When Princess Eugenie marries Jack Brooksbank [1] on Oct. 12, all eyes will be on the 28-year-old and her handsome groom — but since this will be a royal affair, Eugenie's many famous relatives [2] are likely to shine in the spotlight as well. The princess is set to be walked down the aisle by her father, Prince Andrew, and though there's a bit of drama surrounding her attendance [3], Eugenie's mother, Sarah Ferguson, will also be front and centre for the big day.
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson may not be as well known as, say, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, but their marriage (and subsequent divorce) [4] was just as headline-making [5]. Keep reading to learn more about Eugenie's mum and dad — though we're certain you already know more than you may have thought.
Sarah Ferguson
The vivacious and spirited redhead married Prince Andrew in July 1986, but she was familiar to the royal family long before becoming the Duchess of York. Sarah and Andrew had known each other since childhood and often played tag as youngsters [7] during polo matches. They reconnected as adults in the '80s after Sarah was invited to Royal Ascot [8] by another of her childhood friends, Princess Diana, who also happened to be Sarah's fourth cousin [9].
Sarah and Andrew wed at Westminster Abbey nearly five years to the day of Diana's wedding to Prince Charles. They became parents in August 1988 with the birth of Princess Beatrice and again in March 1990 when Eugenie was born. Sarah and Andrew appeared to be drifting apart by the early '90s and announced their separation in March 1992; their split got pretty ugly, especially once photos of Fergie getting her toes sucked [10] by her American financial adviser, John Bryan, were released. It was a major scandal for the royal family, and one that splintered their relationship with Sarah for good. Princess Margaret wrote her a scathing letter, saying, "You have done more to bring shame on the family than could ever have been imagined," and Prince Philip still refuses to be in the same room as her [11] (which explains why he may not attend Eugenie's wedding).
When her divorce was finalized in 1996, Sarah was able to keep her Duchess of York title but was stripped of her HRH styling, just as Diana was [12]. Sarah and Andrew have remained close friends and even continued living together at their family home in Berkshire until 2004. These days, Sarah has a rented apartment in London and a room at Royal Lodge, the former home of the Queen Mother. She also continues much of the charity work she's done since the marriage. Despite their messy past, Eugenie has called her parents "the best divorced couple" she knows [13].
Prince Andrew
Prince Andrew is the third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip [14], and at the time of his wedding to Sarah Ferguson, he was fourth in line to the throne [15] (after his older brother, Charles, and his sons, Princes William and Harry). He holds the rank of commander in the Royal Navy, is a skiing aficionado, and owns a chalet in Verbier, Switzerland, where he and Sarah continued to holiday with their daughters even after their divorce.
Andrew hasn't been immune to his own personal scandals over the years; his headline-making split from Sarah was just the beginning, actually. In 2015, he was accused of sexual abuse by a woman who alleged that she was forced to have sex with the duke [16] when she was only 17 years old and that she was trafficked to him by Andrew's former friend, Jeffrey Epstein. The billionaire investment banker was convicted of soliciting an underage girl for prostitution in 2008. Andrew vehemently denied having sex with the woman, and the claims against him were struck from the public record in Epstein's case.
Andrew is also rumoured to be in a bit of a rift with his brother Charles over the future king's insistence on streamlining the royal family [17] — this would mean less involvement from (and therefore less money spent on) nonworking members like Andrew and his daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie. Andrew reportedly wants the princesses to have an official royal role, while Charles would prefer that they make their own way, like Princess Anne's children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall [18].
