5 Unbelievable facts about Fergie

Sarah, Duchess of York or Fergie, as she is more commonly known as, celebrates her 56th birthday today on October 15th.

Since her 1986 wedding to Queen Elizabeth’s second son, Prince Andrew, and the well-covered divorce ten years later, Fergie has often been in the eye of the press –- sometimes more than she probably would have preferred.

But while her personal life has been very public for the past 30 years, there might be a few facts you don’t know about her. Take a look here:


#1 — Sarah, the royal

Though she wasn’t a royal before she married Prince Andrew in 1986, she did have royal ancestry. The Duchess of York can trace her roots back to King Charles II through two of his illegitimate children and to Georgiana Spencer, Duchess of Devonshire. Her family connection to the latter makes her a distant cousin of both her former husband and of Princess Diana.
#2 — Sarah, the writer

The Duchess of York has written more than 40 books over the years. Her most famous books are for children, more specifically about Budgie the Helicopter and Little Red.
#3 — Sarah’s close call

On September 11th 2001, Sarah was in New York at the NBC studios for an interview. She was supposed to visit her charity Chances for Charity located on the 101st floor in World Trade Center 1. Luckily for her, she was running a bit late and hadn’t arrived at the building when the first plane hit. At the same time, Prince Andrew was on board another plane on his way to the United States, but it turned around as the news broke and the American airports were closed.
#4 — Sarah, the Duchess
The minute Sarah married Prince Andrew, she became Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of York as her husband was created Duke of York by the Queen in correlation with the wedding. When they divorced in 1996, Sarah lost the right to use ‘Her Royal Highness’ but kept her title as Duchess of York. If she ever marries again, however, she will lose her title as well.

#5 — Sarah and Fergie
In 2006, former Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie released her first solo album named The Dutchess (a 17th century spelling of Duchess). The fact that the singer named her album this way wasn’t a coincidence but rather a nod to the other Fergie, the Duchess of York, and the fact that the two of them are sometimes confused. After the album was released, the two Fergies became friends and the singer performed at a charity concert organised by the Duchess.