Sarah Ferguson is still promoting her latest romance novel, which is why she keeps giving interviews where she talks about her ex-husband’s family. To be fair, everyone asks her about the Windsors and she’s just answering those questions as diplomatically as she can. She still adores her human-trafficker rapist ex. She also says nice things about King Charles and the coronation. She saves her warmest answers for the late QEII. But she also answers questions about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex with a surprising amount of… grace?? Is that the right word? Some highlights from Fergie’s Telegraph interview:
On QEII: ‘She understood all of it. Everything. And it wasn’t even about forgiving, but a way of life. Duty, sense of purpose, but of course never judgment.’ The Duchess will always be grateful to have had ‘even a minute of HM’s time. Because also, during the last three years, her poor son [Prince Andrew] has been going through such a tumultuous time, and I think HM was very relieved I could help her with him, so we became even closer, then. But I’ve always admired and adored her. Really, she was more of a mother to me than my mother.’
Being a princess: ‘The thing is, I had the great honour of being the Queen’s daughter-in-law, and therefore I couldn’t not see every single second as a great learning curve.’ OK. But having to get all dressed up for royal functions… ‘Loved it.’ Having to sit through those functions? ‘Loved it. Loved it. Listen, if every little girl’s dream is to be a princess, then your job is to uphold that dream. So I don’t ever want to let it down.’ For that reason, she has always said to her daughters: ‘Even when you’re just walking out of your own front door, always smile. Uphold all that. No one wants to see a grumpy princess.’
Whether the Duchess of Sussex is a “grumpy princess”: ‘I don’t really know Meghan. I haven’t really met her. I spoke to her at the funeral, and I thought she looked absolutely beautiful. I think she is beautiful.’
Has Meghan damaged the Royal family? ‘It is absolutely not my place to answer that. She has made Harry very happy, and that is so nice. Honestly, he’s so happy with her. She really loves him. And I think that’s beautiful – and that Diana would be proud of him and her lovely grandchildren.’
Whether she watched the Sussexes’ Netflix docuseries: ‘I’m just trying to think… Right.’ She’s formulated a response. ‘So, I think I’m a devourer of information on Netflix.’ OK… ‘And I love watching everything on Netflix.’ What am I supposed to do with that? She chuckles. ‘I also think that one day I’d like to do a documentary.’ A similar one? ‘I don’t know. I can’t be led,’ she says, shutting me down. ‘Not on this.’
Does she think fleeing Britain really will turn out to be Prince Harry’s best chance at happiness? ‘I can’t speak for him, but I will say that after I got divorced, I spent 12 years in America, writing books, and it was a wonderful place for me. I felt free there. And I can’t thank Americans enough for the way they were with me. So, I can understand why he would [do that].’
King Charles is brilliant: ‘I think it’ll be an extraordinary moment. And I feel really strongly that the King is brilliant. He upholds everything that is good. I mean, what he’s done for the environment! What he’s done in his life! How he loves to paint, how he loves to walk, how he loves to be. He is a very special person. So for him to have a moment where everybody looks up and understands how hard he and the Royal family has worked, is important.’
The coronation: It should, Sarah believes, ‘be a moment when the entire world will say, right: we’ve got this. And now we’ll unite again and go on again. We are not…’ she laughs, corrects herself, ‘they are not celebrities. They are part of an extraordinary institution, and they go out and do their work. That’s what I did when I became a princess. Whatever happened, happened. We don’t go back. But whether I’m in or out, I’ll always uphold it.’
This is the fundamental thing which the family doesn’t understand or want to understand: “She has made Harry very happy, and that is so nice. Honestly, he’s so happy with her. She really loves him.” Meghan has made Harry happy, Meghan loves him and adores him and vice versa. I think there was always this fundamental misconception within the family that Meghan was expendable to Harry, or that they could convince him to leave her, or they could treat her terribly and convince her to leave him. The Windsors fundamentally do not see it as a plus that Harry and Meghan are a love match.
