Wedding of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson

Wedding of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson

The Duke and Duchess of York on their wedding day
Date 23 July 1986
Location Westminster Abbey, London, England
Participants Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Sarah Ferguson

The wedding of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson was held on 23 July 1986, at Westminster Abbey in London, England.

Courtship and engagement

Prince Andrew, the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and Sarah Ferguson, the daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson and his first wife Susan Wright, first met when they were children, but had not been romantically involved until they met again at a party at Floors Castle in 1985. They began their relationship that very same year, after a party held at Windsor Castle in honour of the Royal Ascot races.[1] Diana, Princess of Wales, Andrew's sister-in-law, played a hand in matchmaking the couple.[2]

Andrew proposed to Sarah on 19 February 1986, his twenty-sixth birthday. Their engagement was announced on 17 March 1986. Andrew presented Sarah with a Garrard engagement ring made from sketches he had made. The ring has a Burma ruby surrounded by ten drop-diamonds. The mounting was eighteen-carat white and yellow gold.[3] Andrew's bachelor party was held at Aubrey House in Holland Park. It was attended by Prince Charles, Billy Connolly, David Frost and Elton John.[4]

Wedding ceremony

Sarah Ferguson in the Glass coach before the wedding

Four months after announcing their engagement, Andrew and Sarah married on 23 July 1986, at Westminster Abbey in London. Sarah made her way with her father Ronald from Clarence House in the Glass Coach, arriving at the church at 11:30.[1] The Archbishop of Canterbury conducted at the 45-minute wedding ceremony. As the couple exchanged vows, Sarah mistakenly repeated Andrew's middle name, Christian;[5] five years earlier, Diana, Princess of Wales, made a similar mistake by reversing the order of Prince Charles's names.[6]

Both Andrew's brothers participated in the wedding ceremony; Prince Edward was his best man, and Prince Charles read a lesson during the service. The bridesmaids and page boys included Princess Anne's children Peter and Zara Phillips, and Prince Charles's eldest son Prince William.

The Duke and Duchess of York left Westminster Abbey for Buckingham Palace in an open-top 1902 State Landau. Around 100,000 people gathered to witness the Andrew and Sarah's first kiss as man and wife on the balcony of the palace. After a traditional wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace, the married couple and some 300 guests moved to a party at Claridge's hotel.[5]

Clothing

Prince Andrew was dressed in a ceremonial attire of a naval lieutenant, while Sarah wore an ivory-silk wedding grown designed by Lindka Cierach.[5]

Best man, bridesmaids and page boys

Prince Edward was the best man. The flower girls were Alice Ferguson, Sarah's half-sister from her father's second marriage, Lady Rosanagh Innes-Ker, the daughter of Guy Innes-Ker, 10th Duke of Roxburghe; Laura Fellowes, the daughter of Diana's sister Jane Fellowes, Baroness Fellowes, and Zara Phillips, the daughter of Andrew's sister Anne. Andrew Ferguson, Sarah's paternal half-brother, Seamus Luedecke, the son of Sarah's sister Jane Luedecke, Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne, and Prince William were the page boys.[3]

Musical Selection

Organist & Choir Director: Simon Preston

Guest list

British royal family and relatives

Ferguson family and relatives

Members of foreign royal families

Norway:

Sweden:

The Netherlands:

Romania:

Greece:

Luxembourg:

Liechtenstein:

Japan:

Jordan:

Yugoslávia:

Monaco:

Hanover:

Hesse and by Rhine:

Hohenlohe-Langenburg:

Other notable guests

Public reception

The BBC reported that 500 million television viewers tuned in to watch the wedding of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson. An estimated crowd of 100,000 gathered to see the couple's first public kiss as man and wife on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.[7]

Honeymoon

The Duke and Duchess of York made their way to Heathrow Airport in an open carriage, with a paper mache satellite dish and sign attached reading "Phone Home" put there as a practical joke by Prince Edward. The Princess of Wales and Viscount Linley, Princess Margaret's son, placed a king-sized teddy bear inside the coach. The couple boarded a royal jet, emblazoned with "Just Married" on the rear door, for the Azores Islands, and then spent their five-day honeymoon aboard the royal yacht Britannia in the Atlantic.[3]

