Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Are Not Back Together But 'Continue to Be Good Friends'
A family trip has sparked rumors that Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew are back together.
Fergie, as the Duchess of York has been affectionately known since her romance with the Queen’s son began in the mid-1980s, spent the weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix with Andrew, their 30-year-old daughter Princess Beatrice and Beatrice’s boyfriend, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. She shared snaps from the Middle East with the hashtag #familytime and captioned one photo, “Having a wonderful time with @hrhthedukeofyork and Beatrice,” prompting speculation that she and Prince Andrew had rekindled their romance after two decades.
However, Fergie’s spokesman tells PEOPLE, “Nothing has changed – the couple continue to be good friends.”
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the matter.
The couple are committed parents to their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and palace sources regularly note that the family is close.
A post shared by Sarah Ferguson (@sarahferguson15) on Mar 31, 2019 at 10:09am PDT
Fergie and Andrew ran in the same social circles from early in their lives — their fathers played polo together — yet the couple had a whirlwind romance. After just one year of dating, Prince Andrew announced his engagement to Fergie in March 1986.
Their wedding day took place that July at Westminster Abbey in London, followed by an appearance (and their first public kiss as husband and wife!) on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The Queen also granted the couple titles as the Duke of Duchess of York upon their marriage.
Prince Andrew and Fergie welcomed their first child, daughter Princess Beatrice, in August 1988, and Princess Eugenie followed 19 months later.
Despite their growing family, there was trouble for the couple. The pair announced their separation in March 1992, officially divorcing four years later.
Prince Andrew and Fergie remained friendly and continued to raise Beatrice and Eugenie together, regularly appearing as a foursome to outings over the years. And when Fergie isn’t traveling for her philanthropic work, she still resides at the family’s home, the Royal Lodge at Windsor.
“I’m in and out all the time, and he’s in and out all the time,” she explained in a 2016 interview for an Australian radio show. “And no, we’re not married. We’re very happy with the way things are.”
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Fergie has even continued to attend royal events with her family. She attended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s royal wedding in May (although she arrived separately from her ex-husband and daughters) and regularly attends Royal Ascot. Fergie joined Andrew and Princess Beatrice at the horse-racing festival in 2016 and again in 2018, when she chatted with the Queen in the Royal Box.
Eugenie famously told the BBC, “They are the best divorced couple I know.”
And Fergie told PEOPLE in 2011 that she and Andrew get along so well that when that she’s asked her daughters, “Do you think Mummy and Papa should get back together again? They say, ‘You’re great the way you are now; it’s fine.’ “
