Sarah Ferguson was 'ultra-nervous' to meet future husband Prince Andrew

Sarah Ferguson is touching upon the time she met Prince Andrew for the first time.

The Duchess of York was invited by Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Ascot in 1985 where she first interacted with her future husband.

Speaking about the ‘cringey’ incident, the former wife of Prince Andrew revealed: “For lunch I had been placed between a vice-admiral and Prince Andrew, then on leave from his duties on HMS Brazen. More jitters.

“I had seen Andrew on occasion since our childish games of tag, and one of those occasions had left me red-faced.

“We had been invited to the same weekend at Floors Castle, the regal home of the Duke and Duchess of Roxburghe.

“I’d felt out of my depth, and when I walked down to Sunday breakfast I silently cursed my heels as they squeaked over the wooden floor.

“I entered the dining room, straight into a load of men with newspapers – and I longed to sit down quickly with my half-grapefruit and be ignored.

“I hurried toward a table with some newspapers, something I could hide behind… and there was Andrew, standing next to me.

“So much for safe havens! I was ultra-nervous now, and as he reached across the table to get a paper, I somehow thought he was leaning toward me for a good-morning kiss.

So I gave him a peck, and I looked at me and said, ‘Oh, thank you very much!’ Oh, I didn’t mean to do that!’ I cried, which he must have found quite hilarious.

“It honestly hadn’t been deliberate, just another Fergie fiasco.

“And now, just my luck, I was seated almost on top of him, where I would be at the mercy of his famous needling.”

Ferguson and Andrew parted ways in 1992 before getting divorced in 1996. The couple is parents to two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.