[5][7] After securing the Queen's consent (which at that time was required by the Royal Marriages Act 1772 for all descendants of King George III), Andrew and Sarah were married in Westminster Abbey on 23 July 1986.

[17] In February 1987, Sarah got a private pilot's licence and, after passing a 40-hour training course that was paid for by Lord Hanson as a wedding gift, was presented with her wings at RAF Benson in December.

[21] The couple was defended by city officials of Los Angeles who stated that the criticism was "awful" and offensive, and observers described the Duke and his wife's behaviour as friendly and said that they fulfilled their duties.

[28] In 1989 Sarah was credited with kickstarting the UK popularity of exercise regime Callanetics after it was widely reported that founder Callan Pinckney had given her private tuition.

[35] In August 1992, the British tabloid Daily Mirror published surreptitiously taken photographs of John Bryan, an American financial manager, sucking on Sarah's toes as she sunbathed topless.

[40] Reports and speculation about the couple reuniting continued into late 1995,[41] ending when the Duke and Duchess announced their mutual decision to divorce in April 1996.

[40][42][43] However, subsequent information given by senior officials to The Sunday Telegraph revealed that Sarah had received £350,000 in cash, £500,000 from the Queen to buy a new house for her and the children, and a monthly allowance that was estimated to have reached £500,000 in total by 2010.

[60] She attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, and was seated by her daughters' side, but she was not invited to the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023.

In 1995, a baggage handler at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City pleaded guilty to stealing her $382,000 diamond necklace and bracelet.

[70] In 2015, Sarah was reported to have moved out of Royal Lodge and assumed residence in Verbier, Switzerland, where she and the Duke of York owned a £13 million chalet.

[82] Juan Alessi, a staff member at Epstein's Florida residence for 12 years, said in an unsealed deposition that he believed Ferguson visited "only once and for a short time".

[88] The Times reported in September 2021 that Sarah and Andrew had reached a legal agreement with the property's previous owner, and would sell the house to pay back their debt.

[90] In May 2010, Sarah was filmed by the News of the World offering Mazher Mahmood, an undercover reporter posing as an Indian businessman, access to Prince Andrew for £500,000.

[95] She also claimed that her intention was initially to help a friend who "needed $38,000 (£28,000) urgently" but she ultimately asked for more money due to her own financial problems.

In this case there is no offence in UK law so there will be no extradition.Turkey maintains that Sarah distorted information about the orphanage and used an isolated incident in a smear campaign against the Republic of Turkey.

... And maybe after costs, after the animation is made, after everything else and the popcorn and everything else, then perhaps in five to ten years, maybe I might receive a little bit of my percentage, and that I hope will be at that time going back into Chances for Children".

"[118] Sarah, whose elder daughter Beatrice was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of seven, became a patron of Springboard for Children, a charity that helps students who struggle with reading and writing.

In 2004, Sarah was named the official spokesperson of SOS Children's Villages – USA and in 2005 she became a global ambassador for Ronald McDonald House Charities.

[124] In 2009, it was reported that despite its income of £250,000 over 18 months, the foundation had spent only £14,200 on grants, £6,300 of which was given to the charitable arm of a South African private game reserve owned by Sir Richard Branson, a friend of Sarah's.

[77] In 2007, Sarah joined the Advisory Council of the Ophelia Project, an American initiative aimed to support people dealing with relational and other non-physical forms of aggression.

[129] In 2013, Sarah, along with her former husband, the Duke of York and their daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, founded Key To Freedom, a business structure for women in vulnerable situations in India who can sell their wares through the British retailer Topshop.

The charity has provided aid for NHS, care home and hospice staff by delivering more than 150,000 items, including food, masks, scrubs, and toiletries.

[142] In the same month, she travelled to Poland amid the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian refugees and help her charity the Sarah's Trust in organising goods donated by UK citizens.

[144] In her capacity as chief ambassador of the Montessori Group, Sarah visited Croatia in June 2022 where she promoted the organisation's work on providing help for Ukrainian refugees and supporting children.

[147] In March 2024, Sarah co-chaired the Global Citizen NOW summit in Melbourne, Australia with the aim to end extreme poverty and address the climate crisis.

[125] Five months later, Walt Disney Feature Animation released a DVD The Cat That Looked at a King, with Sarah's voice in the role of the Queen;[125] the story is derived from the Mary Poppins books by P. L. Travers.

[151] In the same year she travelled to Romania and Turkey for the documentary Duchess and Daughters: Their Secret Mission, shown on ITV1 on 6 November 2008, investigating poor treatment and conditions in children's institutions in those two countries.

The Victoria-Albert relationship in particular drew her into the queen's history, as she believed there were parallels between their marriage and her own with Prince Andrew, as they both "fought for their love" in the midst of public scrutiny.

[158][needs update] In April 2020, Sarah launched a new series on her YouTube channel, called Storytime with Fergie and Friends, in which she and a number of authors, including Nanette Newman and Imogen Edwards-Jones, read stories to children from their homes during the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supporters Dexter a lion rampant gardant Or imperially crowned proper, sinister a unicorn argent, armed, crined and unguled Or, gorged with a coronet Or composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lis a chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also Or.