The Lady: Why Prince Andrew doesn’t appear in ITV drama about Fergie’s killer aide
The former Duke is mentioned but never seen
The Lady, ITV’s drama about Sarah Ferguson’s killer ex-dresser, is missing one person you’d expect to see: the former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The new series follows Jane Andrews (Mia McKenna-Bruce), who lands her dream job overnight as the Duchess of York’s (Natalie Dormer) dresser at Buckingham Palace.
Across four episodes, the drama charts how quickly and gleefully she becomes accustomed to royal life – and her eventual dismissal. This is where it goes wrong: years later, she’s imprisoned for the murder of her boyfriend, Tom Cressman.
The first half of The Lady focuses a lot on Andrews’ and Fergie’s relationship. So, the question remains: why isn’t Andrew, her ex-husband, in it?
The Lady writer explains why Andrew isn’t in it
Not only is Andrew not in The Lady, but he’s rarely brought up at all. There are a few passing mentions of “the Duke”, and Fergie is clearly unhappy in her marriage, but that’s it.
Debbie O’Malley, who wrote the series, explained to the Radio Times: “Andrew does not feature.
“[The show isn’t] interested in the royal world because it’s very much about the female, domestic world of Sarah and Jane’s part in it. We only ever see the Sarah that Jane got to see.”
That’s still a big omission, considering Andrews worked for Ferguson for almost the entire time she and the former prince were married.
Fergie’s children, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, also don’t appear in the series. In a 2001 Herald report, Andrews’ friend Lucinda Ellery-Sharp claimed she was “very close to the children”.
“I think she missed them. We talked about going to visit them and making contact again,” she said.
Only one other member of the royal family appears in the series: Princess Diana, in an uncredited cameo. In another scene, Fergie emerges from a fraught conversation with Queen Elizabeth II, but the late monarch is never actually seen or heard.
How long were Fergie and Andrew together?
Sarah Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were married for 10 years, between 1986 and 1996.
At this point, Andrew and Fergie became known as the Duke and Duchess of York – titles they’ve since given up. Andrew agreed to cease using his dukedom last year, amid intense scrutiny over his connections to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and Ferguson followed suit.
Their marriage became strained for a variety of reasons, including Andrew’s naval commitments and Fergie’s struggles with publicity.
They separated in 1992 and, while rumours swirled about the possibility of a reconciliation, they formally divorced in 1996.
Speaking in 2007, Fergie explained: “I wanted to work; it’s not right for a princess of the royal house to be commercial, so Andrew and I decided to make the divorce official so I could go off and get a job.”
Both Ferguson and Andrew have found themselves in the spotlight of late.
On February 19, Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, coming amid revelations from the Epstein files and calls for him to testify in the US. He has denied any claims of wrongdoing.
Ferguson’s emails to Epstein have also emerged, including messages following his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Since then, six companies linked to Ferguson are set to be struck off.
Read more: The 15 best movies on ITVX you can stream for free right now
