Sarah Ferguson reacts to losing Duchess of York title as she will ‘always support’ former husband Prince Andrew

In a Buckingham Palace statement, Prince Andrew announced he would "put my duty to my family and country first" and give up the use of his ducal title amid "continued accusations" against him.

Sarah Ferguson, known as Fergie, married Andrew in 1986 and share two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

Despite their divorce in 1996, Fergie continued to live with Andrew at Royal Lodge and retained the title as Duchess of York.

GB News understands that she has now given up use of her duchess title, which she has not used professionally for some years.

A source now revealed that Fergie is supportive of her former husband and the King’s decision.

"She will always support her former husband's decisions and do anything for the King," the insider said.

"For her this will not make a big difference," they told Hello! Magazine.

GB News has reached out to Sarah Ferguson’s representatives for more information but they declined to comment further.

However, they did add that Fergie has not used her former title in a professional capacity or on social media and will now no longer do so elsewhere.

Fergie and Andrew’s children, Beatrice and Eugenie, will not lose their title as princesses as they remain the granddaughters of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Andrew will also retain his title of prince as a son of the late monarch.

In a statement released on Friday evening, Prince Andrew said: "In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family."

"I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.

"With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me.

"As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me," he concluded.

The decision comes amid intense public scrutiny over Andrew and Fergie’s former connections to Jeffrey Epstein.

In recent weeks, emails have emerged that appear to show both were in contact with Epstein after his conviction for procuring a child for prostitution, among other charges in 2008.

In an April 2011 correspondence, Fergie appeared to describe the disgraced financier as her "supreme friend" and apologised for publicly denouncing him just week earlier.

Last week, reports claimed a newly leaked email from Prince Andrew saw him tell Epstein they were "in this together" the day after a picture of him with Virginia Giuffre was published in 2011.

Prince Andrew had previously said he severed all communication with the disgraced financier in December 2010, despite the email being sent on February 28, 2011.

The photograph in question is of Andrew alongside the late Virginia Giuffre when she was 17 years old, taken at the Belgravia home of socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.

During his 2019 Newsnight interview with the BBC, he rejected Ms Giuffre's account, stating the London meeting "never happened".

In February 2022, Prince Andrew reached a financial agreement to resolve the civil proceedings Ms Giuffre had initiated in the United States, though he did not accept liability and has always strongly denied the allegations made against him by her.

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