Even though Buckingham Palace hasn’t officially said anything about the tensions between the royal family and Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, the general public knows that the current situation is in stark contrast to the way that Harry and Meghan used to be with Prince William and Kate Middleton. But things may not be so bleak if Sarah Ferguson gets her way. According to sources close to the royals, she’s hoping to “intervene” and end the feud between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family.
Tom Quinn, royal expert and author of Kensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir from Queen Mary to Meghan Markle, told The Mirror that Ferguson has had a unique insight into royal drama, since she divorced Prince Andrew in 1996 and was generally maligned by the public after that relationship fizzled out.
“Sarah Ferguson has learned the hard way that you can’t fight the royal family and win—she has spent a long time trying to keep a low profile and avoid getting into the kind of trouble that has embarrassed the royal family in the past,” Quinn said.
Fergie isn’t working alone, however. Quinn notes that her daughters, Princess Eugenie and Beatrice, also want to build bridges.
“Sarah and her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie have tried to intervene in the feud between William and King Charles and Harry and Meghan,” he explained. “They’ve tried to calm the situation and persuade Harry that he’s had his say and he doesn’t need to stir things up any further, but Harry was never likely to pay much attention, largely because his feud with the royal family has become a key part of what makes him tick.”
During an appearance at the Cannes International Film Festival earlier this year, Fergie opened up about “forgiveness,” which many saw as a message directly aimed at Harry and Meghan.
“I think the key to life is that we all support each other. And also forgiveness is a great thing. I think forgiveness of yourself and forgiveness of others,” she said at the 2024 amfAR Gala.
Quinn told The Mirror that the statement was a “clear reference to Meghan and Harry’s ongoing feud with Prince William and King Charles.”
“The Duchess [of York] has her own well-publicized family difficulties to deal with,” he said. “She has never stopped trying to persuade the senior royals to rehabilitate her former husband Prince Andrew and when she talked about unity and the need for forgiveness, she no doubt also had her husband in mind.”
“[Ferguson] is only too well aware from her own life in the royal family that anger and bitterness ultimately lead nowhere,” Quinn finished. “She has always felt that Harry needs to pull himself together and try to forget about the past for the sake of the family. She feels Harry is just taking things too