Queen Elizabeth was reportedly deeply disappointed. Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson moved toward divorce. A swirl of scandal and erratic behavior pushed the Royal Family into crisis mode.
The breakdown of Andrew and Fergie’s marriage accelerated, according to royal biographer Andrew Lownie. This occurred after scandalous photos emerged. The photos showed Ferguson vacationing with Texan oil tycoon Steve Wyatt. The images reportedly horrified the Queen, who immediately ordered Ferguson to cut off all contact with Wyatt.
That warning, however, was ignored.
Fergie later told a close friend, Madame Vasso, that she believed the fallout was part of a plot against her. She reportedly feared the Royal Family was trying to discredit her as mentally unstable. She was also afraid they would take her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, away.
Things soon spiraled further.
After learning the photos had leaked, Ferguson allegedly suffered a dramatic meltdown on a flight back to the UK. Lownie wrote that she threw a wet flannel at her father’s partner, Lesley Player, who was seated across the aisle. Towels and tissues reportedly flew through the cabin, followed by peanuts, sugar packets, and bread rolls. At one point, she allegedly cut eyeholes into an airsickness bag, put it over her head, and pretended to make phone calls.
Within days, the situation reached breaking point.
The Queen convened an urgent family summit at Sandringham on January 26, 1992. Senior royals including Prince Philip, King Charles, Princess Diana, Prince Andrew, and the Queen Mother were in attendance. According to Lownie, sympathy for Ferguson was in short supply. Philip and Charles were reportedly unsupportive, with Charles believing Ferguson was a negative influence on Diana.
The leaked holiday photos were described as the “final straw” for the Royal Family.
Behind closed doors, the meeting focused on the collapsing marriage and concerns over custody of Beatrice and Eugenie. Lownie noted there was an assumption among senior royals that Ferguson was experiencing a mental breakdown, reinforcing her fears that her children could be taken from her.
Just three days after the explosive summit, Andrew and Ferguson returned to Sandringham to formally inform the Queen that their marriage was over.
Their separation was publicly announced on March 19, 1992. This event marked one of the most chaotic and emotionally charged chapters in modern royal history.
Who gives a schitt?
The royals are just horrible people. They are all despicable. What is sad is they are not intelligent enough to know how to act any better than they do.
True statements from above comments.