Sarah, Duchess of York has recalled the “Cinderella” moment she felt on her wedding day to Prince Andrew in 1986.
The former couple, who are parents to Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, have remained good friends since their separation in 1992 and subsequent divorce four years later.
Speaking about her big day on the latest episode of her podcast, Tea Talks With The Duchess and Sarah, she told her co-host Sarah Thomson: “In 1986, the nation stopped and took a holiday on July 23 for the farmer’s daughter going up the aisle with an extraordinary tiara given by Her Majesty, which had gardenias floating all the way through it so you could see sparkles but you couldn’t see the tiara.”
Sarah wore an ivory duchesse satin gown designed by Lindka Cierach, and was given the York tiara – a floral-shaped diamond scroll headpiece designed by Garrard – by the late Queen and the late Duke of Edinburgh.
Princess Beatrice recently wore the sparkling headpiece for Crown Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa’s royal wedding in Jordan.
The Duchess continued: “It’s an extraordinary story of Cinderella really, isn’t it? I wasn’t exactly milking the cows on the farm, it was a very lovely life I had, but my father still farmed.
“Up I went, up Westminster Abbey, and there at the end was the handsome prince with his full naval uniform on and the nation stopped. Westminster Abbey was just abuzz with belief.”
When asked by her co-host if she was nervous on the day of her wedding, Sarah replied: “Like every bride is always nervous, I don’t know why… when I came down the stairs from Clarence House, where I spent the night before, everyone is going ‘Fergie! Fergie!’ on the streets. When I came down the stairs, there was my father at the bottom of the stairs.”
She later added: “It was one of those moments… I was watching Cinderella with the girls the other day, Ella Enchanted. I did that! I had that moment, and Dad was at the bottom.”
Sarah’s father Major Ronald Ferguson passed away at the age of 71 in 2003. Princess Eugenie named her second son Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank in honour of his late great-grandfather.
Sarah and Andrew have remained on good terms since their divorce and still live together at Royal Lodge in Windsor.
In 2013, the Duchess was asked about the possibility of a reconciliation with her former husband, to which she replied: “He’s still my handsome prince, he’ll always be my handsome prince.”
