Britain’s King Charles is not inviting his former sister-in-law Sarah Ferguson to his coronation .
s Ferguson, widely known as Fergie, still lives with Prince Andrew and is close to him even though they divorced in 1996. She will have to watch the May 6 celebrations on TV.
The news follows Meghan Markle’s decision to miss the coronation by staying at home in California with her two children while Prince Harry attends alone.
The king and queen consort’s decision means that Ms Ferguson will not be seated next to her daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, who are 10th and 11th in line to the throne.
The exclusion is somewhat surprising as Andrew was recently invited to Windsor by the king over Easter.
The refusal to invite Ms Ferguson will cause a debate among royal watchers. Some see her as a national treasure who has courageously overcome financial and personal problems, while others see her as an error-prone embarrassment.
“She has been hugely supportive of Charles and Camilla and does not want this to become about her,” a friend said. “The whole day is about the new king and the success of his reign, but she has always championed the royal family and the queen undoubtedly would have wanted her to be there.”
Ms Ferguson and the prince were married in 1986 and split up in 1992. She was then distanced from the royal family after being linked to a series of scandals. Despite the controversies, Queen Elizabeth II publicly stood by her.
A friend said: “The queen found Sarah warm and loyal, almost to a fault, and also found her amusing.”
Royal commentator Ingrid Stewart told the London Independent that the decision to not invite Ms Ferguson is “not a matter of personal preference but protocol”.
“Fergie has not been invited to any official royal events since her divorce. As the ex-wife she would not expect to be invited,” she said.
In recent weeks Ms Ferguson has been on a series of publicity launches for her new book, A Most Intriguing Lady.
Ealier this month she told OK! magazine: “I think if you look at the king’s track record in areas like the environment, where he was decades ahead of his time, and the Prince’s Trust, it’s clear what an extraordinary man he is. How fortunate we are to have him on the throne.”