Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
Sarah Ferguson’s Breast Cancer: How the Royals ‘Put Their Differences Aside’ for Her Health Crisis
The surgery reportedly lasted eight long hours. In June, Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson underwent a single mastectomy after being diagnosed with an early stage of breast cancer during a routine mammogram. “I’m taking this as a real gift to me to change my life,” said the Duchess of York. “To nurture myself and stop trying to fix everyone else. Now is my chance.”
And she’ll get to do it at the home she’s known for the past 17 years. Though reports surfaced in April that Fergie and ex Prince Andrew — who still live together — were being kicked out of Royal Lodge by King Charles III, those plans are seemingly on hold amid her health crisis. “The royal family has been rallying around Fergie,” reveals a source. “While the past few years have been tense between Fergie, Andrew, Charles and the family, they still support her. They’ve put their differences aside to be there for Fergie.”
Fergie and Andrew, both 63, divorced in 1996. But two years after he moved into Royal Lodge, his amicable ex joined him at the 30-room, $40M estate in Berkshire, England. Their younger daughter, Princess Eugenie, 33, even held her wedding dinner there in 2018, post vow-swap with Jack Brooksbank, 37, at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. (The pair are also parents to Princess Beatrice, 34.)
Rumor has it, however, that upon becoming king, Charles, 74, intended to give the 17th-century abode to his successors, Prince William and Princess Kate, both 41, and their kids, Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5 — especially after Andrew’s downfall. In 2021, a woman named Virginia Giuffre sued the Duke of York, claiming he sexually assaulted her three times when she was under 18. He denied the accusations, and the case was settled in 2022, with Andrew stripped of his titles and military affiliations by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
“Sarah knows Andrew has made mistakes, but she feels he’s paid the price,” says a second insider. “They have each other’s backs.” Now the rest of the royals are stepping up to the plate, too. Charles and wife Queen Camilla, 75, “have made it clear to Fergie that they will be there to help with anything she needs,” shares the first source, noting the podcast host and children’s book author has known the regal pair since she was only a child. “Her diagnosis has brought them together in a way that only something as devastating as cancer could.”
