By Molly Claire Goddard
9:54am PST, Mar 6, 2026
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According to Sarah Ferguson's 1972 report card — when she was 12 years old — from Hurst Lodge School, she wasn't one to fall in line. "Although enthusiastic and anxious to please… Sarah has not yet learned to channel her energies in the right direction," the document obtained by
The Times via
Daily Express read. "Both work and behavior are erratic and she needs to exercise greater control over both." Per records, the former Duchess of York received an A in spoken English, a C in art, Ds in English language and literature as well as biology.
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Luckily, Sarah Ferguson found her path to success when she met her ex-husband,
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, through her father,
Ronald Ferguson. The 66-year-old's dad was the polo manager for
King Charles III and once rode as the sovereign's escort alongside
Queen Elizabeth II. According to
The Times via
the Daily Express, Sarah took after Ronald, who tried to upstage the late leader of England during riding sessions. "It's me they've come to see," she reportedly told him, "Not you."
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson married in 1986 and welcomed two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. However, the mother of two's acting out continued. After the former pair separated in 1992, Sarah was caught having her toes kissed and sucked by millionaire John Bryan.
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According to royal historian Kenneth Rose, Sarah Ferguson told him that her former in-laws, Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II, wrote letters expressing their disappointment in her. "Fergie has both sides of her correspondence with Andrew [Mountbatten-Windsor]: when he was away, she wrote to him every day. She also has the letters written to her by Queen Elizabeth II," he wrote in his memoir, Who Loses, Who Wins: The Journals of Kenneth Rose: Volume Two 1979-2014. "She goes on: 'I also have Prince Philip's letters, telling me that I have let down The Firm.' "
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Scandal would continue to follow Sarah Ferguson. In 2025, she was stripped of her titles and evicted from Royal Lodge over her connection to
Jeffrey Epstein. Emails released by the U.S. Department of Justice highlighted how close the two were. "You are a legend. I really don't have the words to describe my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness," she wrote in a January 30, 2010, message via
People. "I am at your service. Just marry me."
