Sarah Ferguson had just found her place in The Firm, but it seems the Duchess of York’s fierce loyalty to Prince Andrew has once again rocked the royal ship.
Sarah, 65, who joined the Royal Family to spend Christmas at Sandringham last year for the first time since 1992, was forced to abstain from this year’s celebrations after Andrew’s links came to light with an alleged Chinese spy.
Earlier this week, a “close confidant” of the duke, 64, was revealed to be a suspected Chinese spy – now called Yang Tengbo – who had been banned from entering the UK following an MI5 investigation, and King Charles was said to be ‘furious’.
In the wake of the scandal, the embattled duke agreed to skip the annual Christmas festivities at the Norfolk estate on the advice of his loyal ex-wife Sarah, affectionately known as Fergie.
The duchess is believed to have come to the royal family’s rescue after King Charles and Queen Camilla privately expressed their wish for Andrew to “come to his senses” and skip next week’s public meeting, while controversy over Chinese spies continues.
In another heartbreaking show of solidarity with her ex-husband, Fergie also agreed to skip the festivities – albeit with a heavy heart, considering the mother-of-two had just been welcomed back to Sandringham.
Fergie was beaming as she joined the royals for their annual Christmas stroll last December for the first time in 30 years, following the couple’s high-profile divorce in 1996.
Following his infamous toe-sucking scandal in 1992, Prince Philip banned Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugene’s mother from attending the royal occasion.
Sarah Ferguson, 65, has been forced to refrain from Christmas at Sandringham, following controversy over Prince Andrew’s links with an alleged Chinese spy.
Fergie was beaming as she joined Andrew and the rest of the royals for their annual Christmas stroll last December for the first time in 30 years, following the couple’s high-profile divorce in 1996.
Andrew and Fergie will be absent from the royal family’s annual Christmas outing in Norfolk after it was revealed that a “close confidant” of the Duke, 64, was a suspected Chinese spy, now named as Yang Tengbo (left).
But King Charles softened that approach last year and invited her to join the family at Sandringham for the first time in decades, although she did not go to church with them.
However, she was among the stars of last year’s walk, when the duchess accepted bouquets of flowers from well-wishers lining the street in front of St Mary Magdalene Church.
Fergie, wearing a gorgeous emerald green coat, looked in high spirits as she laughed and joked with onlookers during last year’s outing, seen as a sign of Andrew and Sarah’s gradual rehabilitation within the monarchy.
Prince Andrew’s latest controversy, following intense scrutiny over her relationship with Epstein, has complicated matters as Fergie finds herself out in the cold again.
It’s a sacrifice she appears willing to make for the good of the Royal Family, and Fergie recently admitted she wishes she could “do more” for Queen Camilla in an interview with The Sunday Times.
Speaking about her relationship with the Queen, Fergie said: “Queen Camilla was a close friend of mum’s, which is why we are so close now.” That’s why it’s so important that the Queen and I get along now.
It’s quite pretty and reminds me of mom. I admire the extraordinary support you are giving to this country. I want to do everything I can for the Queen. “I wish they would ask me to do more.”
Sarah also promised not to “let Andrew down” in the interview which was conducted before the disgraced royal’s links to Tengbo came to light.
Fergie, wearing a gorgeous emerald green coat, looked in high spirits as she laughed and joked with onlookers during last year’s outing, seen as a sign of Andrew and Sarah’s gradual rehabilitation within the monarchy.
Fergie held a bouquet of flowers while wearing a dark brown dress, paired with a festive Christmas tree brooch and a large bracelet with her daughter’s name ‘Eugenie’ on it.
She seemed in high spirits as she laughed and joked with a crowd of onlookers lining the streets outside St. Mary Magdalene Church.
Tengbo, who denies being a spy or having done anything illegal, was so close to Andrew that he visited Buckingham Palace twice and entered St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle.
He was even authorized to act on Andrew’s behalf to seek investors in China.
Speaking ahead of the latest allegations against Andrew, Sarah professed her undying support for her ex-husband, revealing that she is currently looking out for him and “won’t let him down”.
In the joint interview given to her sister Jane, she confessed: ‘When Jane went to Australia, I became Dad’s carer. I was left in the care of a sad man, which is pretty much what I’m doing now.
Reflecting on their wedding day at Westminster Abbey in 1986, Sarah said the love between them then “is still with us today”, adding: “I won’t let him down.”
‘He supports me as much as I support him. He has supported me through thick and thin, not just marriage or divorce. We agree on the three Cs: communication, commitment and compassion.’
Sarah’s devotion to Andrew will be tested once again amid scrutiny of her dealings with Tengbo, after MI5 discovered the businessman, 50, was a member of the Chinese Communist Party and worked for its shadowy Department of United Front work, which collects intelligence.
When he was stopped by police at the UK border in 2021, he was found to have a briefing document in which Andrew appeared to be described as being in a “desperate situation and ready to grab anything”.
The Duke of York (pictured) has said he “ceased all contact” with the businessman accused of being a Chinese spy when concerns about him first emerged.
The alleged spy previously attended a meeting of the powerful Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing.
In a sign of his importance to the Chinese Communist Party, he was photographed in the front row of the meeting in the grand Great Hall of the People.
Tengbo recently lost an appeal over a decision banning him from entering the UK on national security grounds.
He brought a case to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) after the then Home Secretary Suella Braverman said he should be excluded from the UK in March 2023.
Judges were told that in a briefing to the Home Secretary in July 2023, officials claimed that Tengbo (previously known only as ‘H6) had been in a position to generate relationships between prominent UK figures and senior civil servants. Chinese “who could take advantage.” for purposes of political interference.”
They also said Tengbo had downplayed his relationship with the Chinese state, which, combined with his relationship with Prince Andrew, posed a threat to national security.
A statement from Prince Andrew’s office said: “The Duke of York followed the advice of Her Majesty’s Government and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised.”
‘The Duke met the individual through official channels and never discussed anything of a sensitive nature.
Tengbo (far right) posing with Andrew at an event to promote trade between China and Britain.
The alleged spy with former Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife, Samantha
“He cannot comment further on matters related to national security.”
Fergie has remained firmly at Prince Andrew’s side following the Epstein scandal that made him a royal pariah.
The duke stepped back from frontline royal duties in late 2019 after public outrage over a BBC television interview in which he defended his friendship with Epstein.
In February 2022, the former Royal Navy helicopter pilot settled a US civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed he sexually assaulted her when she was 17 years old.
Andrew denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
Shortly afterward, Queen Elizabeth II stripped him of his honorary military titles and patronages, effectively excluding him from royal life.