Sarah Ferguson reunites with Prince Andrew at Royal Ascot – and shares royal secret
Sarah Ferguson has added a colourful flair to royal life – from her outfit choices to her relationship rollercoaster with Prince Andrew, 59.
It would be easy to assume the royal could tell a few juicy stories about her life as a member of one of the world’s most well-known and documented families.
However, one secret the Duchess of York is ready to tell has little to do with her and instead is an in-depth look into one of the royal family’s most heart-wrenching tragedies.
Almost two centuries since the death of the Queen’s great-great-great grandmother Princess Louise – mother to Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert – a history of the royal’s sad and troubled life has been documented by Fergie.
The Princess was separated from her two young sons and banished to a German hamlet where she would never be allowed to see her children again.
Princess Louise
In an exclusive interview with Hello!, Sarah revealed she has made a documentary in Germany with the aim of uncovering Princess Louise’s footsteps through historical archives, and a visit to her tomb.
"She was discarded by her husband – Ernst I, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld – and sent to St Wendel," Sarah said.
"Whatever she had done to upset Ernst – who it seems was tired and bored of her and wanted to divorce – to have to leave her two boys and never see them again was, for me, beyond words.
"I wanted to know what Louise had done so terribly wrong that she should be taken from her children on that dank, rainy 26 August day – Albert's fifth birthday – put in a carriage, discarded and written out of history."
During filming, the 59-year-old was hit with emotions, as her own mother, Susan Barrantes, left her family when she was just a young girl.
"I just don't know what it would be like for me to not be with my girls. I really couldn't fathom it," the Duchess said, who is mother to Princess Beatrice, 30, and Princess Eugenie, 29.
"One of the best things I've done with my life is that my daughters and I are like a tripod. The girls are very supportive of me and I am very supportive of what they do.
"The key is to always be there, but never to wrap them in cotton wool. We work in unity and [ex-husband Prince] Andrew and I are focused on being good parents together.
“We are bigger than friends. We learn from each other, support each other and understand it's about communication, compromise and compassion."