Finding Fergie: The (Almost) Royal Years

As far as rock bottoms go, Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson has hit a few. In this final episode of the Fergie season, hosts Allie and Eva revisit the aftermath of two of Fergie's biggest scandals and her subsequent efforts at redemption (or, should we say re-branding) with the assistance of none other than Oprah and Dr. Phil. Fergie's road from "second-tier Sloane" to Duchess, to exiled royal and back again, has been a winding one. And yet, with steady and cheerful determination, she's reemerged once more as a palace player at the highest levels. Our story ends with Fergie's soft relaunch as a royal, and an examination of the ways in which the Fergie of today can be called a survivor — even as her legacy remains tainted.

Can one ever truly be friends with a reigning monarch?  According to Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson, she and the late Queen were the best of pals.At the end of her reign, Elizabeth granted Fergie a royal funeral at St. George's Chapel, Windsor and a place in the family plot. The Queen also invited Fergie to what would be her final family Christmas. Was this evidence of a deep and enduring friendship?  Perhaps. After all, Fergie and QE2 had so much in common: horses, dogs, and also, horses. It was Fergie who inherited the Queen's beloved corgis, Sandy and Muick. And, surely, that tells us something about their relationship? In this penultimate episode of the "Finding Fergie" season, hosts Allie and Eva go looking for what that "something" is.  

Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson divorced "her prince" in 1996, a decade after she (metaphorically) stumbled down the aisle at Westminster Abbey and (metaphorically) fell into Andrew's (literal) giant pile of teddy bears. Her life as an official working royal was marred by money troubles, tabloid scandals, and oh-so-brief moments of rebirth. The same can be said for her life as a single working mom. In episode five of "Finding Fergie," hosts Allie and Eva pick up where they left off: on Fergie's journey for self-discovery, redemption, and... cash. Adrift from the royals after a duo of photo scandals involving Texan men, Fergie set off to find herself in America. There she found a more forgiving public — and Oprah. But just as Fergie seemed to be rising from the ashes as a self-actualized working gal with brand partnerships, another scandal was lurking just 'round the corner.

Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson and Princess Diana were cousins, sisters-in-law, and co-conspirators against the royal family. Their relationship, and their centrality in the royal family during the late twentieth-century, was the stuff of legends — and tabloid headlines. Friends since adolescence, they fell out sometime in the mid '90s... and never spoke again. In the latest episode of Windsors & Losers's Fergie season — dubbed "Finding Fergie" — our hosts Eva and Allie look back at Fergie’s unique and tumultuous friendship with Princess Diana.

After there was young Fergie, there was... teen Fergie and young adult Fergie. And then, finally, Sarah Ferguson metamorphosed into her fully-realized self: royal Fergie. In this episode of the "Finding Fergie" season, Allie and Eva revisit the Duchess of York's late teens and early twenties. These were crucial, vital years in Fergie's life, where she lived with a girlfriend South of the river in London, went traveling without a credit card, borrowed her stepmother's clothes, and dated an older man with a massive Swiss chalet and a wine collection bought at Sotheby's.  But Fergie's life path took a hard left when her friend (and cousin) Princess Diana reintroduced her to the the Queen's second son. From there, Fergie's path to duchess-hood was set. 

Windsors & Losers is back! This season is about Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson, who is perhaps the most maligned modern royal. But in 1986 when Fergie married into the Windsor clan, she was hailed as the future of the monarchy: a confident, smiling, and up-for-anything country lass. She was just the sort to endear herself to the Queen — and the tabloids! But of course, the party didn't last long...In episode one of this season — which we are calling "Finding Fergie" —  Eva and Allie go back to Fergie's formative years and dive into her seemingly cookie-cutter country upbringing (complete with ponies), her cad-ish and clueless polo playing dad, and her beautiful mother, who bolted from their home, and England, to marry an Argentine hunk.Editors' note: This episode was recorded before recent breaking royal news, including King Charles's cancer diagnosis. 

When Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson joined the British royal family in 1986 she was hailed as the future of the monarchy and "a breath of fresh air." A decade later she was divorced, broke, and exiled to the land of misfit (and embarrassing) royals, leaving a trail of scandal in her wake. Poking fun at her clothes and weight became a national bloodsport. Prince Philip apparently couldn't even stand to be in the same room as her. And let’s be honest: it’s never been easy to be a Windsor Wife, as Diana and Meghan both have shown. But now, Fergie is somewhat back in the royal fold. She did, after all, inherit the late queen's corgis. Is Sarah, the Duchess of York, proof that by sticking around long enough, the disruptor becomes the establishment? In a new season of Windsors & Losers, coming early 2024, we're reassessing the life and times of the one-named royal wonder, Fergie.

Mark Bolland pulled off many coups during his seven-year tenure as Charles and Camilla's palace spin doctor... but he wasn't there to make friends. “There was an awful man there," one senior figure said 20 years later. "Absolutely destructive beyond belief." So who is this Rasputin-like magician who turned Camilla from most reviled woman in Britain into future queen? In the final episode of "The Camilla Season," Eva and Allie follow the mighty rise and unceremonious end of Camilla's most ruthless and dogged courtier.

Can queens be friends with their exes? Camilla is the first divorced queen in British history with a living husband. And — oh, is he ever living! The charming and roguish Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles is still a key member of Camilla’s inner circle, beloved by all, including Camilla, despite his cad antics. He regularly attends ceremonial occasions as Camilla’s guest and has on at least one occasion acted as her official representative. In fact, it could be argued (by us) that Andrew and Camilla, not Gwyneth and Chris, are the true originators of “conscious uncoupling.” In the penultimate episode of The Camilla Season, Eva and Allie take a look back at the surprisingly civil divorce of Camilla and Andrew in 1995. But... maybe that's what happens when your marriage is one of "electric indifference", as Tina Brown once put it.