Right what on earth is toegate, the royal scandal that is briefly mentioned in The Crown?

This could very much top tampongate

1 year ago

The 1990s was an awful decade for the Royal Family, and one year in particular that really irked the Queen is 1992. Queen Elizabeth II called 1992, Annus Horribilis, and a lot of things happened that year, including toegate. Toegate wasn’t as famous as tampongate, however it caused a lot of royal drama and landed them all in the middle of a scandal. The toe scandal is mentioned briefly in the fifth season of The Crown, but it was kind of a big deal when it first happened.

So, here is everything you need to know about toegate, the scandal that drove Sarah Ferguson out of the Royal Family.

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s marriage ended after six years after ‘compromising’ photos were published

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson got married in 1986 and just after six years, their marriage ended after the Daily Mirror published “compromising photographs” of Sarah Ferguson and her financial advisor. The photo was taken at Ferguson’s holiday villa in St Tropez of millionaire John Bryan, sucking Sarah Ferguson’s toes.

via Netflix

As well as the toe sucking pictures, more photos of the two kissing were published

In case the toe sucking and kissing wasn’t enough to see why this was such a scandal, Bryan and Ferguson were also pictured kissing, hugging and swimming together in the swimming pool. If that still seems minor, one picture was of two-year-old Princess Eugenie watching on as John Bryan kissed her mother on the lips. It’s fair to say, the royals were far from impressed.

When the pictures were published, Sarah Ferguson was at Balmoral with the Royal Family

To really make matters worse, the morning the photos were published in the Daily Mirror, Ferguson was staying at Balmoral with the rest of the Royal Family. Royal writer Richard Kay claimed in the Daily Mail that he received a message from Princess Diana the night before the photos were slapped across the newspapers. Apparently, the message said: “The redhead’s in trouble”.

via Netflix

Kay also claimed he got a phone called from John Bryan, asking if he could obtain an early copy of the Mirror. According to Kay, Bryan said: “I wasn’t sucking her toes, I was kissing them!”

In 1996, Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew announced their divorce

In 1992, the couple separated and it wasn’t until four years later when they officially announced their divorce to the world. Sarah was able to keep her title of Duchess of York, but was no longer a Royal Highness. Quite savage really!

The Crown season five is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.