Sarah, Duchess of York her divorce on 30 May 1996, she retained the style "Her Royal Highness" with the style of other divorced peeresses, eliminating the preface "The" before "Duchess of York". However, in accordance with letters patent issued in August 1996 regulating post-divorce royal titles, Sarah ceased being a "Royal Highness", as she was no longer married to the Duke of York. Her current name, thus, is "Sarah, Duchess of York". Should she marry again, Sarah would lose the use of the style of "Duchess of York". Since the divorce, Sarah still attends some functions with her daughters, such as the investitures of
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough offer financially, as his estates were deeply in debt. Sarah had a rival for Churchill in Catherine Sedley, a wealthy mistress of James II and the choice of Churchill's father, Sir Winston Churchill, who was anxious to restore the family's fortune. John may have hoped to take Sarah as a mistress in place of the Duchess of Cleveland, who had recently departed for France, but surviving letters from Sarah to John show her unwillingness to assume that role. In 1677, Sarah's brother Ralph died, and she and her sister, Frances, became co-heirs of the Jennings estates in Hertfordshire and Kent.