Is Prince Andrew Married? Inside His Relationship With Ex Sarah Ferguson

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson’s complicated relationship was full of twists and turns before they ever got involved with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In the late 1970s and early ‘80s, Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, earned the nickname “Randy Andy” for his many romantic relationships. He finally settled down when he tied the knot with Ferguson at the historic Westminster Abbey in July 1986, though their marriage was constant fodder for the press.

While the couple welcomed two daughters — Princess Beatrice, born in 1988, and Princess Eugenie, born in March 1990 — Mountbatten-Windsor and Ferguson split in 1992 and formally divorced four years later. The former royal couple unexpectedly forged a close friendship after their divorce, with Ferguson even moving in with her ex-husband at Royal Lodge in Windsor in 2008.

That period after their divorce brought both royals into the orbit of Epstein, a disgraced financier who also allegedly had ties to Bill Gates, Woody Allen, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, among other VIPs. (Epstein died at age 66 in August 2019 after being arrested on federal sex trafficking charges.)

Following Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest for suspicion of misconduct in public office in February 2026, many questions remain over his and Ferguson’s connections to Epstein.

Prince Andrew Through the Years: Royal Life, Scandals, Title Drop and More

Keep scrolling for more about the former Duke and Duchess of York’s marriage below.

When Did Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Get Married?

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s early reputation was as a playboy for his romantic exploits and a war hero for serving in the Royal Navy during the Falklands War. His most serious public relationship in this period was with Koo Stark, an American actress best known for a small role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Stark and Mountbatten-Windsor dated in the early 1980s but reportedly split due to the palace’s disapproval of the coupling. Mountbatten-Windsor’s subsequent romance with Sarah Ferguson was viewed much more favorably by Queen Elizabeth II and the young couple eventually married at London’s Westminster Abbey on July 23, 1986.

On the eve of their wedding, Mountbatten-Windsor and Ferguson gave an interview to the BBC where they addressed media criticism of the future Duchess of York’s weight. Ferguson said she was initially “upset” by the criticism of her body in the lead-up to the royal wedding.

“You don’t want to read nasty things about yourself,” Ferguson admitted. “I’m quite happy with my own figure, quite happy with myself.”

Ferguson’s wedding dress was designed by couturier Lindka Cierach and featured an embroidered “A” and “S” on the 17-foot train to commemorate the occasion.

“I’m looking forward to knowing at the end of saying the vows that I haven’t fluffed them,” Ferguson joked. “I want to get on and get married now.”

Mountbatten-Windsor was much more private about his relationship with Ferguson though he offered a rare comment in Kitty Kelley’s 1997 bestseller The Royals.

“I know that the decision I made to marry Sarah was, and always will be, the best decision I have made, or ever will make in my life,” he was quoted as saying.

Did Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Have Children?

Buckingham Palace confirmed on August 8, 1988, that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson welcomed their first child, daughter Princess Beatrice, at London’s The Portland Hospital. The princess weighed 7 lbs, 11 oz at the time of her birth.

“The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Anne, Captain Mark Phillips and Princess Margaret have been informed and are delighted,” the palace statement read.

Two years later, Princess Beatrice was joined by a younger sister when Princess Eugenie arrived on March 23, 1990. Born at The Portland Hospital like her older sister, the newborn Princess Eugenie weighed 6 lbs, 6 oz.

As the princesses grew up, Mountbatten-Windsor publicly expressed his pride at his daughters becoming working members of the royal family.

“As a father, my wish for my daughters is for them to be modern working young women, who happen to be members of the Royal Family, and I am delighted to see them building their careers,” he said in a statement in 2016.

Mountbatten-Windsor and Ferguson were both present in October 2018 when Princess Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank at St. George’s Chapel. Princess Beatrice tied the knot with Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi at Royal Lodge’s Royal Chapel of All Saints in July 2020.

When Did Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Get Divorced?

There were numerous reports in the British press about trouble in Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson’s marriage throughout the early 1990s. On March 19, 1992, Buckingham Palace finally confirmed the royal couple had separated.

“The Duke and Duchess of York have agreed to separate formally. They have been separated for some time,” the palace said. “There are no plans for divorce and they share responsibility for the upbringing of their children.”

Despite that initial statement, Mountbatten-Windsor and Ferguson ultimately decided to divorce in 1996. They were granted a decree nisi to formally dissolve their marriage on May 30, 1996.

When Did Sarah Ferguson Move in With Prince Andrew at Royal Lodge?

Despite their divorce, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson remained close and eventually even started living together again. Ferguson moved into the Duke of York’s Windsor property, Royal Lodge, in 2008. (Mountbatten-Windsor acquired the property in 2003 with a controversial peppercorn lease.)

In a 2016 CNBC interview, Mountbatten-Windsor said he was proud of the way he and Ferguson stayed united as parents for their daughters.

“It’s just part of life’s rich tapestry — if you’ve been married to somebody I just see it as illogical not to be a friend at the end of the day, regardless of what your set of circumstances are,” he explained.

Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew in 1989. Getty Images/Robert GIROUX / AFP

The prince later added, “The number of people who come up and say that, ‘You’ve got two fantastic children,’ now that is down to the very lucky circumstances of having a fantastic mother, but also having that connectivity and family life I believe.”

