Sarah Ferguson Reveals Striking Comparison to Princess Diana: ‘A Beautiful Sister-in-Law’ and an ‘Enthusiastic Puppy’
Sarah Ferguson regularly found herself compared to Princess Diana as a senior member of the royal family. Married to Prince Andrew for 10 years, Sarah has a unique take on her relationship with the late Princess of Wales. She compared herself to Princess Diana by calling her “a beautiful sister-in-law” to Sarah’s “enthusiastic puppy.”
Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson’s friendship
Sarah Ferguson and Princess Diana’s close friendship started before they became members of the royal family. The two women were fourth cousins, descended from William Cavendish, the fourth Duke of Devonshire.
Per Town & Country, Sarah, and Diana knew of one another for years. However, they only became close after reconnecting in 1980 when Diana was 19, and Sarah was 21. They had many of the same friends.
Sarah attended Diana’s wedding to then-Prince Charles. After the nuptials, Diana and Sarah remained friendly, sharing a weekly lunch date.
At Diana’s invitation, in 1985, Sarah attended an event at Windsor Castle during Ascot week. She found herself seated next to Prince Charles’ brother, Prince Andrew, at dinner.
A spark ignited between Sarah and Andrew, and romance blossomed. Within one year, Sarah had her own royal wedding in July 1986.
However, the women’s relationship would eventually show signs of wear and tear. Much of this was due to the stressors both were under in their respective marriages and in the press.
Sarah Ferguson and Princess Diana were pitted against each other by the press
As the women spent more time together in the spotlight, Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson were pitted against each other by the press. Sarah struggled with the comparisons.
“How do you navigate having a very, very, very beautiful sister-in-law [Diana]? And you’re coming along as this very enthusiastic big puppy,” said the duchess to The Independent.
She continued, “Then they started to say, ‘Oh, well, you know, she’s not got such a good figure as Diana,’ and then ‘She’s put on weight.’ Fat and Fergie seemed to go very well together.”
“I married into the royal family in 1986, which was an immense honor, but it also came with the pressures of being in the public eye. I struggled with that at times,” said the Duchess of York.
Diana and Sarah were also unhappy in their respective marriages to Charles and Andrew. Each separated from their spouse in 1992. Their divorces were finalized in 1996.
Sarah Ferguson and Princess Diana’s fallout
It was reported that Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson had a falling out after the latter published a book titled My Story. According to Town & Country, one of the reasons for their fallout was how Sarah discussed the Princess of Wales in her autobiography.
Sarah subsequently told Harper’s Bazaar, “Because we were like siblings, we rowed. And the saddest thing, in the end, we hadn’t spoken for a year.”
“I tried, wrote letters, thinking whatever happened didn’t matter, let’s sort it out,” Ferguson continued. “And I knew she’d come back. The day before she died, she rang a friend of mine and said, ‘Where’s that Red? I want to talk to her.'”
The women never reconciled. Princess Diana died on Aug. 31, 1997, in a car crash in Paris, France. Also killed were her friend Dodi al Fayed and driver Henri Paul. The only survivor was passenger Trevor Reese-Jones.
