MundoAndino Home : Argentina Guide at MundoAndino
Susan Barrantes
Related topics:
Anglo-Argentines
Road accident deaths in Argentina
Argentines of English descent
Argentines of British descent
Anglo-Argentines Forum
Susan Barrantes (9 June 1937 London 19 September 1998 Buenos aires) was the mother of Sarah, Duchess of York, and the maternal grandmother of Princess Beatrice and Eugenie of York. She was born Susan Mary Wright in England, the daughter of Lieutenant FitzHerbert Wright and his wife, the former Honourable Doreen Wingfield. Her maternal grandfather was Mervyn Wingfield, 8th Viscount Powerscourt. Susan was the youngest of four children. She had two elder sisters, Brigid and Lavina, and an older brother, Bryan.
From childhood, Susan's interests revolved around horses. She completed school and for a short time attended secretarial college. During the debutante season of 1954 Susan was presented to the Queen. It was at a dance she met Ronald Ferguson. On 17 January 1956 in St Margaret's Church, London, she married Major Ronald Ivor Ferguson (1931 - 2003), who later played Polo with Prince Philip and became Prince Charles's Polo Manager. Ronald and Susan had two daughters: Jane Louisa, born on 26 August 1957 and Sarah Margaret, later the Duchess of York, born on 15 October 1959.
Susan left her family and society she knew in 1972 to move to Argentina with professional polo player Hector Barrantes. It caused quite a stir in society circles and she was subsequently branded a "bolter". There was never any question of her daughters being allowed to go to Argentina; they were raised by their father Ronald back in England with the help of their extended family. Susan and Ronald Ferguson were divorced, and in 1975 she married Barrantes. She and her new husband were developing their new ranch at "El Pucara" in Argentina, breeding polo ponies and cattle, when in 1990 her second husband died of cancer.
Related websites
Fergie mourns mum, BBC News, 22 September 1998.
Barrantes, Susan, at findagrave.com
Need more information for your travel research or homework?
Ask your questions at the forum about Anglo-Argentines or help others to find answers.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Susan Barrantes
