Sarah Ferguson breaks her silence on Coronation invite ‘snub’

Sarah Ferguson revealed she will not be at the coronation because she is divorced to Prince Andrew.

The Duchess of York, 63, revealed ‘you can’t have it both ways’ while speaking to Kate Garraway and Adil Ray on Good Morning Britain on Thursday. 

She said: ‘I’m not [going] it’s a state occasion, and being divorced I don’t think you can have it both ways. 

‘I am divorced and I’m really loving being divorced to my ex-husband, not from him but to him, it’s important to differentiate.

‘Just because I’m not there on the state occasion, but in private I can be there, and that’s a lovely feeling to be part of, it really is and as I said you can’t have it both ways you mustn’t sit on the fence you’re either in or out, don’t muck around.’ 

Speaking about King Charles and Queen Camilla she revealed they were doing ‘exceptional job at unifying the family.’ 

She said: ‘The great thing about this moment in time is the unity of family, and I think that Charles and Camilla are doing an exceptional job at unifying the family.

It was reported last week that the Duchess was not expected to attend the event next month – despite the fact Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are set to be there.

Royal commentator Tom Bower previously told MailOnline that Sarah had excluded herself because of her previous ‘conduct’.

He added that her presence would ‘provoke critical comment which Charles doesn’t need’.

And expert Richard Fitzwilliams praised the ‘extremely wise’ decision from the King because she has been an ’embarrassment to the Royal Family for many years’.

But the apparent decision has surprised some royal watchers – with Meghan’s friend Omid Scobie tweeting: ‘If true, this feels kinda cruel, no?’

Sarah who she is divorced from Prince Andrew said ‘you can’t have it both ways, you are either in or out’

Sarah opened up to Kate Garraway and Adil Ray on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Thursday

Speaking about the absence of Sarah, Mr Bower said she will be left out ‘because she is not a member of the Royal Family’.

He added that she had excluded herself ‘by her past conduct’, saying: ‘Her presence would provoke critical comment which Charles doesn’t need.’

Among Sarah’s most embarrassing moments was when photographs were published showing her having her toes sucked by her financial adviser John Bryan at her holiday villa in St Tropez, while they were also seen kissing, embracing and frolicking in the pool.

She was also said to have had a rift with her once good friend, Princess Diana, after she claimed she got a verruca after borrowing a pair of her shoes. They were reportedly still not speaking at the time of Diana’s death in 1997.

And in 2010 she apologised after being secretly recorded offering to sell access to Andrew in return for £500,000.

Sarah said she will ‘be there’ for King Charles and Camilla ‘in private’, saying it’s a lovely feeling to be part of the family 

The duchess said if you re divorced in the royal family you ‘can’t have it both ways, you mustn’t sit on the fence you’re either in or out, don’t muck around’

Speaking about King Charles and Queen Camilla she revealed they were doing ‘exceptional job at unifying the family’

Sarah with the late Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Andrew at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, in 1987

Mr Fitzwilliams told MailOnline: ‘The decision not to invite Sarah Ferguson is extremely wise and to be welcomed. She has been an embarrassment to the Royal Family for many years.

‘Time and again she gives embarrassing interviews, there seems no end to it.

‘There are times when a dignified silence is required which she seems incapable of.’

Sarah did attend the Queen’s funeral at Westminster Abbey last September, but was not one of the 30 guests for Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021.

She was not invited to Prince William and Kate’s wedding in 2011, saying she went on holiday to Thailand instead – but did attend Harry and Meghan’s marriage at St George’s Chapel in Windsor in May 2018.

Sarah, (centre, left) posted a picture in May 2020 of her with Prince Andrew (centre, right) and their daughters Princess Eugenie (far right) and Princess Beatrice (far left)

Last month Sarah, pictured with Charles, revealed during a chat with Glamour editor Samantha Barry that she had not received an invitation to the Coronation

Speaking about the Coronation, one of Sarah’s friends told 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.’

Her lack of invitation comes despite Andrew turning up at the Easter Service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor – although her ex-husband is still excluded from most of life within the Royal Family.

Sarah herself has also had something of a renaissance in recent months, having been invited to join King Charles and other senior royals at Sandringham at Christmas, as well as looking after the late Queen’s corgis.

She was also a favourite of the late Queen and they were known to spend plenty of time together including walks at Windsor Park.