DUCHESS OF YORK TELLS: ‘MY DEBT TO DIANA’
THE DUCHESS SPEAKS OUT ABOUT DIANA, DIVORCE AND HER DAUGHTERS
Sarah, Duchess of York has opened up about her life at the centre of the British royal family and her close friendship with Princess Diana.
In a rare interview, Sarah has revealed how the late princess – who was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997 – held her hand during the difficult times of her marriage to Prince Andrew.
And in a candid confession, the mum-of-two says Diana helped her come to terms with the pressures of being a royal with her “naughty” sense of humour.
Sarah (57) remembers
Diana had “the finest humour of anybody. We laughed incessantly. I miss hearing her tinkling laugh going down the corridors of the palaces.
“She was so naughty, as she had been there a few years before I got there. She knew the tricks of running down the corridors and going into the dining room so she had the best
seating. I always ended up with the wrong seating at dinners.
“During dinner, she used to try and make messages with the knife and fork. It was so hard to maintain equilibrium in my face, and I ended up on the floor laughing and was told to grow up. I do miss her. She would be so proud of her boys if she was here today.”
Sarah’s royal life began when she married the Queen’s second eldest son, Prince Andrew, at Westminster
Abbey in 1986. Ten years later, they divorced.
Today, Sarah remains friends with Andrew and admitted the pair “lean on each other” in times of trouble. “I remember when I went onto the balcony at Buckingham Palace I knew I had chosen the finest man in the world to marry. I went out there with such great pride.
“It was the most extraordinary moment to be on that balcony. I was brought up to understand the military and to stand up for the National Anthem. So it was huge for me to be there.”
The couple’s glittering wedding was attended by senior royals and a string of A-list stars, including Elton John. But, as Sarah remembers, her big day did not go quite to plan. “When I was walking down Westminster Abbey, the 15ft train of my wedding dress got caught in the carpet,” she says. “My father said, ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake. Pretend you are a horse and you are pulling a cart.’ When your father says that and the entire nation is taking a holiday, you sort of get on with it.”
Also willing Sarah on at the time was the Queen’s husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, who helped her deal with the royal protocol her marriage involved.
“Prince Philip once gave me a great piece of advice and I wish I had heeded it more. He said, ‘Remember when you go out in public every single day, you have to know your actions will hit the front pages of the newspapers.’ Perhaps I should have listened more.”
Despite the help, Sarah admits her separation and divorce took its toll on her mental health when she was looking after her two daughters, Princesses Beatrice (now 28) and Eugenie (27).
She says, “There was a moment when I did not want to come out of my room. One of my good friends who was looking after me, she did think every time she came into the room that I would have committed suicide. It was when the world saw a huge public humiliation.
“There was a moment when I was under the bed. I did not even watch the TV with my daughters. Then a friend came into the room and took the duvet off the bed, threw back the window, and said, ‘Take your children to school.’ It was because of my two girls that I decided that it was important to get on with life.’’
Today, Sarah says her daughters are her first priority, and she continues to defend them in the face of pressure from jealous fans and cyber bullies. “I believe there is massive cyber-bullying right now and I think it is absolutely outrageous. A lot needs to be done in clearing that up. There is so much pressure on young people now. I think it is wrong.
“I fight strongly for my girls because I think they have been bullied absolutely without any defence, in the last year more than ever. I won’t tolerate it. As a mother of two incredible children, I am very honest with them if I think they are wrong.
“It is just the way it is. But
I am very proud of them. They are the biggest examples of what it takes to be a good pair of parents and to bring them up with strength.”
Despite her campaign and her own battles with the press, Sarah admits the one thing that keeps her going is her sense of humour. “I actually admire journalism. A lot of it is a bit extraordinary but I am not an actress. I am not anything.
“I love to have joy... if I did not have the newspapers to say bad and good things about me – which is very rare, I know – at least it proves I am still current.
“It is very hard when you are on the front pages with ‘82% of the population would rather sleep with a goat than Fergie’. That was quite difficult. And
‘Fat, frumpy Fergie does it again.’ That was difficult.
“But what can you do? I like the sense of the ridiculous and I have a very true heart. I take humour seriously and life is about the joy of living.”
‘ There was a moment when I did not want to come out of my room’