Sarah Ferguson says the ‘spotlight’ needs to ‘come off’ Prince Andrew

Ferguson still lives with Prince Andrew even though they divorced in 1996

Sarah Ferguson has said that the spotlight needs to “come off” Prince Andrew in order for him to “rebuild” his life.

Prince Andrew was accused of sexual abuse by Virginia Giuffre, who claims that she was trafficked by convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The duke has vehemently denied the allegations and claimed he never met Giuffre.

He lost his HRH and royal titles as a result of the allegations and has not been a working royal since 2020.

Sarah Ferguson, 63, who still lives with Prince Andrew and has remained close to him since they divorced in 1996, appeared on Thursday’s (20 April) instalment of Good Morning Britain.

The Duchess of York, also known to the public as Fergie, told the ITV hosts that the spotlight “needs to come off” the disgraced royal to allow him to “rebuild” his life following the sexual abuse allegations.

“With Prince Andrew, he’s such a good man. He’s a kind good man,” she said.

“And I think the spotlight needs to come off him and let him get on with his life to rebuild.”

She added that he is a “very good grandfather” to his grandchildren, the children of Princess Beatrice and Eugenie.

Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew at their wedding in 1986 (Getty Images)

It comes as The Independent has learnt that Fergie will not be attending the King’s coronation.

The King and Queen Consort’s decision not to invite her means that Fergie will not be seated next to her daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, who are 10th and 11th in line to the throne.

Royal commentator Ingrid Stewart told The Independent that the decision to not invite Fergie is “not a matter of personal preference but protocol”.

“Fergie has not been invited to any official royal events since her divorce. As the ex-wife she would not expect to be invited,” she said.

In an interview with The Independent, published on Wednesday 5 April, the Duchess of York shared her thoughts on King Charles’s reign.

“I don’t know how he’s managing. I really don’t,” she said, addressing Charles’s workload ahead of the coronation on 6 May.

“We used to go skiing together,” she said. “And I honestly have no idea how he’s managing with the amount of paperwork and all the overwhelming things he must have to deal with.”