Sarah Ferguson claims she is 'most persecuted' woman in royal history, stands by Prince Andrew

NZ Herald

6 Dec, 2021 06:02 PM3 mins to read

Fergie is standing by Prince Andrew amid Ghislaine Maxwell trial. Photo / Getty Images

Sarah Ferguson has called herself the "most persecuted woman" in royal history in a new interview.

The Duchess of York, 62, compared herself to "a reed that won't break" in an interview with French magazine Madame Figaro, reports the Daily Mail UK.

She also confessed she still loves her ex-husband Prince Andrew and will stand by him amid the sexual assault allegations made by Virginia Giuffre, which he denies.

Giuffre claims she was forced to have sex with Andrew at Jeffrey Epstein's former associate Ghislaine Maxwell's home in London when she was just 17.

Ferguson's comments come amid Maxwell's own sex trafficking trial in New York, during which Andrew's name has come up several times.

She is no stranger to negative media coverage. Speaking of the years following her split from Andrew in 1992, she told the magazine, "I was maybe the most persecuted woman in the history of the royal family, but I'm still here.

"The bruised reed that doesn't break is in my DNA."

Speaking of Andrew, with whom she still lives in Windsor, she said her wedding day was the most beautiful day of her life.

"I loved him and I still love him today, I will stay by his side, because I believe in him, it is a good man."

And the mum of two said her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie are now her priority - she never misses any of their calls and is always ready to give them some advice.

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson married in 1986. Photo / Getty Images

Fergie said being a mum was the one thing she had done best in her life, suggesting it was because she did not have a motherly role model in her own mother.

Her mother Susan Barrantes divorced her father in 1974, moving to Latin America where she raised horses before her death in 1998.

Ferguson's latest comments come as Maxwell faces allegations of recruiting minors for paedophile Epstein to sexually abuse from 1994 to 2004.

Andrew has been mentioned three times so far during the trial - first by Epstein's pilot, who said the prince flew with the disgraced financier.

He was mentioned by one of Epstein's victims, Jane, who said she remembered seeing him on the plane, and by his former housekeeper, who said he was "always polite and a very nice guy. He was the only guy who left us a tip."