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Sarah Ferguson’s next children’s book, Flora and Fern: Kindness along the Way, has been withdrawn from publication amid fallout around the former Prince Andrew, her ex-husband, whose royal titles were officially stripped amid scandal.
PEOPLE has contacted New Frontier Publishing for comment. Ferguson’s team had no comment when reached by PEOPLE.
New Frontier Publishing is based in London, and according to Publisher’s Marketplace, Flora and Fern: Kindness along the Way did not have a U.S. publisher.
According to the Daily Mail, book signings and bookshop talks by Ferguson, who is popularly known as Fergie, have also been canceled.
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Flora and Fern: Kindness along the Way was reportedly due to be published on Oct. 9 but was then bumped to Nov. 20. The children’s book was due to retail for about $17 and would follow Flora and Fern: Wonder in the Woods, which Ferguson published in October 2024 with New Frontier Publishing.
A book jacket shared by Waterstones showed Ferguson’s name was listed on the cover as “Sarah, Duchess of York,” the royal title she was widely known by prior to Andrew’s scandal. The text was illustrated by Denise Hughes.
A synopsis about the book said, “Flora and Fern are having a great time playing hide-and-seek in the woods with their friends. When Fern gets lost and eventually finds himself in the BIG City … will he know what to do and how to find his way home again? The second enchanting book in the series with favorites Flora & Fern as they discover kindness along the way.”
Fergie embraced a career as an author (among other business ventures) after divorcing Andrew in 1996 and has published over 50 books to date, including children’s books, a memoir and historical fiction.
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Speaking to PEOPLE in 2021, Ferguson opened up about her approach to writing for children.
“If you write for children, you have got to know your audience and you can’t tell them what to do or think,” Ferguson said. “You have to put yourself in a child’s place, and the excitement I get from being very curious and childlike means I find great enjoyment in that.”
The report about the book dropped after the former Prince Andrew announced that he would no longer use his royal titles and honors, as it distracts from the work of King Charles and the rest of the royal family, in a shock statement on Oct. 17. King Charles launched the process of officially stripping his brother of that status on Oct. 30 and the transition was made official in a Letters Patent released Nov. 3.
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The changes came amid renewed scrutiny around the depth of Andrew’s connection to the late, disgraced Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died while awaiting trial in August 2019.
Andrew stepped back from his royal role in November 2019 after a bombshell BBC interview in which he discussed his relationship with Epstein.
Queen Elizabeth later stripped her second son of his military titles and patronages in January 2022, after a judge rejected his attempt to have Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre’s sexual assault lawsuit against him dismissed.
Andrew settled with Giuffre out of court for an undisclosed sum and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Giuffre died by suicide at age 41 in April of this year.
As Andrew’s titles were stripped, he has also been ordered to surrender his residence at Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion in Windsor where Ferguson lived with him, and Fergie will also no longer use the Duchess of York title she was widely known by.
