Royal FEUD: Inside Princess Diana's 'highly competitive' relationship with Sarah Ferguson
SARAH Ferguson and Princess Diana were “highly competitive” and “used the press as a weapon”, according to a royal biographer.
Fergie and Princess Diana’s relationship ‘competitive’ says expert
Sarah Ferguson married Prince Andrew in 1986, five years after Princess Diana became a member of the royal family in 1981. At the time, it was said that Diana hoped a fellow outsider marrying into the royal family would be a comfort, but their relationship was famously complex. The two were good friends in the beginning, with Diana even proving instrumental in bringing Prince Andrew and Fergie together.
They were fighting an ongoing battle through use of their charities, and using the press as a weapon
In “Fergie: Downfall of the Duchess”, biographer Allan Starkie provides some insight into their complicated friendship.
“Diana’s relationship with the Duchess fluctuated quite a bit,” he says in the YouTube film.
However, “for the majority of the time, the relationship was highly competitive,” he adds.
“They were fighting an ongoing battle through use of their charities, and using the press as a weapon.
“They would look, like actresses on opening night, at the reviews of their latest charity trips.”
They would then “compare them and whine if the other got better reviews,” claims Starkie.
Author David Leigh also shares an anecdote about when the two fell out over their charity work.
“Sarah promoted an AIDS charity, and Diana rang her up and said ‘What on Earth do you think you’re doing, trying to hijack a cause that I’ve done so much for?’"
Fergie saw Queen as a 'prisoner' in the Royal Family says Starkie
Diana “slammed the phone down,” he says.
“Fergie tried to get through, she wouldn’t take the call, so she faxed her saying ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you’.
“Because of that silly little incident, they didn’t speak for weeks.”
However, for royal correspondent Judy Wade, the sometimes heated relationship between the two women was indicative of a close bond.
Their fighting was “just like sisters,” she says.
“Sisters occasionally row and fall out, and that’s what happened to them.”
Although the two had reportedly not spoken for some time, Fergie’s 1996 book still called Diana her “best friend”.
This month, Fergie opened up about remembering Diana at Princess Eugenie’s October wedding.