If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, SheKnows may receive an affiliate commission.
There might be a few hurt feelings over at Royal Lodge this week because someone in the inner palace circle was not invited to King Charles III’s coronation. It turns out that Sarah Ferguson, Prince Andrew’s former wife who still lives with him at Windsor Estates, was excluded from the elite list.
The press is going to be working off a whittled down royal RSVP list now that Meghan Markle has declined the invitation and Fergie was omitted from the exclusive event. It’s a surprising move given that her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, are 10th and 11th in the line to the throne. But her exclusion might have more to do with Andrew than Fergie herself as King Charles starts to chop the royal budget and get his younger brother further and further away from his former upscale life.
Charles is trying to get Andrew to move into the Sussexes’ former residence, Frogmore Cottage, and give his current property, Royal Lodge, to Prince William and Kate Middleton once it undergoes much-needed renovations. Fergie might be on the receiving end of the punishment, thanks to her ex-husband’s refusal to budge on the issue. Royal insiders are a bit shocked by the move, noting to the Independent, “She has been hugely supportive of Charles and Camilla and does not want this to become about her. The whole day is about the new King and the success of his reign, but she has always championed the royal family and the Queen undoubtedly would have wanted her to be there.”
Fergie remains rather popular in the U.K. and is riding the success of her hit book, A Most Intriguing Lady. But it’s also clear that Charles doesn’t like anyone to upstage him, and the former Duchess of York always draws press attention. However, the royal family could use a boost of good PR after a few years of bad publicity, and leaving Fergie at home to watch the coronation on TV seems like a short-sighted move.
Before you go, click here to see every single detail we know about King Charles III’s coronation so far.
Related story
Kate Middleton Is Reportedly 'Relieved' She Doesn't Have to Fake a United Front With Meghan Markle at Coronation