If Charles III. will be crowned king at Westminster Abbey in London on May 6th, hundreds of millions of people around the world will watch the event live on TV screens. A person will probably be sitting in front of the receiver who actually expected to be among the 2,000 guests in the church: Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson.
As several British media reports unanimously, the former wife of Charles’ brother Prince Andrew is said to have received no invitation to the coronation. “She can’t expect to be at the top of the royal hierarchy,” royal expert Phil Dampier told The Sun.
A bitter pill for Ferguson. Because the 63-year-old has known the king since childhood. Through her marriage to Prince Andrew, she was welcomed into the royal family and became the new king’s sister-in-law. By the way, the wedding ceremony took place in 1986 exactly at the place where Charles III. officially crowned in four weeks: Westminster Abbey.
But that’s no use to “Fergie”. While her ex-husband and her two daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, who are 10th and 11th in line to the throne, are allowed to sit on the pews, the Duchess of York has to watch the spectacle from afar.
For many observers, the fact that the guest list was not included comes as a surprise – Fergie was present at the Queen’s funeral last September, and she also spent Christmas with the royal family in Sandringham for the first time in 30 years.
But for his coronation, Charles apparently felt compelled to draw a clear line. “Space is limited and some tough decisions had to be made,” explains expert Dampier. The breakup with Prince Andrew was just too far ago.
Sarah Ferguson herself seems to take her eviction sportily. “She has always supported Charles and Camilla and doesn’t want this to be about her,” the Independent quoted a friend of the Duchess as saying.
Sources used: “The Sun”, “The Independent”
