Sarah Ferguson reportedly “saved” the Royal Family from embarrassment regarding her former husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, with a key move. The former Duke and Duchess of York were nowhere to be seen at Sandringham this year, as the royals, including their two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, gathered in Norfolk for the annual Christmas Day festivities.

Andrew and Fergie, as she is also known, were banished to the shadows due to their relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. They were stripped of their titles and forced to vacate their home in Windsor, Royal Lodge, with the move scheduled to take place sometime in the new year. They were neither invited to Sandringham this year, in a bid by the Firm to steer clear of controversy this Christmas. However, it wasn’t the first time the controversial pair had not spent Christmas in Sandringham.

Last Christmas, Andrew and Fergie stayed away from Sandringham, as the former duke was engulfed in yet another scandal, this time involving his association with an alleged Chinese spy.

It was a stark contrast to Christmas 2023, when Ms Ferguson was invited to spend Christmas with the royals for the first time since 1991.

She even attended the traditional pre-Christmas lunch and tweeted about it.

But a year later, her ex-husband was dominating headlines for the wrong reasons again, and despite the furore, he remained defiant and even wanted to attend the festive lunch at Buckingham Palace.

A source told the Sun at the time: “Andrew told friends that it's his family and so he should be there. It's a family occasion, why shouldn't he go?”

However, neither attended the Christmas lunch nor the Christmas Day festivities in Norfolk.

According to reports, it was Ms Ferguson who “saved” the day by convincing Andrew to lie low and keep his distance from the Firm.

The Mirror reported that the former Duchess gave up her own chances of returning to Sandringham for another year and came to “the family’s rescue” after the King and Queen privately urged Andrew to “see sense”.

This year, while Andrew was pictured cutting a lonely figure as he drove in Windsor on Christmas Day, it is unclear how Ms Ferguson spent the special day.