening party, she is not a member of the Royal Family any more and Prince Charles doesn’t have time for her,” an insider told the Daily Mail at the time.
“He just can’t see why she is still such a big part of his brother’s life.”
But for this royal wedding, Fergie will be front and centre as she celebrates the first of her daughters to get married. We can’t wait to see the dynamic between Fergie and the royals on the day!
There’s set to be a lot of “family friction” on the day!
