Sarah Ferguson Had To Endure All These After Her Toe-Sucking Scandal Broke Out

Prince Andrew’s wife, Sarah Ferguson, was once involved in an embarrassing scandal when a photo of her with her financial adviser, John Bryan, went public. In the photo, the American businessman can be seen sucking the toes of a topless Sarah.

As expected, the royal family was enraged when this scandal broke out, but the Duke of Edinburgh was reportedly the most displeased. His good relationship with Sarah was instantly shatterred after Fergie’s scandalous photo was published by the press.

Sarah was actually Philip’s favored daughter-in-law. Fergie’s father, Major Ronald Ferguson, was the Duke’s polo manager, so they already knew each other even before her marriage to Andrew.

Philip and Sarah share the same sense of “bawdy humor,” making them at ease with each other’s company. The Duke was also impressed with Fergie’s interest in learning to pilot a plane in 1986 and also when she earned her helicopter pilot license the following year.

While Prince Andrew and Sarah were already having some marriage troubles at that time, she was still living with the royal family. In fact, they were at Balmoral when the photo came out.

“It happened in front of the whole family at the Queen’s country residence in Scotland,” royal correspondent James Whitaker said. “She was late into breakfast and everybody had got a copy of the Daily Mirror.”

Sarah immediately sensed that something was wrong because of the awkward atmosphere. “As she walked into the room, they all stuffed it under their Times and Telegraphs and that sort of thing,” Whitaker shared. “She knew the game was up the second she walked into the room.”

According to one narration, it was Philip himself who showed the front page of the paper, which contained her photo, to Sarah. Even with the passage of time, Prince Philip’s relationship with his daughter-in-law has not mended. Until now, he can’t stand to be in the same room with her.

Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth II suggested that Sarah return to London, which basically meant that she was already exiled. But while the Queen was initially furious with Sarah, just like the rest of the royal family, she didn’t totally abandon her daughter-in-law and would often visit her secretly.

“The Queen remained astonishingly tolerant,” journalist Rosie Boycott wrote. “Despite the appalling publicity her daughter-in-law had brought on them all, she turned up in the afternoon for a few private seasonal whiskies.”

At that time, Sarah lived at the gatehouse at Sandringham because she was barred from entering the main residence. “By Christmas, the Big Freeze had begun,” Boycott said. “Sarah found herself denied access to the big house at Sandringham. Determined to be close to the children, she elected to stay at the gate house.”

Even Prince Andrew avoided seeing his former wife and would only talk to their daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. “Cars were sent for Eugenie and Beatrice early in the morning,” the journalist narrated. “Andrew entertained his daughters, leaving his wife alone like a dog in quarantine.” She was officially divorced from Andrew four years later.