Sarah Ferguson put out a call for "forgiveness" and "family unity" through a Christmas message for her charity Sarah's Trust on Sunday, just hours before her disgraced ex-husband, Prince Andrew, joined members of the royal family for the annual Christmas day church service at Sandringham.
Sarah, who lives with Andrew at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park despite divorcing in 1996—and who retains her Duchess of York title until such a time as she remarries—has been a fervent champion of her ex-husband in the wake of sexual assult allegations that led to him being stripped of his royal role and titles in January.
The prince has made few public appearances since the settling of a lawsuit brought against him by Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre in January, despite reports of a desired public comeback.
Andrew's inclusion in the Christmas Day celebrations fronted by King Charles, which were also attended by the prince and Ferguson's daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, marks his first public appearance since the state funeral of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September.
In a video Christmas message released through the social media channels of Sarah's Trust, Ferguson made a number of allusions to the power of forgiveness, which many could interpret as relating to her ex-husband.
"We believe in forgiveness, in love, in unity and family unity," she said of the Trust.
After pleading for peace for the peoples of Ukraine, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan, the duchess called for "real unity, real joy" and "real love in people's hearts."
From all of us at Sarah’s Trust, we would like to wish you a wonderful Christmas and blessed new year. pic.twitter.com/nuAvcMLjP7
— Sarah's Trust (@SarahsTrust) December 25, 2022
"Let's stop the judgement," she added. "Let's stop looking at someone on face value and not looking into their hearts and souls and saying 'we're here for you, we embrace you, we love you.'"
Ferguson, has made a number of comments about Andrew in recent months, most recently saying in July that he was a "very good and kind man," and stating that she would marry him all over again given the chance to live her life over.
In December 2021, the former daughter-in-law of Queen Elizabeth told French magazine Madame Figaro that she still loved the royal, despite the breakdown of their marriage and the scandal surrounding him.
"I loved him and I still love him today. I will stay by his side, because I believe in him. He is a good man," she said.
For many years following her divorce, Ferguson (who was nicknamed "Fergie" by the media) was seen as a royal outcast, denied inclusion in royal family events owing to a reported frosty relationship with her former in-laws, most prominently, Prince Philip.
After her divorce, Ferguson wrote a tell-all memoir titled My Story and undertook an in-depth interview with Oprah Winfrey. Following her involvement in a 2010 media sting-operation that revealed the duchess had engaged in discussions around receiving money for an introduction to Andrew, she did not receive an invitation to Prince William and Kate Middleton's royal wedding. She accepted the decision but admitted it was "so difficult" and "hard."
However, the former royal was invited to Prince Harry's 2018 wedding to Meghan Markle, and later took a prominent role as mother-of-the-bride at Princess Eugenie's wedding later that year.
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Ferguson appeared to be making something of a public comeback, not only appearing with Andrew to view floral tributes left to the monarch at Windsor Castle, but also being given a prominent seat at the Westminster Abbey state funeral, directly behind the Prince and Princess of Wales.
It is not known whether the duchess was included in the Sandringham Christmas party with her family, but she did not attend the church service alongside Andrew or her daughters and their husbands.
Newsweek has approached representatives of Sarah's Trust for comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
