Sarah Ferguson and Princess Diana formed a close bond in the 1980s as Royal Family newcomers and shared frustrations about Palace advisers, according to Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell
Sarah Ferguson and Diana, Princess of Wales, forged a tight friendship in the early 1980s as comparative outsiders to the Royal Family, according to Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell.
The duo allegedly shared grievances about faceless Palace advisers who controlled their schedules, even creating a mocking moniker for them.
Ferguson has recently come under renewed scrutiny over her past connections to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein following the release of over three million documents linked to the disgraced financier by the US Department of Justice.
One email exchange seemingly shows Ferguson expressing gratitude to Epstein for “being the brother I have always wished for.” The correspondence, dated August 3, 2009, is between Epstein and someone identified merely as “Sarah,” who also mentions conversations with retailers concerning her “Sarah Ferguson brand,” reports the Mirror.
In his book Royal Insider, Burrell, who served alongside Ferguson, reflected on her friendship with Diana, writing: “They would discuss the dour men in grey suits within the Royal Household, nicknamed ‘the enemy within.'”
He noted that Diana, having spent five years in the Royal Family before Ferguson’s entrance, could advise on who to rely upon and whom to approach with caution. Burrell characterised it as “tragic” that their bond soured after Ferguson’s 1996 memoir, My Story, was published.
Money worries became a persistent issue during this time. Ferguson landed a hefty book deal with Simon and Schuster—allegedly worth between £800,000 and £1.5 million. Company boss Michael Korda said the publisher was keen to share Ferguson’s personal story rather than rely on press coverage.
It later emerged that Ferguson hinted she might convince Diana to pen a memoir too. According to Andrew Lownie’s book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, the publisher dangled an additional £1 million should such a collaboration come to fruition.
Burrell, alongside other observers, has painted Ferguson as growing ever more reliant on affluent acquaintances as her money troubles mounted. Even Queen Elizabeth II—who had allegedly bailed her out previously—was understood to have refused further help.
Buckingham Palace emphasised that the Duchess of York’s finances remained private matters to be resolved with her advisers, separate from royal responsibilities.
Legal and financial strains also emerged in 1996 when Lily Mahtani, wife of John Spencer-Churchill, the 11th Duke of Marlborough, took legal action to recover repayment of a £100,000 loan, of which only £5,000 had been returned.
The New York Times reported that Ferguson subsequently introduced cost-cutting measures at her rented London home, including spending limits and staff reductions. Despite this, travel logs from the mid-1990s show she clocked up roughly 205,000 miles in just 12 months.
Lownie further claims that a staff member was once sent transatlantic aboard Concorde at considerable expense purely to courier paperwork. Ferguson’s spending extended to presents for friends, staff, and charity colleagues, including custom-made keyrings bearing her coat of arms for supporters of her Children in Crisis organisation.
After Andrew was stripped of his royal honours, Ferguson has broadly returned to using her maiden name. She also drew criticism for previously corresponding with Epstein following his conviction, calling him a “supreme friend,” though she later publicly distanced herself.