Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, 96, who is the husband and consort of Queen Elizabeth II, 91, will be a key family member at the royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, 33.
However, the grandfather of Prince Harry is said to have a long held feud with Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, 58, who is the ex-wife of Philip’s son, Prince Andrew, 58.
Sarah, who still lives with Prince Andrew at Royal Lodge, is still connected with the royals as the mother of Princess Eugenie, 28, and Princess Beatrice, 29.
it has also been reported Sarah is invited to Meghan and Harry’s wedding. But what will this mean for her and Prince Philip, who will surely come face to face on the day itself?
It is expected Prince Philip will take special measures to avoid Sarah at the wedding, in order to avoid “causing a stir”, according to an insider source.
Asked whether Prince Philip will be likely to react to Sarah’s presence at the occasion, the source said the Duke will respect his grandson.
“He won’t want to cause a stir because he understands it’s his grandson there,” according to the source.
However, it is believed he will keep his distance once given the opportunity at the wedding reception.
“He doesn’t want to cause any upset but at the end of the day when they go back to the castle for a reception he will not be anywhere near the Duchess.”
“He doesn’t like her, and once even said he detests her so it’s quite a strong feeling.”
Sarah Ferguson was not invited to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011, and this meant such a meeting was avoided.
The Duchess of York posts about Prince Andrew on her Instagram frequently, and has been seen to attend royal events as Prince Andrew’s guest in recent years.
So what is the relationship between the pair, who have now been divorced for over 20 years? “Believe it or not, they do live together at the Royal Lodge,” said the source.
“She used to stay in a different house, but she sold it and moved in after the Queen Mother died. He made her an apartment there to stay there.”
It is believed the pair’s daughters, who once lived there too, have long since moved out from the Royal Lodge home.
“It’s a strange relationship, no one really knows, even I don’t quite know how it all works,” added the source.
