Sarah Ferguson's life in pictures
Sarah first met Andrew when they were still children and they crossed paths at polo matches through the years, before reconnecting properly at Royal Ascot in 1985, which Sarah attended as Diana's guest.
"He was utterly charmed by her, she was like nothing the royal family had ever seen before," royal commentator Victoria Arbiter told podcast The Windsors.
"Fergie was funny, and boisterous and brash and she approached life with such a zest for life and enthusiasm, and that in the beginning was utterly charming but ultimately that led to her downfall."
Nine months later, Andrew and Sarah were engaged.
Sarah officially married into the monarch on July 23, 1986, in a lavish royal wedding held at Westminster Abbey.
She wore an ivory duchess satin gown made by London couturier Lindka Cierach, which featured elaborate silver embroidery of a bumblebee and thistles, her family crest, as well as anchors and waves, to represented Andrew's sailing background.
The couple's initials, an 'A' and 'S', were also embroidered on the six-metre train, with Prince Andrew's monogram in the centre.
The duchess wore the York tiara, a gift from her new in-laws Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.
It was commissioned by the late Queen as a wedding gift and created by Garrard jewellers, just like Sarah's engagement ring.
Along with the tiara, the Queen and Prince Philip also gifted the Duchess of York a matching necklace, earrings and bracelet.
Andrew wore the ceremonial day dress of a naval lieutenant and his nuptials were attended by all of his closest royal relatives, including his siblings Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Edward.
Andrew's aunt Princess Margaret, his grandmother the Queen Mother, and his sister-in-law and Sarah's close friend Princess Diana were also in attendance on their special day.
Other notable guests included US First Lady Nancy Reagan, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and singer Elton John, who brought along his then-wife Renate Blauel.
A staggering 2000 people attended the ceremony and millions more watched from home as Sarah and Andrew said "I do" and officially became the Duke and Duchess of York.
Though she was more than happy to carry out royal duties with her new husband, she and Andrew weren't the straight-laced, prim and proper royal couple the British public was used to.
Sarah was bubbly, friendly and always happy to have a laugh. At first, her attitude was seen as a breath of fresh air for the sometimes stuffy royal family — but not everyone was on board with her approach.
When they embarked on a royal visit to California in 1988, two British newspapers lashed it as a "brash, vulgar, excessive, weak-humored exhibition by two royals".
"She was too loud and perceived as being not what a royal should be," Tom Quinn, author of Kensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir, said in the documentary Fergie and Andrew: The Duke and Duchess of Disaster.
In 1990, Sarah delivered her and Andrew's second child, another daughter they named Princess Eugenie.
This time, she was criticised by British press for not gaining enough weight while pregnant with her second daughter and Sarah later revealed that the focus on her body did a number on her self-esteem and mental health.
She'd previously struggled with disordered eating as a child and relapsed in her adult years. All the headlines about her changing body only made the disordered thoughts and behaviours worse.
Sarah adored motherhood and doted on her two daughters, whom she and Andrew tried to keep out of the public eye in their early years.
The couple raised their girls at Sunninghill Park, a 12-bedroom home in Berkshire, and for the first few years, the little family of four was happy.
"They had this amazing honeymoon period, they really were the golden couple and she was really seen as a genuine breath of fresh air," journalist Ayesha Hazarika said of Sarah and Andrew in the documentary Fergie and Andrew: The Duke and Duchess of Disaster.
Sadly, it didn't last.
Andrew's naval career kept him away from his family for long periods of time and by 1991, his marriage to Sarah was on the rocks.
The couple announced their separation in March 1992 and the palace announced Sarah, who had started to really struggle with life in the monarchy, would no longer carry out official duties in the Queen's name.
Just a few months later, photos emerged of Sarah having her toes sucked by a male suitor while she sunbathed topless and all hell broke loose.
The scandalous photos were printed on the front page of the British tabloid Daily Mirror and the duchess was mercilessly ridiculed over them.
The pictures showed her and Texan multimillionaire John Bryan (who was described by friends as a "lady's man") enjoying a private moment while on holiday in St Tropez in 1992 and would never be allowed to run in today's world.
They sparked a huge scandal that followed Sarah for years and less than a year after they ran, Andrew and Sarah reached a formal separation agreement.
They officially divorced in 1996.
While the Duke and Duchess of York agreed they would continue to coparent their two young daughters, Andrew and the royal family would not be responsible for Sarah's growing debts.
Initially, Sarah claimed she received just £15,000 (approx. $30,000) a year as a divorce settlement, however later reports claimed she was paid £350,000 (approx. $708,000) in cash afte rthe divorce, plus £500,000 (approx. $1 million) from the Queen to buy a new home to raise Beatrice and Eugenie.
It was also reported by The Sunday Telegraph that her monthly allowance had reached a total of £500,000 (approx. $1 million) by 2010.
Despite the reports, Sarah struggled financially after her divorce.
"I remember Diana saying, 'Fergie didn't get that much' [in the divorce] and she really didn't and that's why she had to work so hard," Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty Magazine, said.
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