Sarah Ferguson was staying at Balmoral Castle with her daughters during the summer holidays in 1992 when a newspaper published paparazzi photos of her stuck in a compromising position.
Photographs of Fergie’s financial advisor, John Bryan, sucking her toes were splashed on the front page of British newspapers.
The Times reports the late Queen Elizabeth II told Sarah to “pack her bags and leave immediately”, while Prince Philip “never spoke to her again”. After Phillip spotted the cosy photos of Sarah and her financial advisor, the Duchess of York's relationship did not recover.
Royal expert, Camilla Tominey, wrote: “He apparently never forgave her for ‘toe-gate’. The Duchess had to suffer the ignominy of an excruciating breakfast during which a “furious” Queen pored over the pictures of ‘Fergie’s stolen kisses’.”
In 2022, John Byran spoke to Lorraine Kelly on ITV and explained how he had been in touch with the Duchess of York and they remained together for four years following the scandal. Remembering the moment a friend showed photographs of him sucking Fergie's toes, John said: "I was really quite horrified."
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The financial advisor thought he sucked Fergie's toes as part of a game with a young Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, which was all about "make-believe". On Lorraine, John went on to praise Prince Andrew and Fergie on the handling of their divorce, saying: "I think the two of them are exemplary in terms of how they conducted themselves getting divorced.”
The pair split up in 1992 before photos of Mr Bryant were released, and they divorced in 1996 after almost six years of marriage. Because of Prince Andrew's military career, the husband and wife saw little of each other during the first years of their union, which allegedly led to the breakdown of their marriage, The Daily Express reports.
Today, the Duke and Duchess of York continue to live together at Royal Lodge in Windsor. This past Easter Sunday, Fergie joined Prince Andrew and the wider Royal Family members for the traditional Easter Sunday church service at St George's Chapel, Windsor.
She has been invited back into the royal fold these past few months, after joining the Firm for the Christmas walkabout last year. At the end of February, she attended a Thanksgiving memorial service for King Constantine II of Greece.
She has also experienced cancer, having been diagnosed with skin cancer this year, and facing breast cancer last summer.
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