Fergie uses royal links to flog jam and biscuits

She vowed never to let her commercial activit i es embarrass her former mother-in-law, the Queen. But her latest money-making scheme will inevitably incur her Majesty’s displeasure. On the day the Queen became the longest-reigning British monarch, the Duchess of York was shamelessly plugging her new deal with a Norwegian ferry firm which utilises her childhood nickname — Fergie’s Flying Culinary Circus.

Prince Andrew’s ex-wife has linked up with the company Color Line to bring out an ‘Afternoon Tea’ range of teas, jams, biscuits, cakes, plates, forks, sweets and candles.

To launch the venture, she embarked on a two-day cruise from Oslo to Kiel, Germany, on Wednesday, on which she was the star turn — even dining with the winners of a competition to publicise the enterprise.

The Duchess went on Twitter to advertise her appearance. ‘Looking forward to being on-board tomorrow to launch Fergie’s Flying Culinary Circus,’ she wrote.

Fergie, 55, even appears on front of the menu along with The Flying Culinary Circus, four Norwegian chefs who jet round the world cooking for celebrities and have also lent their name to the venture.

Color Line also boasts, rather astonishingly, that the Duchess’s new range is the ‘nearest thing to Royal products’. Fergie lost her hRh status following her divorce. Talk about taking the biscuit.

‘When we first started working with Sarah, we thought it was exciting to focus on something she could teach us, something which is typically english and preferably of noble character,’ says Color Line.

Let’s hope buyers don’t feel shortchanged. ‘I have always said that I cannot cook,’ the Duchess gushes in the press release, ‘but finally, I can bring a little cooking into my life and it is with the coolest chefs in the world.’

AFTeR her divorce from Prince Andrew in 1996, Sarah’s profligate spending saw her run up £4 million in debts with the Queen’s bank, Coutts. She then took on a string of endorsements in the U.S., including a lucrative deal with WeightWatchers.

Facing bankruptcy, she found herself caught up in a tabloid sting, allegedly offering to sell access to her former husband for £500,000.

She has since taken on a host of business ventures, including selling a f ood blender through her new Duchess Discoveries website.

She and Andrew have always remained close. Until recently, they lived together at his Windsor home, Royal Lodge, although she has now officially moved into a £13 million Swiss ski chalet they bought jointly earlier this year.