Fergie: I’d wed Andrew all over again ... he’s a good, kind man
SARAH Ferguson has said her ex-husband Prince Andrew is a ‘good and kind man’ and insisted she would still marry the British royal if she could go back in time.
Ms Ferguson, 62, vowed to ‘stand very firmly’ by Prince Andrew days after he reportedly pressed for a royal comeback.
The duke was forced to stay out of sight during a high-profile royal procession on Monday following a ‘family decision’ to limit his appearance to a behind-the-scenes lunch and investiture ceremony.
His brother Prince Charles and nephew Prince William are understood to have lobbied Queen Elizabeth about Andrew’s participation in the event at Windsor Castle, which featured a church service, an investiture ceremony and a lunch.
Andrew stepped back from public life after the furore over his friendship with paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. He reached an out-ofcourt settlement with Virginia Giuffre after she launched a civil sex assault case against him in the US.
Rumours that he is seeking to reinstall himself and his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, as ‘working royals’ prompted criticism after a source told the Daily Telegraph: ‘Most importantly for him is his status as an HRH and “Prince of the Blood” and he feels that should be reinstated and his position recognised and respected.’ But asked by Times Radio presenter Mariella Frostrup whether she would wed Andrew all over again if she had the chance, Ms Ferguson said: ‘Oh, yes. He’s a very good and kind man. He’s a good man.’
Referring their wedding day, she added: ‘And it was an exceptional day, July 23, 1986. And it was just extraordinary.
‘I think my life is an amazing life. I think I’ve been very lucky.
‘And I am now just beginning my life again. And I think it’s pretty cool to be able to say that.’
She later told the programme: ‘And, you know, I will stand very firmly by Andrew... a very good and kind man and that’s what I believe.
‘We are divorced. I think it’s very important, Mariella, that people realise that I don’t spend long here in England, because I don’t wish to.
‘I’ve built 156 schools in Africa and Poland. And, you know, and I just want to keep going doing my philanthropy work.’
Andrew was cast out of Britain’s working monarchy after Ms Giuffre, who was trafficked by Epstein, accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. Andrew denies the claims.
One version of the order of service on Monday named Andrew as part of the ‘Garter Knights’ but he was omitted in another distributed to the public. Senior royals reportedly disapproved of his appearance alongside the Queen at Prince Philip’s memorial service in March and it appears the monarch conceded to their views on Monday’s event.
‘My life is an amazing life’