I also think Fergie is flat-out copying what Meghan has said about being a princess and how she feels she has to carry herself a certain way because she knows little girls are watching her. Like… Meghan said all of that last year. I also like that Fergie is just defending the idea that America is a nice place to live. Anyway, I’d rather ignore all of the crazy sh-t she says about Andrew. Whatever.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- The Duchess of York arrives at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.,Image: 515241092, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- The Duchess of York arrives at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.,Image: 515241096, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, guest of Rai talk show Porta a Porta, presents her book ‘Her Heart for a Compass’.,Image: 647965738, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Maria Laura Antonelli / AGF Foto / Avalon
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- Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, guest of Rai talk show Porta a Porta, presents her book ‘Her Heart for a Compass’.,Image: 647965778, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Maria Laura Antonelli / AGF Foto / Avalon
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- Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, guest of Rai talk show Porta a Porta, presents her book ‘Her Heart for a Compass’.,Image: 647965786, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Maria Laura Antonelli / AGF Foto / Avalon
If she’s going to be out in public bleating all over the place anyway, at least she said something nice.
Of course she is going to be nice about the Sussexes. Harry and Eugenie are like brother and sister. Kate was not nice to her daughters. Harry invited her to his wedding….William did not invite her to his.
I wonder if she will get an invite to the Coronation?
I think I remember Kate getting bitchy about how she shouldn’t have to curtsy to the York sisters.
How can she say she doesn’t really know Meghan? M&H’s wedding was the first major royal event she was invited to in a long time. She didn’t speak to Meghan during the reception? Not even to thank her for the invite? Weird.
Or is she on a mission for Cowmilla?
Cowmilla would have had her spouting Clarkson-Morgan type BS. You get respect when you give respect. Harry and Meghan haven’t dissed her or her daughters. I’m satisfied with her answers so far.
Props to Sarah for not feeding the British media beast.
Imagine how different (and better) things would be for the BRF and the UK tabloids if they had just taken this fairly neutral approach when the Sussexes left.
I think it’s the opposite. Just like all the other royals, she needs to use the Sussex popularity to bring attention to herself. She also needs to talk about ANYTHING ELSE BUT ANDREW’S LEGAL PROBLEMS.
Yep, and because she isn’t towing the party line, let’s wait for the backlash
It would be super-interesting because, at some point, there could be a rival bloc that’s not so venomously anti-Sussex. The bloc could never seriously rival Charles Rex or William, but it could cause them problems.
I’m impressed with her comments and thoughtfulness. Maybe she is repeating other people’s words but she’s doing in in a positive, kind way. Andrew is gross (full stop) but the York sisters love their mom. That doesn’t grow naturally in this family so there must be something there. love is love – simple, kind
According to Harry she and Meghan met when Megs visited Harry in England. Eugenie, Jack and Sarah were together when the Queen popped by before church service. They gave Meg a quick prep on curtsying before the Queen. I guess she forgot but that’s weird. Anyway, she’s wise to be respectful because Harry has shown great respect for her and loves Eugenie very much. Keeping the peace I suppose. How long before Willy takes a tantrum and tries to send her to the gallows?
I think she means by having not really met her that they have never seen each other privately. The curtsy teaching was a quick moment before a meeting with the queen, with strict rules (even Harry wrote how distant and different everyone acted in this setting, even Eugenie and Jack)
I noticed that too, and if I had to guess, Fergie is trying to diplomatically distance herself from the Sussexes. Not because she doesn’t like or care for them. She knows how close Eugenie and Jack are with them.
But being branded as TEAM SUSSEX by the press, social media, and the rest of the royal family isn’t very lucrative for her.
(And the one thing history has shown us about Fergie: she’s always going to follow the money.)
Maybe she IS following the money. She knows Charles wants to boot her ass out of Royal Lodge along with Andrew. Harry has been VERY benevolent towards Eugenie and Jack. I’m sure she’s plotting to have some of that Sussex shine rub off on her.
I don’t understand why she doesn’t say that she doesn’t know her very well, instead of that she hasn’t really met her. I guess that’s what she means? Still, odd choice of words on her part.
Probably just an awkward turn of phrase.
I don’t think that discounts what she said. I took it as, she’s never spent any quality time with Meghan to get to know her. A few minutes on one single day doesn’t count.
As far as the rest, I’m sure she has heard from Eugenie on how happy Harry is with Meghan and their life in America because Eugenie HAS spent quality time with them.
@ Snuffles, I agree. Sarah’s views regarding the love between Harry and Meghan is coming straight from Eugenie. As for not knowing Meghan, it’s simply having not spent some one-on-one with Meghan. Harry and Eugenie have always been extremely close and the fact that H&M offered up FC to the newlyweds was an amazing opportunity for them to live on their own whilst bringing August into the world.
