Fergie invited to royal Christmas – but Meghan and Harry face ‘even harder road back’

On Nov 30, 2022

King Charles has invited Prince Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, to celebrate Christmas with the Royal Family at Sandringham.

It’s been a long road back for Fergie, who sparked one of the Royal family’s biggest ever scandals when photographs of her having her toes sucked by her “financial advisor”John Bryan were published in the Daily Mirror.

Royal expert Phil Dampier has said that Fergie’s return “would never have happened while Prince Philip was alive”.

It’s been a 30-year wait – but it could be an even longer wait before we see Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pulling a cracker with the rest of the royals.

It could be a ‘long way back’ for the Sussexes, says Robert Jobson
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Royal author Robert Jobson says it “might be an even harder road back” for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

“Charles has tried to forgive them,” Jobson told The Sun. “He would love to be able to end the friction — but contact with them has been limited”.

He added that Charles has been “pushed to his very limit” by Harry and Meghan — and the potential of further bombshells from the couple’s Netflix series and Harry’s forthcoming book still haunts the Royal Family.

Despite their divorce, Andrew and Sarah have remained close
(Image: Getty Images)

While one of the key factors in the distance between the Sussexes and the rest of the royals that Oprah Winfrey interview, they’re not the only ones to have embarrassed the Firm in that way.

Sarah Ferguson was interviewed by Oprah in 1996, shortly after her split from husband Prince Andrew.

“You didn’t marry the fairytale, you married a man,” she said at the time. “You fell in love and married a man, and then you have to come to terms with the fairytale. Now it’s not a fairy tale, it’s real life.”

Harry and Meghan weren’t the first royals to grant Oprah an interview
(Image: Getty Images)

She sat down with Oprah again after a second scandal.

A video emerged showing the ebullient ex-princess accepting a bribe from an undercover reporter posing as an Arab sheikh in exchange for offering access to her ex-husband, who was special representative for international trade and investment at the time as well as being fourth in line to the throne.

But all that appears to have been forgotten, or at least forgiven. It remains to be seen how much water needs to flow under the bridge before the same is true for Harry and Meghan.