Princess Anne Reportedly Nearly Confronted sarah Ferguson Over Controversial photos
LONDON, UK – Princess Anne was reportedly on the verge of a physical confrontation with Sarah, Duchess of York, in the early 1990s following the publication of compromising photographs, according to a new claim detailed in a recent biography. The incident occurred during the breakdown of the Duchess’s marriage to Prince Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Author Andrew Lownie, in his book “Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York,” alleges that the Princess Royal was deeply angered by images showing Sarah Ferguson with her American “financial advisor,” John Bryan, while on holiday in France. The photos, published in the British press, depicted Bryan appearing to suck the Duchess’s toes.
According to Lownie’s account, Sarah Ferguson travelled to Balmoral in Scotland to be with Prince Andrew and other members of the Royal Family after the holiday with Bryan. She reportedly fled the breakfast room upon discovering her in-laws reading the newspapers featuring the images.
A witness present at Balmoral told the Duchess’s biographer, chris Hutchins, that Princess Anne “came close to throttling” Sarah, and later voiced her disapproval at dinner. “There was not one voice raised against Anne,” the source stated.
A servant present during the period also observed that Sarah “acted in the strangest way,” adding, “You would have thought she was the person wronged, as if she had every right to go on holiday with another man, kiss and cuddle him, and the only person who had behaved wrongly were the photographer and the editors of the newspapers who had published the pictures.”
Prince Andrew’s reaction to the scandal, as described by Lownie, shifted from anger to sadness, with the Queen allowing him to focus on official reports.
The fallout from the scandal continues to reverberate within the Royal family. In October, King Charles III stripped Prince Andrew of his “prince” title. He is now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and is set to move out of Royal Lodge in Windsor, where he had been residing on a peppercorn rent agreement.
Context: The events described took place during a period of intense media scrutiny of the British Royal Family, often referred to as the “War of the Waleses” due to the highly publicized marital difficulties of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. The scandal involving Sarah Ferguson further contributed to the challenges faced by the monarchy in the 1990s.