How ideal to have a lovely, comfy home on Windsor grounds with a magnificent yard and perfectly renovated to boot!!
It’s weird that she says she hasn’t really met Meghan and Harry’s book describes him literally introducing Meghan to her!
It sounds like they met a few times years ago she she’s not trying to claim some close acquaintance. Plus it allows her to create some distance and not be drawn on the subject.
@sarahcs, it also allows the British tabloids to call Harry and Meghan a liar (which they are now doing). Sarah knows she is feeding the beast.
Fergie avoids talking about the Sussexes. Of course she has met Meghan.
Fergie has said that she doesn’t talk about H&M because anything she says will be twisted and blown out of proportion.
Didn’t Serena Williams say something similar to a reporter? It’s kind of a “back off” type statement.
it sounds like she’s met her twice, but they haven’t had substantial interactions, so they don’t really know each other. Fergie is handling the questions really well imo.
I’m guessing Fergie is getting media training from outside the royal family. She’s substantially better at this than the rest of them.
Yep, her answers shouldn’t be groundbreaking, this is what anyone who had a decent PR advisor would be saying.
Right!!? Maybe that’s a by product of her time in America and promoting herself.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but C/C and W/K could stand to learn a few things from Fergie on being diplomatic in public.
LOL! How bad do you have to be to be worse at public relations than Fergie? If she can navigate these questions with relative ease, the rest of them should be truly embarrassed.
Yeah, it’s shocking how well she handled this. She’s the only one of the Windsors who’s managed to defuse the drama—and frankly, it’s a flattering look for her.
I wholeheartedly agree.
She’s had to hustle for work and operate in the outside world. That is something the Windsors, Camilla and Kate would never understand, because they have always believed that their presence is enough and working is bad (shame on Kate, as she’s not aristo enough to buy into that). Their PR has never been about praising others, but putting others down to prop themselves up. Sarah knows she will come out looking better than anyone by being nice and positive. The late Queen also tried her best at least in public to speak lovingly of people she personally couldn’t stand. Charles et al need to sit down and get secretary Kate to take all the notes.
Her attachment to Andrew notwithstanding, honestly, Charles could take a lesson or two from Fergie about how to talk diplomatically about the Sussexes.
Yeah, Andrew aside, her answers show more grace and care than anything Charles William or Kate have ever done or said. Not to mention Camilla.
Agreed
@ Jay, who knew that Sarah would sound more diplomatic than Bullyiam or Chuckie for that matter. My, my better heads do prevail.
Sarah also got metric assloads of shit from the British media back in the day. Some of it was deserved when she did something stupid or tone deaf, but lots of it was just based on “she’s too loud, too outspoken and too fat”. So maybe she’s one of the few that gets what she went through and is trying to be kind. Also as others have said, she did spend time in America and has met non royals and aristos, so maybe that’s rubbed off on her.
Fergie will not be ready for the BM to bash her for saying something nice about Duchess Meghan. How dare she say the truth about Meghan being good for Harry! The audacity.
Um… why exactly is it every girl’s dream to be a princess? That is so fucking reductive and infantile. There’s a reason I cringe at introducing my beautiful toddler to the Disney princess industrial complex, and it is shit like that. “Put on a pretty dress and smile, dearie, because that’s all you have to offer the world. OH! And be sweeeeet.” Remember, the princess is not the hero in that misogynistic trope. The princess does not slay dragons or pretenders to the throne.
That’s why Megs caused such a fervor — she was made to slay.
To be fair, this was surprisingly kind. Rather than focus on how H&M have ‘besmirched’ the monarchy, she focuses on the love between two people. Thank god someone sees it. The person is more important to Megs than the institution.
Well, there’s “Brave” where Merida refuses to be the stereotyped princess and “Mulan”.
It’s a lot of girls’ dreams to be a princess because of marketing. Years and years of marketing.
Most outgrow it before becoming teens though. And once old enough to see on-line what a miserable life it seems to turn out for Diana, Charlene, Meghan, and Sarah, the majority give it a hard pass. They certainly did with William.
As a little girl I always wanted to be a Princess Leia style princess not a Disney princess. Also in elementary school I read the series of royal diaries written about historic princesses who grew up to be powerful leaders, like Queen Elizabeth. The books are an imagined look at what their lives were like around the age of 12. Aside from the standard European princesses they also feature famous princesses from Asia, Africa, and native american societies.