There has been continuous speculation about the exact nature of Ferguson and Mountbatten-Windsor’s relationship after their divorce. Ferguson described her ex-husband as her “soulmate” in a 2010 interview.

“We’re the happiest divorced couple in the world,” she beamed.

Ferguson dodged questions about whether she would ever consider remarrying Mountbatten-Windsor during a 2021 interview with The Telegraph.

“All I can say is that we’re happy with the way we are right now,” she stressed. “We always say we are the most contented divorced couple in the world. We’re divorced to each other, not from each other.”

Ferguson continued, “We are coparents who support each other and believe that family is everything. I’m proud of the job we have done together in bringing up our children and sustaining a strong family unit. Our bywords are communication, compromise, and compassion.”

How Are Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Connected to Jeffrey Epstein?

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor claimed in a 2019 interview with Newsnight that his old friend Ghislaine Maxwell introduced him to financier Jeffrey Epstein in 1999. Virginia Giuffre accused Epstein and Maxwell of trafficking her to Mountbatten-Windsor three times, including once in 2001 when she was 17.

Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing in regards to Epstein, including Giuffre’s allegations. He settled a civil suit with Giuffre in 2022 after she sued him for sexual assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress the previous year. (Giuffre died by suicide at age 41 in April 2025.)

“Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew have reached an out of court settlement,” a spokesperson for the prince said at the time. “The parties will file a stipulated dismissal upon Ms. Giuffre’s receipt of the settlement (the sum of which is not being disclosed). Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights.”

The statement concluded, “Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.”

Inside Sarah Ferguson’s Relationship With Jeffrey Epstein

Mountbatten-Windsor told Newsnight he initially cut off the friendship when Epstein was indicted for soliciting prostitution in Florida in 2006. (Epstein was sentenced to 18 months behind bars but, due to a plea deal, only served 13 months with work release.)

They resumed contact once Epstein completed his sentence. In his 2019 interview with Newsnight, Mountbatten-Windsor claimed he visited Epstein at his New York townhouse in December 2010 to cut off communication between them for good.

“I said to [Epstein] … ‘Look, because of what has happened, I don’t think it is appropriate that we should remain in contact,’ and by mutual agreement during that walk in the park we decided that we would part company and I left, I think it was the next day. To this day, I never had any contact with him from that day forward,” Mountbatten-Windsor told Newsnight.

The timeline Mountbatten-Windsor laid out on Newsnight was seemingly contradicted by emails released by the U.S. Justice Department in February 2026 in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. One email dated in February 2011 included Epstein’s contact “The Duke” — presumably Mountbatten-Windsor — responding sympathetically to the publication of paparazzi photos taken during a visit to Central Park in December 2010.

“I’m just as concerned for you! Don’t worry about me!” the prince allegedly wrote to Epstein. “It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it.”

Sarah Ferguson’s Ups and Downs With Royal Family: Epstein Scandal and More

King Charles III formally started the process of stripping his brother of his royal titles in October 2025 and announced that the former prince would now be known as “Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.” Mountbatten-Windsor was forced to move out of his Windsor property, Royal Lodge, to a private accommodation on the king’s Sandringham estate in February 2026.

The most shocking development occurred on February 19, 2026, when Thames Valley Police confirmed it had “arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office.” (Mountbatten-Windsor was not directly named in the statement due to national guidance.)

Mountbatten-Windsor stands accused of releasing sensitive information to Epstein when he was a U.K. trade envoy. Later that day, Buckingham Palace released a statement from King Charles calling for “a full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated.”

Meanwhile, Sarah Ferguson’s dealings with Epstein were often financial in nature. The former duchess allegedly once asked Epstein for a job to help ease her money troubles.

“But why I don’t understand, don’t you just get me to be your House Assistant,” Ferguson allegedly wrote in a May 16, 2010 email released by the Justice Department. “I am the most capable and desperately need the money. I am the most capable and desperately need the money.”

Ferguson allegedly wrote a groveling apology email to Epstein in 2011 because she’d previously described their friendship as “a gigantic error of judgment” in an interview.

“I know you feel hellaciously let down by me, and I must humbly apologize to you and your heart for that,” Ferguson allegedly wrote to Epstein. “I am apologizing to you today for not replying to your email or reaching out to you. I was bedridden with fear. I was paralyzed.”

Ferguson’s spokesperson told the Daily Mail that the former Duchess of York was advised to apologize to Epstein to “counter an aggressive threat Epstein had made to sue her for defamation.”

“The duchess spoke of her regret about her association with Epstein many years ago, and as they have always been, her first thoughts are with his victims. Like many people, she was taken in by his lies,” her representative insisted in October 2025. “As soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations against him, she not only cut off contact but condemned him publicly, to the extent that he then threatened to sue her for defamation for associating him with pedophilia.”

The statement concluded, “She does not resile from anything she said then. This email was sent in the context of advice the Duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats.”

That same month, Ferguson stopped using her royal title as the Duchess of York in solidarity with Mountbatten-Windsor. She was evicted from Royal Lodge alongside her ex-husband.

If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).