At Royal Ascot 2025, tensions briefly arose for Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, who declined an invitation from King Charles to participate in the royal procession, aiming to spare the feelings of her ex-husband, Prince Andrew. Despite their divorce in 1996, King Charles welcomed her back into royal events, including a Christmas church walk in 2023. Andrew, previously a senior royal, attended a pre-racing lunch but was excluded from the races due to his association with Jeffrey Epstein. Ferguson later made her first Wimbledon appearance in nearly 30 years, joining her daughter Princess Beatrice.
Royal Ascot 2025 has come and gone, and amongst the royal fashion and horse racing action, one member of the Royal Family is said to have avoided an awkward moment with her ex-husband. According to the Daily Mail, King Charles extended a kind offer to his former sister-in-law, Sarah Ferguson—but tensions with Prince Andrew and the royals prevented her from accepting the invitation.
Despite not having been invited to ride in the royal procession since her 1996 divorce, the Duchess of York was extended the offer to take part this year by The King, per Daily Mail columnist Ephraim Hardcastle. However, Ferguson politely declined to arrive via carriage with the Royal Family, “apparently to spare the feelings of her ex-husband.”
Prince Andrew, who was forced to step down as a senior working royal after his association with Jeffrey Epstein, was not included in the royal procession. “Andrew, who loved the pomp of the procession, was allowed at the pre-racing lunch but banned from attending the racing,” Hardcastle added.
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The Duchess of York joined daughter Princess Beatrice on day one of Royal Ascot.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Ferguson brought back a dotted dress from the ’80s for her second Royal Ascot appearance on June 20.
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The duchess is pictured with Zara and Mike Tindall on day one of Royal Ascot 2025.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Having long been absent from royal events over the years, the Duchess of York has been welcomed back into the fold by King Charles, who included her in the traditional Christmas walk to church in 2023 after not being invited since the ’90s.
The duchess and Prince Andrew skipped Christmas 2024, with Ferguson being hailed as having “saved Christmas” after convincing her ex-husband to stay home amid his Chinese spy scandal.
In another significant move, the duchess made her first appearance in the royal box at Wimbledon in nearly 30 years on Monday, June 30, joining Princess Beatrice for the first day of the tennis championships. The last time she attended Wimbledon was 1988, sitting alongside Princess Diana.
