Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not the only members of the Royal Family to have joined Oprah Winfrey for a tell-all interview, as Sarah Ferguson has also done so on numerous occasions. As claims continue to emerge that the former Duchess is gearing up to share her side of the story in a memoir or in an explosive interview, what has she said before?
Sarah has a close bond with the US chat show host and was first interviewed by her in 1996, the same year that she and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor officially divorced. While she spoke warmly of her former husband, she refused to speak ill of her former mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II.
Acknowledging that living in a palace may seem like a dream come true, Sarah said that life as a member of the Royal Family is “not a fairy-tale.”
“You didn’t marry the fairy-tale, you married a man,” she said at the time. “You fell in love and married a man, and then you have to come to terms with the fairy-tale. Now it’s not a fairy tale, it’s real life.”
Asked by Winfrey why she didn’t just continue to “play the game,” Sarah replied: “You could do that, and if that’s what suits you, then that’s what suits you.”
She went on to talk about Diana, Princess of Wales who was finalising her divorce from Prince Charles at the time, saying: “But Diana and I are like rivers, we want to learn more, we want to go around the corner, we are hungry for more.”
While Sarah also appeared on Oprah’s show in November 1997 to pay tribute to Diana following her sad death, her second controversial appearance came shortly after the Prince and Princess of Wales married in 2011.
Referring to her lack of invitation, Sarah said: “It was so difficult. Because I wanted to be there with my girls … and to be getting them dressed and to go as a family. And it was also hard because the last bride up that aisle was me.” She revealed she was speaking to her family on the phone before they left for Westminster Abbey and explained what Prince Andrew said to her.
“He was saying, ‘It’s okay. Just remember, we had such a good day. Our wedding was so perfect. Because we’re such a unit together’. He made me feel very part of the day on April 29th. I think what I felt was that I went through the phase of feeling so totally worthless and that [it] was quite right they didn’t invite me,”
Speaking about Diana, Sarah said: “I really love the feeling that sort of Diana and I both weren’t there,” before adding that she believed Prince William’s mother would have been “so proud of her son”. She added: “But I’m here to say how proud she would have been and Kate looked utterly beautiful.”
Despite airing her views in the past, the one royal Sarah has never criticised is her former mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II. Regardless of her divorce from Andrew and a series of controversial decisions, Sarah maintained regular contact with the late Queen, as they had many shared interests.
Their closeness was perfectly exemplified when Sarah appeared on the Tea with Twiggy podcast. Speaking before the Queen died in 2021, she said: “I think to myself that honestly, my mother-in-law has been more of a mother to me than my mother. I absolutely think there is no greater mentor because from a little girl to now, the consistency of Her Majesty has been a great honour and makes me want to cry.
“Because I went through so much pain losing mum, I lost my way and I became deeply deeply insecure. I kept asking everybody for advice. And I never trusted my own judgment of myself. I have got my lovely ex-husband Andrew – he always believes in me and always did believe in me. But my greatest mentor – and I know this sounds so weird to say it – and the person who believes in me is the Queen and has never faltered.”
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
