Erotic film stars, toe sucking and tabloid stings: A history of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s scandals.

Princess Eugenie posted a sweet message to her parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, on Instagram this week.

“Who else has ever forgotten to congratulate their parents on their wedding anniversary!” she wrote, next to a black-and-white photo of Andrew and Fergie’s 1986 wedding.

“I’m a day late but I wanted to celebrate my parents getting married 33 years ago. Thank you for always being the best of friends and bringing us up together.”

 

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???? who else has ever forgotten to congratulate their parents on their wedding anniversary! I’m a day late but I wanted to celebrate my parents getting married 33 years ago… Thank you for always being the best of friends and bringing us up together. @hrhthedukeofyork @sarahferguson15 #weddinganniversary

A post shared by Princess Eugenie (@princesseugenie) on Jul 24, 2019 at 4:51am PDT

There’s no doubt that Andrew and Fergie have been role models when it comes to divorced parents. In fact, they’ve stayed so chummy – even living in the same house at one point – that it’s often been rumoured that they might get back together.

But while they’ve done well with the divorce bit, the two have been scandal magnets in the rest of their lives.

Here’s a brief rundown of some of the biggest Andrew and Fergie controversies.

1982-1983: Andrew dates an erotic film star

Think there was a fuss when Prince Harry started dating Meghan Markle? You should have been there when Andrew was going out with Koo Stark.

The American-born actress had done a “naked lesbian shower scene” in the 1976 avant-garde film Emily, about a teenage girl’s sexual awakening, and the media was never going to let her forget it.

Andrew and Stark eventually split, but stayed close.

1992: Fergie gets her toes sucked

It was six years after Andrew and Fergie’s wedding, and the couple had announced they were separating. Fergie was holidaying in the south of France with John Bryan, her financial adviser, when a paparazzi photographer snapped them enjoying the sunshine. Fergie was topless, and it appeared that Bryan was sucking her toes.

The photos were soon selling tabloid newspapers worldwide.

“She was at Balmoral when those photographs came out,” Royal biographer Penny Junor explained on British show The Royal Wives of Windsor. “The family came down for breakfast and there was Fergie in this shocking scene and that was the end.”

1997: Fergie plugs Weight Watchers

In need of cash after her divorce, Fergie signed a lucrative deal with Weight Watchers. However, perhaps she was a little too enthusiastic when she first talked about the weight-loss program. Fergie said that she’d explained Weight Watchers to her young daughter Beatrice, and told her to cut out chips, fizzy drinks and bread.

“I mean, she is only eight, but she definitely can pack it on a bit,” she said. “When she put on her swimsuit, we noticed she was kind of appearing a bit chunky.”

2006: Courtney Love spills on Andrew

At 1am one night, rocker Courtney Love heard a knock on the door of her Hollywood home. It was Andrew, with a bodyguard.

“He wants to party,” Love revealed on The Russell Brand Show in 2006, years after it happened. “He'd come to Hollywood to look for chicks.”

Love, who was in her slippers and dressing gown, made the prince a cup of tea.

Andrew’s spokesperson later said he did visit Love but insisted it was “absolute nonsense” that he was looking for girls.

2010: Fergie gets caught in a tabloid sting

“Fergie ‘sells’ Andy for £500,000” the News Of The World headline read in 2010.

It was a massive embarrassment for Fergie. She’d met with a man she’d believed was a wealthy Indian businessman, but was actually undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood. A secret recording appeared to show her promising to introduce him to her ex-husband in return for a payment of £500,000 (AU$896,172). At the time, Andrew was Britain’s special representative for international trade and investment.

After the story came out, Fergie issued a statement of apology.

“It is true that my financial situation is under stress, however, that is no excuse for a serious lapse in judgement and I am very sorry that this has happened.’’

2012: Fergie faces charges in Turkey

Fergie tried her hand at TV in the late 2000s, and one of her shows, Duchess And Daughters: Their Secret Mission, saw her filming undercover. She visited orphanages in Turkey, and returned with footage that appeared to show children tied to their beds. Four years after her visit, she was charged in a Turkish court with going against the law in “acquiring footage and violating privacy" of five children.

2015: Andrew and the underage sex slave

Of all the scandals that Andrew has been caught up in, this involves the most serious allegations. In 2015, Virginia Roberts claimed that wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein forced her to have sex with Prince Andrew in 2001, when she was just 17. There’s a photo of Andrew with his arm around Roberts, taken at this time.

Buckingham Palace quickly labelled the allegations as being “categorically untrue”.

However, Andrew has been repeatedly criticised over his friendship with the disgraced Epstein. Epstein is currently facing sex trafficking charges, and if convicted, could be sentenced to up to 45 years’ jail.

2017: Andrew hosts Harper Beckham’s princess party

It seemed innocent enough: Victoria and David Beckham’s daughter Harper having a princess party for her birthday, hosted by a real prince, Andrew, and a real princess, Eugenie (above). But, as critics pointed out, who was paying for the little girl’s dream party? The taxpayer?

"None of them has got a right to be there,” former Buckingham Palace press secretary Dickie Arbiter told Sky News. "Is it being opened up as a theme park? It devalues what the place is all about."