It was in England that Susan Barrantes developed a love for horses and polo - a sport through which she would meet her two husbands.

Polo also offered her a natural connection with the Royal Family even before her daughter Sarah married Prince Andrew in 1986.

Her first husband, Major Ronald Ferguson - Sarah's father - was Prince Charles's polo manager.

By the time of the 1986 Royal Wedding, she was settled abroad with her second husband, Argentinian polo star Hector Barrantes.

The couple lived in his home country, where she stayed following his death from cancer in 1990.

Major Ronald Ferguson: Separated 25 years ago

Susan Barrantes married Major Ferguson, a Household Cavalry officer, in 1956.

She described the first years of their life together as "very happy ones", but the relationship soon broke down.

It was the major's affair with one of her best friends that was the final straw and in 1973 she left for Argentina with Hector Barrantes. It was a society scandal that made headline news.

Sarah stayed at home and later royal-watchers noticed similarities between her background and that of the late Princess of Wales, who was also separated from her mother in childhood.

This created a strong bond between the two young women married into the world's most famous family.

Ranch

Susan Barrantes travelled the world with Hector as he played polo, but they also had interests in Argentina, where the sport is most popular.

They set up a vast ranch, Estancia El Pucara, on virgin pampas about 300 miles from Buenos Aires, developing it into a major equestrian centre.

Each year the couple returned to England to see the family during the polo season.

Susan Barrantes and husband Hector shared a love for polo

Their visits stopped with the outbreak of the Falklands War and a ban on Argentinian polo players from playing in this country.

But in 1986, both returned to the UK for the Royal Wedding, with Susan Barrantes riding in an open carriage with the Duke of Edinburgh.

She showed no desire to return permanently to her home country, even following Hector's death, which came just months after cancer was diagnosed and also as the main house at El Pucara was finished.

The Duchess's visit to Argentina following the bereavement was the first by a member of the Royal Family to Argentina since the 1982 conflict.

Despite her mother's departure during her childhood, the Duchess bore no grudge and had become close to Hector Barrantes.

Expense

The death was a personal tragedy for Susan Barrantes but also brought financial difficulties.

She sold more than half the farm to the polo-playing Australian media magnate Kerry Packer and began commuting to Buenos Aires for work.

It was during this time that she is reported to have suffered a road accident on what was a seven-hour drive to the capital.

Polo-playing Prince Charles wrote book foreword

During the 1990s she set up a television production company in Buenos Aires, making films about horses.

She remained part of the polo aristocracy in Argentina and in 1997 published The Sport of Kings, a detailed book about the sport, in which the Prince of Wales wrote a foreword.

Later that year she attended a second major state occasion in the UK, where she accompanied her daughter Diana's funeral.

It is said that mother and daughter became closer during the latter years of Mrs Barrantes' life and they continued to speak on the phone every week.

Mrs Barrantes visited the UK four or fives times a year, and the Duchess would also go to Argentina regularly.

They were last together on holiday in France last month.