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IT'S FERGIE-TIME!
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson are ‘friends with benefits’ — Philip doesn’t care but Charles thinks ‘she’s shallow’
WHEN respected ITV Royal Editor Chris Ship tweeted the bombshell revelation on Monday that Prince Andrew and Fergie were “back together”, many royal watchers wondered if he was making a late April Fool’s joke.
But in fact, one of the journalists most favoured by the notoriously prickly Royal Family had gone rogue.
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Despite warnings from Buckingham Palace, the reporter went on air with this intriguing information about one of the most controversial royal couples of all time.
While it might have been a fanciful prospect less than a decade ago, given that she did not even get an invitation to Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011, Sarah Ferguson is closer than ever to rejoining The Firm.
However, as with so many aspects of this family, the reality is far more complicated.
For The Sun has learned that Prince Andrew and Fergie, both 59 and divorced since 1996, are back in a romantic relationship that pals say makes them “friends with benefits”.
Charles is not OK with Fergie. He can’t stand her in reality
Source close to Prince Charles
Unlike in the past few years, neither is dating or pursuing anyone else romantically.
It is also true that Prince Philip — Fergie’s long-time enemy within the family — has removed his long- standing objection to the relationship.
Friends say he simply “doesn’t care” any more if Andrew and Fergie are officially reunited.
Likewise, the Queen is relaxed because of her personal affection towards Fergie, despite the Duchess’s previous bad behaviour.
She has even invited Fergie to Balmoral over the summer for the past three years.
Princes William and Harry are also not problems because they are both supportive of their wayward aunt thanks to their close relationship with their cousins, the princesses Beatrice, 30, and Eugenie, 29.
But there remains one major roadblock — a man who will lead the family within the years to come. Prince Charles is said to be adamantly opposed to the idea of Fergie becoming a royal again.
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CHARLES THINKS SHE'S AN EMBARRASSMENT
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A source close to the heir said: “Charles is not OK with Fergie. He can’t stand her in reality.
“He thinks she’s brought embarrassment to the Royal Family in the past and his relationship with his brother has been strained as a result.
“They don’t get on personally. There’s so much baggage because he feels she sided with Diana over Camilla all those years ago.
“He looks at a royal like Lady Sarah Chatto (Princess Margaret’s daughter), an intellectual and someone who loves the arts, and thinks Fergie is no comparison.
“The fear with her is that she will never stop promoting herself and looking for ways to make money off her royal position.”
For Fergie that top-notch status began in July 1986, when she and Prince Andrew were married at Westminster Abbey, sealing it with a kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in front of 100,000 people.
They became parents to Beatrice in 1988 and Eugenie two years later.
However, Andrew’s naval career forced them to spend months apart and the cracks soon began to show in their marriage — with Fergie regularly seen in the company of other men.
The Queen is relaxed because of her personal affection towards Fergie, despite the Duchess’s previous bad behaviour
Source close to the Royal family
The couple announced their separation in 1992 after the Duchess was pictured topless and having her toes sucked by her American financial adviser John Bryan on holiday in France.
Their divorce was finalised in 1996, with the Palace announcing that Fergie will no longer carry out public engagements on behalf of the Queen. Despite this, Fergie and Andrew — who is also 59 — remained close and they share homes in Windsor and Switzerland.
Prince Andrew has enjoyed a string of relationships since his divorce, earning himself nicknames including “Air-Miles Andy”, “Randy Andy” and “The Playboy Prince”.
He has been linked to a number of women including Kylie Minogue as well as a string of models including Croatian Monika Jakisic, 20 years his junior, former Playboy bunny Denise Martell, ex-swimwear beauty Angie Everhart and Filipina model Alexandra Escat. Sarah also reportedly enjoyed a relationship for several years with internet entrepreneur Manuel Fernandez. However despite Charles’s dim view of Fergie’s past, his harsh verdict isn’t shared by everyone in the Royal Family any more.
Fergie won plaudits for her very public re-entry into royal occasions after Prince Harry was insistent that she must be included as a guest at his wedding to Meghan.
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Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson tells Piers Morgan to ‘get a life’ when asked if she would remarry Prince Andrew
CENTRE STAGE
That provided the opportunity for her to take centre stage at the wedding of her daughter Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank, just six months later.
Alongside her ex-husband and now close friend, she was at the heart of the wedding preparations, including plans for it to be screened on ITV when the BBC turned it down. It ended up being a ratings smash hit for the This Morning show.
She didn’t put a foot wrong in the run-up to the event, impressing many senior royal figures, including the Queen. Some even remarked it felt like the old days of Andrew and Fergie.
Her good behaviour resulted in the unthinkable — an official wedding day portrait where Fergie was positioned right next to her long-time enemy Prince Philip.
A royal insider said: “It’s stupid to say that the Duke of Edinburgh has any issue with Andrew and Fergie’s relationship. He really doesn’t care any more, on any level.
“He’s actually more interested in how his black truffles are coming on than whether they are back together.
“Andrew is nearly 60 and so far down the pecking order that the situation is irrelevant really.
“He stands in for Prince Philip every now and then since his retirement but the truth is his official role as the Duke of York is severely limited.”
'FAMILY TIMES'
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A tell-tale sign about the future of the relationship was that Fergie joined Andrew as his partner in Bahrain, where they stayed at the Ritz-Carlton hotel as an official guest of the Bahraini Crown Prince.
The couple have become close to Beatrice’s boyfriend, property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, with the speculation the couple could become engaged soon. “They heartily approve of the relationship. They’ve known his family a long time,” a royal source said.
Fergie posted on her Instagram account using the hashtag Family Times, writing: “Such a joy to be invited to attend the Bahrain Grand Prix with @hrhthedukeofyork and Beatrice.”
Fergie’s reconciliation with Andrew has also boosted her determination to increase their daughters’ royal duties.
Last week Eugenie was joined by husband Jack and dad Andrew for the couple’s first royal engagement.
The trio visited the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London to celebrate the opening of the institution’s new building.
‘WEIRD SET-UP’
And last month Beatrice joined Fergie in Bahrain for the Grand Prix, visiting Andrew who was on an official royal visit.
The Yorks live together at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, and a royal source said of the arrangement: “Remember, this is a weird set-up. There were times they were both seeing other people down either end of the house — a classic example of an old-style aristocratic relationship.
“The critical thing is that neither of them is seeing anyone else at the moment. Officially they’re very good friends with benefits.
“But Fergie wants nothing more than to be back officially in the Royal Family, as she never really wanted to leave in the first place.”
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The couple themselves have been the first to boast of their closeness.
Last year Fergie told an Australian radio show they “never really left each other” and said they are the “happiest divorced couple in the world”.
And she even hinted at the idea of remarrying Andrew in several interviews, at one point saying: “He’s still my handsome prince, he’ll always be my handsome prince.”
But this week while trying to dampen down the story, her spokesman said: “The Duke and Duchess remain good friends as they have been for many years, and nothing has changed.”
And if Prince Charles and Camilla have their way, Fergie will stay outside the Royal Family for as long as possible.
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