So when I played princess instead of waiting for prince charming I was usually trying to get out of politically arraigned marriages set up by an indifferent or hateful parent.
If you have little girls in your life, I heartily recommend the book “The Paper Bag Princess.” It’s so great!!
And kudos to Fergie. She exhibited more dignity in this interview than the other royals. And that’s a sentence I never imagined myself typing!
That ‘sugar & spice & everything nice’ stuff has really done a number on a lot of us. Aided and abetted by the Disney Industrial Princess Complex. They’re slowly coming around, with Mulan & Merida, yes, but they’ll do what makes them money.
She doesn’t know Meghan but knows she loves Harry? Someone explain that to me, please? And the fact that you must always appear happy to sell the patriarchal, misogynistic dream? No. Marrying into that family can quite literally be a death sentence. It for sure kills your spirit. No thinking woman should marry a prince,
Fergie is a pro…she knows that journalists can be very tricky…so she is avoiding talking about Meghan because anything she says, good or bad, will be front page news.
Fergie talks to her daughter, who is very close to Harry. It’s safe to assume Eugenie has mentioned on more than one occasion how happier Harry is now than he was at any other point in his life.
I think that’s quite obvious just looking at them together ❤️
Sarah is doing the best to meet her obligations to sales of her book without alienating any part of her audience.
Best of luck to her.
She’s managed to hang on all these years with this kind of diplomacy. The rest of the rf and courtiers could take a lesson from her.
She knows how to play the long game and the insider information she has could be dynamite…and one day in the future she could detonate it. Charles is very afraid of her which makes me surprised that he does not draw her closer like his mother did.
Fergie is a royal adjacent and needs to make money from the royal link. She doesn’t to mess with her cash flow. She has to nice to the current and future King and Queen. Also she needs the Americans to sell her books so she will tip toe around her responses to the questions about Sussexes because they have a strong American following and influential American connections (Oprah, Ellen and such).
We should view her interviews through those lenses.
Correct me if I am wrong. But wasn’t Fergie the one that taught Meghan how to bow to the queen? And didn’t she go to their wedding? Then what does she mean she has only met her once. I know meeting someone and being in the same space as someone is different but fergie makes it sound like Betty funeral was her only interaction with Meghan. Anyway like I said maybe I am completely misunderstanding what she said or what she meant .
Also anyone with or without eyes can see how much Meghan loves harry because it’s the only explanation as to why she continues to go to hell and back that his family and the British media the institution put her through and still stays true to him. She really is an exceptional human being because i couldn’t. I am no way near the amazing person Meghan is
She was deflecting. She didn’t want to be drawn into answering too many questions about Meghan. I appreciate that.
She didn’t say she only met Meghan once. She said she doesn’t really know her and hasn’t really met her, with “really” being the operative word. Basically, she hasn’t met Meghan often enough to get to know her. Weddings and funerals don’t count – nobody can have personal discussions then.
That’s the thing. Meghan makes Harry happy. Like his dad and brother literally don’t want him to be happy and that’s sad and messed-up.
Sarah: ‘I spent 12 years in America, writing books, and it was a wonderful place for me.’
I remember she had her book deals and weight watchers deal but I didn’t realize she actually lived in America. Where were Eugénie and Beatrice during the 12 years she spent in America? Were they with her or with Andrew? Curious 🧐
Probably off in boarding school. I’m sure the York girls visited quite a bit. And we know Eugenie lived there for a few years.
Boarding school?
That got me thinking, too, because I don’t remember her living here. What city? I, too, remember her WW book deals, her Budgie books, & interviews, but I don’t remember any press regarding her living in the US.
iirc she was living in the US at the time of the World Trade Center attack. Late to a charity meeting in the Towers because an interview ran late.
To Fergie, floating between NYC and Windsor for a decade? She might consider that ‘living in America’. She wasn’t in the UK full time, she spent a lot of time in the US trying to make a living. When Beatrice and Eugenie lived in NYC they were rarely seen, Sarah was the same way.
This woman knows how to play the media game, these are some savvy answers to really hard questions. Walking a tightrope there!
I’m relieved she said nice things about H&M though. Don’t really want to comment on the rest. 🙂
@Abby, me too. She is savvy enough to know how to play the long game as she has certainly paid the price for playing the short game. It’s too bad some of her experiences haven’t rubbed off on some of her ex-husband nor his family.
