How a fairytale royal wedding, first announced on this day in 1992, came to a crushing end exactly six years later. The breakup was followed by a wave of scandals that seemed never-ending…

The world was captivated by the royal wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in 1986.

But what was once described as a fairytale romance between fiery redhead Sarah and the man of her dreams would ultimately end in heartbreak.

The couple first met when Princess Diana invited Sarah to dinner at Windsor Castle and sat her next to the prince.

A whirlwind romance followed and the two married at Westminster Abbey on July 23.

Sarah and Prince Andrew on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on their wedding day in July 1986

Sarah had only one request at the time: that they could always be together.

But Andrew, a serving naval officer, was sent back to sea just two weeks after their wedding.

It is thought that cracks began to appear early in their relationship.

Fergie revealed that they only saw each other 40 days a year during the first five years of their marriage.

“I spent my entire first pregnancy alone,” Sarah later told Harper’s Bazaar about Andrew’s absence. “When Beatrice was born, Andrew was given ten days’ shore leave.”

The couple legally separated in early 1992. However, they continued to present a united front with their daughters, who were pictured together at the Royal Windsor Horse Show a few days later.

In August of that year the situation became more complicated. Sarah was photographed on holiday in St Tropez with her financial advisor John Bryan.

While the pair went on holiday together, intimate photos were taken of the American businessman appearing to kiss the topless Duchess’s toes.

When the news broke, Fergie was on summer holiday at Balmoral Castle with the Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Andrew.

It was said that Queen Elizabeth was mortified and that Fergie’s relationship with father-in-law Prince Philip was forever destroyed.

The Daily Mail later wrote that Philip didn’t even want to be in the same room as Sarah anymore, insisting she had brought ‘shame’ to the whjole family.

Their divorce was officially finalized four years later on May 30, 1996, but by that point the Duchess was already estranged from the royal family following her scandal.

Andrew and Fergie with their two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, at the Royal Windsor Horse Show after their divorce in 1992

A few months after Andrew and Sarah split, Sarah was photographed in St. Tropez with her financial advisor John Bryan

After the divorce, she told Harper’s Bazaar:

‘I wanted to work; It’s not right for a royal princess to be commercial, so Andrew and I decided to make the divorce official so I could go to work.”

Some reports at the time suggested she was waiting for a bigger divorce settlement.

However, Sarah denied these claims, stating that all she wanted was to be on good terms with Andrew’s family again, especially the late Queen.

Although it has been almost thirty years since their divorce, the Duke and Duchess have remained friends over the years.

They raised Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie together and Fergie still lives at Prince Andrew’s home, Royal Lodge in Windsor.

It seems like the couple spent more time together than they had in the ten years they were actually married.

And the couple regularly goes on holiday with their daughters.

The Duchess pictured escorting a young Princess Beatrice to school in Windsor following news of the Yorks’ divorce

Prince Andrew photographed the day of the couple’s separation, the same day as the anniversary of their engagement

Sarah previously told The Daily Mail: ‘We are the happiest divorced couple in the world. We are separated, not apart.”

Discussing their wedding day and their ongoing relationship, she added, “July 23, 1986 was the happiest day of my life. Andrew is the best man I know. What he is doing for Britain is incredible; no one knows how hard he works for his country.

“My duty is to him. I am so proud of him. I support him and always will. The way we are is our fairy tale.

‘Even though we are not a couple, we really believe in each other. The Yorks are a united family. We showed it.’