Because Sarah Ferguson and Princess Diana were close in age and both in the unique position of navigating life married to a member of the royal family, it makes sense they were close during that part of Diana’s life – especially because they’d known each other since childhood. But in a new interview, Fergie admitted that friendship wasn’t always positive for her when she caught herself “trying to be like Diana,” which led her down a pretty dark path.
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Diana and Fergie first met long before either of them was married.
As Sarah told The Sunday Times in a new interview, she and Diana first met as children and were “best friends” at the age of 14.
“I first met Andrew when I was 12. My first thought was that I was going to marry him,” she said. “We came back into each other’s lives when Diana invited me to Ascot in 1985 and six months later we were engaged. You weren’t allowed to hang out or live with each other then. Diana couldn’t, I couldn’t.”
Sarah and Prince Andrew were married in 1986.
Sarah officially joined the royal family when she and Prince Andrew tied the knot, which happened five years after Diana had married Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales.
“When we married, I was ‘the breath of fresh air.’ Everyone loved me – it was addictive,” she said. “I think what I did wrong was I got lost, probably trying to be like Diana.”
She turned to food to cope.
Sarah admitted that she was “an addict to food,” and the public’s response to her weight gain was hurtful.
“The fact I could eat my emotions was the only thing that saved my life,” she told The Sunday Times. “I was huge, more than 14 stone when I had Beatrice in 1988, and I think I had postnatal depression. Everybody said, ‘You’re the Duchess of Pork,’ and I believed my critics.”
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It was Queen Elizabeth who helped her most during that time.
“My mum was her close friend so she knew me all my life and she loved me,” she said. “The Queen was much more my mother than my mother was. I called her Mumma. She never let me down, even if I let her down. Even through the darkest days, she never left me.
“Though I still got nervous seeing her right up until the end because she was the Queen of England,” she added. “I had many Covid jabs so I could walk the dogs with her. She had little brown walking shoes. Now I have the corgis – they’re phenomenal.”
Even though Sarah and Prince Andrew would divorce in 1996, she remained a part of the family, and her bond with Elizabeth continued until her death in 2022.
“The best advice she gave me was the last thing she said to me: ‘Sarah, remember that yourself is good enough.’ It makes me cry,” she said.
Sarah still looks back on her friendship with Diana fondly.
On what would have been Diana’s 63rd birthday, Fergie shared a sweet tribute to her friend on Instagram.
“Happy birthday to my dear friend, Diana. You were a pillar of light and love. And what a legacy you have left behind,” she wrote at the time. “I will forever remember our laughter and the kindred, kind spirit I found in you. I am sure you are watching over us always. Rest in peace my friend.”