“I think there was always this fundamental misconception within the family that Meghan was expendable to Harry, or that they could convince him to leave her, or they could treat her terribly and convince her to leave him. The Windsors fundamentally do not see it as a plus that Harry and Meghan are a love match.”
Indeed. The Royal Family prefers Harry to be single, unhappy and forced to work for the institution. Harry giving up his role in the Royal Family is seen as a betrayal and disloyalty.
Harry centers Meghan in his life, not the royals. That’s wrong as far as the royal men are concerned. Women, certainly not wives, are not supposed to be the center of a royal man’s life. It’s a totally foreign concept to both his father and brother.
Yet Camilla is Charles’ sun. He’s based every single decision around her.
It’s mutual, Harry makes Meghan happy too. Perfect!
The family thought they could break up the Sussexes in spite of the happiness Meghan brings Harry because in this family misogyny rules. To the royal men women are not supposed to bring you happiness, just make you look good and make babies. They’re all too in love with themselves to truly love a woman the way Harry loves Meghan.
@ Brassy Rebel, except when it comes to Chuckies mistress who he has deemed to be his QC, which in turn I think he plans on Cruella to be addressed as Queen.
If Chuckie can’t see past his own selfish nose as to how everyone blended over backwards to make him happy why does he deny his OWN son the same life???? Why must Harry choose the BaRF and not his wife???
What a hypocrite…..vile, vindictive man-child and his equally temper tantrum, anger infused heir.
I am sure that one of the many reasons for Willy and Kate’s resentment of H and M is because of the genuine love, friendship, respect and protection that exits between them that is obvious. They have gone through hell and back together, tested by fire and come through stronger. The other couple have had every indulgence possible, riches, mansions galore and fawning press and yet still look constipated and miserable. Whether they relocate to RL and or Windsor castle it will be just another place for them to be unhappy in together because karma is a bitch!
That was a nice and diplomatic way to answer the question about H&M, but I am grossed out by her comments on Andrew, and repeating how “hard” the BRF works. Please.
What Americans may not realize is that saying “I’ve never really met her” and “I don’t know her” – akin to anonymous sources in that Tatler article saying they “don’t really know Kate” – is a very upper class English way of insulting someone. Sarah is telling people of a certain class that she doesn’t like Meg, just as the anonymous sources don’t like Kate.
Ouch! Thanks for translating!
I was thinking this. For aristos it’s akin to saying ‘her people are nobodies’ we don’t know of them, therefore we don’t know her (‘her people’ in upper class speak = her family tree/noble credentials going back at least 5-10 generations).
This tracks. Mariah Carey has been asked what she thinks of JLo’s singing many times and she always says ” I don’t know her.”
I immediately thought of Mariah Carey’s ‘I don’t know her’ as well.
Huh. That’s interesting and kind of savvy. This article was for an American publication so we really wouldn’t get that whereas Brit’s might. Interesting.
She is as big a scammer as the rest of them, but one thing she has that they don’t: diplomacy. Or: knows when the f-ck to shut up with the one-upmanship and say something gracious. The rest of them are pure d-ckhead (exempting Eugenie and her husband).
I’ve actually met Fergie in person when she was living here in the US. She was a spokesperson for Weight Watchers at the time and she was speaking at different organizations and companies across the country. At the company I used to work, my co-workers and I saw an announcement that she was coming to speak so we all went to see her at one of our company’s conference meeting rooms. To me, even back then, she seemed very gracious and articulate. Definitely not the crap the British tabloids would write about her . She’s lovely in person. And she always has said good and positive things about the US compared to the other Brits.
I went to the 92NY event on Monday and I got the chance to meet her briefly afterwards when she was personalizing books, although she kind of gave me the stink-eye when it was my turn. I’m not sure if it was because she was tired after a long day or because I was the only person of color at the event. During the interview, she was very funny, feisty and self-deprecating, talking about how she wanted to star in a Hallmark movie. She spoke a lot about turning 63 and how her life was just starting, and she was very complimentary to her editor and literary agent who were in the audience, although she couldn’t help shilling for another book contract. Samantha Barry, who is the EIC of Glamour magazine, who interviewed her, tried to get her to say something about Harry & Meghan and Prince Andrew, but she very neatly deflected the questions. She read a few quotes by the Queen, talked about the corgis and her 7 other dogs. She was also very complimentary about the US during the conversation.