The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, has lived her life both in and out of the spotlight.

Ferguson was born in October 1959 in London to Major Ronald Ferguson and Susan Barrantes. The author went on to finish a course at Queen’s Secretarial College before deciding to drop out of school and work for an art gallery.

In March 1986, Ferguson and Prince Andrew announced their engagement and officially tied the knot in Westminster Abbey that July. Ferguson assumed her husband’s royal and ducal status and became the Duchess of York. The duo then expanded their family in August 1988 with the birth of their daughter Beatrice. Their youngest daughter, Eugenie, arrived in March 1990.

After six years together, the couple announced their separation in March 1992 and filed for divorce in April 1996. Although the pair called it quits, they have since remained close friends and still continue to live together at Royal Lodge in Windsor. She is no longer a working royal post-divorce.

Scroll down for a look back at Ferguson’s ups and downs as part of the royal family: