Throughout the '80s and '90s, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, aka Fergie, seemed to be caught in a whirlwind of scandal and public criticism. As the wife of Prince Andrew, her every move seemed to be under a magnifying glass, and from the Duchess of York's fairy-tale royal wedding in 1986 to her turbulent divorce in 1996, Ferguson's time in the royal spotlight was trying. Recently, however, Ferguson seems to be experiencing a bit of a renaissance.

Once seen as the most controversial member of the royal family (who can forget the toe-sucking scandal of 1992?), Ferguson has managed to reinvent himself by earning the trust and admiration of King Charles and Queen Camilla.

According to several royal sources, the King and Queen relied on Ferguson, who is still living in the Royal Lodge with her friendly ex-husband, to keep the Duke of York home from the royal Christmas festivities this year. Prince Andreu, who has recently been accused of being friends with Yang Tengbo, an alleged “Chinese spy,” apparently took Ferguson's advice to heart.

While daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were photographed arriving at a pre-Christmas luncheon hosted by the king on December 19, Prince Andreu and Fergie stayed home. The Duke and Duchess also skipped next week's royal family festivities at Sandringham.

A source told The Telegraph that the King was “very grateful” to the Duchess of York for the “skillful family diplomacy” she displayed in this matter; as the BBC noted, King Charles “welcomed” Ferguson's assistance in making her ex-husband understand that it was “neither the time nor the place” to attend.

One might think that the Duchess of York's reputation would suffer if Prince Andrew became embroiled in yet another scandal, but it seems the opposite was true. Much of the media praised Ferguson for doing the impossible and getting Prince Andrew to reason, and the Daily Mail noted that the Duchess was “one of the few people who still has his ear.”

And before this year's Christmas spy scandal, Fergie, who was famously disliked by Prince Philip, was welcomed into the royal family. In both of his first two years on the throne, he was invited by the king to Christmas at Sandringham, and on Christmas 2023 he walked to church with the rest of the royal family.

As the Telegraph reported, Ferguson's “intervention” was a clear sign that she had “become a valuable ally to the King.” The magazine added that Charles and Camilla's confidence in the Duchess “is a further example of how the tide has turned for a woman who was once very much an outsider herself.”

Ferguson has known King Charles for a long time and recently told The Sunday Times, “I have known the King all my life and absolutely respect him. He is kind, he makes me laugh, and I love that he still calls me Fergie.”

Fergie was also friends with Queen Camilla, who told the magazine that the queen was “close friends” with her mother Susan Barrantes. The Duchess of York, who was famously close to Princess Diana, continued that due to her friendship with the late Princess Diana, “it is very big that the Queen and I are close now.”

“It's rather lovely, she reminds me of my mom,” Ferguson said of Queen Camilla. 'I admire the extraordinary support she gives to this country. I want to do everything I can for the Queen. I wish she would ask for more.”

Fergie seems to be fulfilling that wish.