Sarah Ferguson explains why she wasn’t invited to King Charles III’s coronation

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, has been a familiar face in the British royal family for decades, but she will be sitting out one momentous royal event: the coronation of King Charles III.

Ferguson, 63, explained why she will not be attending the May 6 coronation during a recent appearance on ITV’s “Good Morning Britain,” saying it’s because she is no longer an official member of the royal family by marriage.

“It’s a state occasion and being divorced, I don’t think you can have it both ways,” she said.

“You mustn’t sit on the fence,” she added later. “You’re either one in or out, but don’t muck around.”

The duchess was married to Charles’ younger brother Prince Andrew, Duke of York, from 1986 to 1996. They are parents to Princess Eugenie, 33, and Princess Beatrice, 34.

Ferguson said that although she will not attend the official crowning ceremony of Charles, she will be involved behind the scenes.

“Just because I’m not there on the state occasion — but in private I can be there, and that’s a lovely feeling, to be part of the family,” she said. “It really is.”

After she and Andrew divorced, Ferguson maintained close ties to the royal family. In fact, she and her ex-husband reportedly still live together at the Royal Lodge near Windsor Castle in England.

She hinted at this unconventional arrangement on “Good Morning Britain,” saying, “I am really loving being divorced to my ex-husband, not from my ex-husband."

Ferguson also enjoyed a close bond with Queen Elizabeth II, telling "Entertainment Tonight" in March that the late monarch “was more a mother to me than my own mother.”

She attended the queen's funeral in September 2022, and she and Andrew subsequently adopted two of the monarch’s beloved corgis, according to a spokesperson for Andrew.

While Ferguson was close to Elizabeth, she has also said she felt "liberated" after the monarch’s death because it gave her space to find her own voice and identity.

“I think that I’ve now, at 63 years old, suddenly owned that it’s not a bad thing to speak your mind and be who you want to be,” she said on “Good Morning Britain.”

“It took me a long time,” she added. “In the old days I would have gone, ‘Oh, shush, I’m not a rebel. I’m really good, I’m really OK, everything’s fine.’ And now I’m loving it.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com