Prince Andrew's notorious BBC Newsnight interview is dramatized in the new Amazon Prime Video miniseries, A Very Royal Scandal—released Sept. 19—and while the focus is on Andrew's TV appearance, the show also explores his relationship with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.
Welsh actor Michael Sheen portrays the Duke of York in the three-part miniseries, which follows BBC journalist Emily Maitlis as she prepares for her now-infamous 2019 interview with Prince Andrew about his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Although the couple divorced in 1996, Andrew and Sarah (more commonly known as Fergie) still live together at Royal Lodge in Windsor, and in A Very Royal Scandal viewers get a fictional peek at their unusual relationship.
The famously close exes—who share daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie—are shown enjoying pursuits such as charades in the miniseries, a game they're playing when Andrew gets the call that Epstein had died by suicide in prison.
When the royal—who was accused of sleeping with Virginia Giuffre, a then-17-year-old girl trafficked by Epstein, in 2001—faces increasing public backlash over the allegations, he turns to his family for support.
With her bright red wig, Claire Rushbrook bears an uncanny resemblance to Fergie, and in the first episode, the Duchess of York tells Andrew that she was "never" going to ask him if the allegations were true.
Instead, she promises that she'll support him through his troubles, although the duchess admonishes Andrew for traveling to New York and asking Epstein for money when she needed financial help—a scene that's also depicted in the miniseries.
The former couple have certainly weathered many storms together IRL, with A Very Royal Scandal emphasizing that while they might not be romantically involved, Prince Andrew was willing to go out on a limb to support his ex-wife.
For her part, Fergie—who calls the Yorks "the happiest divorcées in the world" in one scene—equally supports and puts Andrew in his place, at one point telling her ex, "When I make a mistake, I take responsibility. Your lot wouldn't know sorry if it put on a wig and danced the can-can."
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie seem unwilling to believe the allegations against their father when they find out, with Beatrice (played by Tilda Swinton's daughter, Honor Swinton Byrne) playing a larger role in the show.
A Very Royal Scandal depicts how older sister Beatrice attended a meeting with Maitlis and the rest of her Newsnight team in order to secure the interview, which Andrew and his family thought would help clear his name.
However, a more down-to-earth side of the royals is also portrayed in the Prime Video series, with Eugenie and Beatrice joking about their father's "Randy Andy" nickname from the '80s as they attend one of his royal events.
As for real life, King Charles is currently trying to convince Fergie and Andrew to move out of Royal Lodge—but whether they continue their friendly exes living arrangement elsewhere remains to be seen.
A Very Royal Scandal is now streaming on Prime Video.
