Sarah Ferguson says Prince Andrew is grief-stricken and 'lonely'

14 July 2023

Sarah Ferguson says her ex-husband Prince Andrew is grief-stricken and "lonely" since the death of both his parents.

Sarah Ferguson says her ex-husband Prince Andrew is ‘lonely’ since the deaths of his parents

The Duchess of York , 63, who is recovering from a single mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer, made the admission while discussing own grief on her ‘Tea Talks’ podcast following the loss of 63-year-old Andrew’s mother Queen Elizabeth in September, and father Prince Philip in 2021.

She told the co-host of her show Sarah Thomson about how she and Andrew had a discussion about their emotions while walking the late Queen’s corgis, which they have inherited. She explained: “It was actually very wonderful to have a moment to really remember because this time last year the Queen would have been going to Balmoral and we would have walked exactly where we walked yesterday together, and then the Queen would have said, ‘See you up in Scotland.’

“It was very moving actually and at one stage we both, Andrew and I, just sat quietly under some really beautiful trees and sort of I asked him if he was alright without his mum and dad. He said... ‘It’s lonely, you know.’

“He thinks about it a lot ... it’s sort of like, people process grief in their own way, and it's not just him... he’s human like everybody else.”

Prince Philip was 99 when he died in April 2021, and just over a year later the Queen passed away aged 96 at her beloved Balmoral estate in Scotland.

Sarah added Andrew’s grief probably intensified due to the short time between their deaths: “I think that is what’s hard. His grief must be even more of a huge gap.

“[Grief] comes up in tidal waves. Then it goes away again, and you cry and you're sad, and then you just keep going and the next day it’s OK, or the next minute.”

Sarah, who has children Princess Beatrice, 34, and Princess Eugenie, 33, with Andrew, from whom she divorced in 1996 after a 10-year marriage, also told of the impact of looking after the Queen’s dogs as she recovers from surgery.

She added: “Having seven dogs, they don’t understand that perhaps I’m not as mobile as I was.

“They’re going, ‘Hello! Come on, it’s all about me!’ Dogs are very needy, aren’t they?

“They’re used to people coming in and taking them for walks. So they look at me and they're going, ‘And your point is what? You’ve got your feet up watching Wimbledon? Oh no mum, you’re out! We have things to do.’”