Ronald Ferguson Ronald Ferguson Major Ronald Ivor Ferguson (10 October 1931 – 16 March 2003) was the father of Sarah, Duchess of York, former wife to the Duke of York. He was the maternal grandfather of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York. Major Ferguson was polo manager, initially to the Duke of Edinburgh and later, for many years, to the Prince of Wales. Ferguson was the son of Colonel Andrew Henry Ferguson (1899–1966) and his wife Marian Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott (1908–1996), a first cousin of Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott, who became (after her wedding to Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester)
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough her own right. Sarah became one of the trustees of the Marlborough estate, and she used her business sense to distribute the family fortune, including the income for her daughter Henrietta. Sarah’s personal income was now considerable, and she used the money to invest in land; she believed this would protect her from currency devaluation. The dowager duchess purchased Wimbledon manor in 1723, and rebuilt the manor house. Her wealth was so considerable that Sarah hoped to marry her granddaughter, Lady Diana Spencer, to Frederick, Prince of Wales, for which she would pay a massive dowry of £100,000. However, Robert