Princess Diana’s ‘selling stories’ fear after Sarah Ferguson fallout | Royal | News
It was understood that Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson were close years ago (Image: Getty)
Claims that Princess Diana’s relationship with Sarah Ferguson had deteriorated have resurfaced, with the royal author claiming the Duchess of York deeply upset the late princess with comments she made in her autobiography.
Biographer Andrew Lownie said Diana became unsettled following the publication of Ferguson’s memoir, “My Story,” in 1996, which included a revelation that she contracted warts after wearing shoes belonging to the Princess of Wales.
Lownie claimed Diana suspected Ferguson might reveal private information about her to the media, adding that the friendship never fully recovered afterward.
He said: “In fact, Diana was very concerned that Sarah Ferguson might be selling stories about her, and although Sarah Ferguson pretended to be so, the relationship was never repaired.”
The couple had known each other since childhood and were also distant cousins, later becoming brothers-in-law through royal marriages.
Diana married then-Prince Charles in 1981. Ferguson joined the Royal Family five years later when she married Prince Andrew, and it was through Diana that she first met him.
Lownie claimed the two women regularly confided in each other about the pressures of royal life.
He said: “Diana would come to Sarah Ferguson every Sunday and they would whine about the royal family. They both felt very restricted within the confines of the royal family.”
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What caused the tension between Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson?
Diana then became concerned that Ferguson’s outspoken personality could damage his carefully managed public image, Lownie told the Daily Mail.
He said: “But at the same time Diana had some concerns that Fergie might be too loud and that Diana was bringing her own reputation into disrepute, and she started to distance herself from him.”
The royal author also claimed Diana took note of how the establishment responded to the breakdown of Ferguson’s marriage before deciding to split from Charles.
Lownie claimed the women once discussed divorce at the same time, but Diana eventually stepped back and observed how events unfolded for Ferguson first, the Page Six report states.
He said: “Diana let Sarah Ferguson do this on her own and basically learned how the royal family treated Sarah Ferguson, how to handle the divorce on her own.”
How did royal divorces come about?
Ferguson and Andrew separated in 1992 after a decade of marriage, before officially divorcing in 1996.
Although they were no longer husband and wife, they continued to share Royal Lodge for many years afterwards.
Reports earlier this year suggested that King George III. It has been suggested that Charles wanted the Duke and Duchess of York to move out of the Windsor estate after Prince Andrew was removed from official royal duties.
Diana and Charles also separated in 1992 and ended their marriage four years later.
The princess died tragically in August 1997 when the car in which she was a passenger crashed into a Paris tunnel.