Titles upon marriage

On the day of the wedding, the Queen created Prince Andrew Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh—the first two titles were previously held by his maternal great-grandfather King George V, and grandfather King George VI.[8] By marriage, Sarah became Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York, Countess of Inverness and Baroness of Killyleagh, also attaining the rank of Princess of the United Kingdom.[9]

Aftermath

The Duke and Duchess of York appeared to have a happy marriage, producing two daughters, Princess Beatrice (Beatrice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 August 1988) and Princess Eugenie (Eugenie Victoria Helena; born 23 March 1990), who were, as of July 2013, sixth and seventh, respectively, in the line of succession to the British throne. However, it was reported that Andrew's obligations as a naval helicopter pilot and critical attention Sarah received from the media contributed to the couple's estrangement.[10] Andrew and Sarah announced their separation on 19 March 1992,[11] and divorced on 30 May 1996.[12]

After the couple's divorce, Sarah lost the style Her Royal Highness, becoming "Sarah, Duchess of York", and she was no longer a British Princess.[13] The custody of Beatrice and Eugenie was shared between their parents, and Sarah continued to live at the Duke's home, Sunninghill Park, until 2004, when he moved to the Royal Lodge. Sarah even hinted at the idea of remarrying Andrew in several interviews,[14] but numerous personal scandals in which she was involved after her divorce led to Sarah's exclusion from the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011.[15] In August 2013, Sarah was invited to stay at Balmoral Castle with Andrew and their daughters as guests of the Queen, and in September 2013, in response to a question about the possibility of remarrying Andrew, Sarah said, "He’s still my handsome prince, he’ll always be my handsome prince."[16][17]

References

  1. 1 2 "Iconic weddings: Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson". Hello!. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  2. ↑ Cooney Fitzpatrick, Beth (7 January 2011). "Great Royal Weddings: Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew". styleist.com. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 Flantzer, Susan (23 July 2010). "Wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson". www.unnoficialroyalty.com. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  4. ↑ Seward, Ingrid (4 April 2001). The Queen & Di: The Untold Story. Arcade Publishing. pp. 166–. ISBN 978-1-55970-561-5. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 "On this day, 23 July – 1986: Prince Andrew marries Sarah Ferguson". BBC News Online. London. 23 July 2005. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  6. ↑ "On this day, 29 July – 1981: Charles and Diana marry". BBC News Online. London. 29 July 2005.
  7. ↑ "More information about Prince Andrew's wedding: The wedding day". BBC News. London. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  8. ↑ Her Majesty's Stationery Office (23 July 1986). "Supplement to The London Gazette". The London Gazette. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  9. ↑ Ferguson, Sarah (2011). Finding Sarah: A Duchess's Journey to Find Herself. New York: Atria Books. pp. 234–235. ISBN 9781439189566. I had become Princess Andrew and the Duchess of York, as well as the Countess of Inverness and the Baroness of Killyleagh
  10. ↑ "From outcast to US princess: Fergie at 40". BBC News Online. London. 15 October 1999. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "On this day, 19 March – 1992: Andrew and Fergie split". BBC News Online. London. 19 March 2005. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  12. ↑ "Sarah Margaret Ferguson". The Peerage.com. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  13. ↑ Her Majesty's Stationery Office (30 May 1996). "State Intelligence". The London Gazette. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  14. ↑ "Fergie: "Charles abandoned me"". BBC News Online. London. 16 October 1999. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  15. ↑ "Royal wedding: Couple invite 1,900 guests". BBC News. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  16. ↑ Wilson, Christopher (12 August 2013). "Her Majesty requests... the presence of Fergie". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  17. ↑ Furness, Hannah (29 September 2013). "Duchess of York hints of remarriage to Prince Andrew and says 'he'll always be my prince.'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
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