Sarah Ferguson is recovering with her family after undergoing a breast cancer operation, her spokesperson has said.
After being diagnosed following a routine mammogram, the Duchess of York is being supported by her family at Royal Lodge in Windsor - including ex-husband Prince Andrew - with children Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
Despite being divorced for 27 years, Fergie's representatives have confirmed in a statement that she is staying at the property she shares with the Duke of York, the Mirror reports.
The pair's arrangement is certainly unique, as they have not been married for some time, but Fergie says they are the "happiest divorced couple in the world". Marrying in 1986, things soon fell apart, with Andrew's naval career forcing the pair to spend months away from each other.
Speaking on to US TV host Ernie Manouse in 2010, Fergie explained that she barely got to see her partner, with days together working out collectively to just over one month annually.
"My deal was that I was marrying my man, who happened to be a prince and a naval officer.", she said. "But what I got was not the man, I got the palace and didn't get him. For our marriage, I saw him 40 days a year."
Royal separation
The couple separated in March 1992 after it was speculated that the Duchess was having an affair with Steve Wyatt who was there for her when she was "exceptionally low" according to David Leigh, co-author of The Duchess of York Uncensored.
However, Steve soon became engaged to another woman, and five months after the separation announcement, Fergie was ensnared with scandal as compromising photographs of the duchess with Steve's friend John Bryan emerged.
Taken at her villa in St Tropez, the images showed John, her "financial advisor", kissing and sucking on her toes, while other pictures captured them frolicking in the pool. Fergie was driven out of the family as a result, and she and Andrew divorced in 1996.
The late Queen Elizabeth II confirmed their parting in a tense statement, which read: "In view of the media speculation which the Queen finds especially undesirable during the general election campaign, Her Majesty is issuing the following statement...
"Last week, lawyers acting for the Duchess of York initiated discussions about a formal separation for the Duke and Duchess. These discussions are not yet completed and nothing will be said until they are."
A united family
Despite the split, Fergie and Andrew are thought to have stayed in communication throughout the years and she has stood by the disgraced duke after he was embroiled in a sex abuse scandal, which he vehemently denies. The pair lived at Sunninghill Park in Ascot while they were married, but in 2004 Andrew moved into his current home in Windsor.
Since 2008 it has been a place where Sarah also stays whenever she is in the UK, as the pair co-parent and co-grandparent, Beatrice, Eugenie, and the new additions to their family. The pair also share the responsibility of looking after the late Queen's beloved corgis.
Appearing on Rylan Clark's BBC Radio 2 show back in April, Sarah claimed Muick and Sandy were now "really happy" in their new home. "Their tails have gone up now so I think they're over their grief," she said.
The duchess also claimed they sleep in royal dog beds at night with crowns on them. In a piece for the Sunday Times, Sarah explained why she continues to stay at Royal Lodge with her ex,
She explained: "I travel a lot and I've always been able to make wherever I am home. If I am staying in a hotel I have the same family photographs and scented candles around me.
"When I'm in the UK I'm lucky enough to stay at Royal Lodge. I wouldn't call it my home as that would be presumptuous," she added.
In an interview with US TV show Good Morning America in 2021, Sarah called Andrew a "great man" and said their wedding day was "the best day of [her] life". "He is a great man and [our wedding day] was the best day of my life," she said.
"I would do it all over again because he was a very good-looking sailor, but I fell in love with him and I think love conquers all."
In 2018, she also told the Daily Mail how "united" the family would always be, despite all they'd been through, and claimed she was "divorced to" Andrew, not divorced from him. "We're the happiest divorced couple in the world. We're divorced to each other, not from each other," she explained.
"My duty is to him. I am so proud of him. I stand by him and always will. The way we are is our fairy tale." The duchess continued to say: "The Yorks are a united family. We've shown it. You saw it at the wedding," she said.
Daily ritual
Sarah also shared how they might live in the same home but they have separate rooms on different sides of the property. However, they do have a sweet daily ritual together.
She added: "We sit round the table and have afternoon tea together. It's a very important part of our lives." Most recently the pair have reportedly been at risk of losing their place at Royal Lodge.
Earlier this month it was reported that King Charles was keen to cut Prince Andrew's annual grant as part of his plans for a slimmed-down monarchy. It's thought that this decision could leave Andrew unable to afford to live at the 30-room, £30million mansion in Windsor.
Instead, sources say he was asked to downsize to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's former UK home, Frogmore Cottage after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were given notice by Buckingham Palace to quit their residence there.
Prince Andrew is said to be refusing to budge on the move and is currently paying for work to be completed on the property.
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