Diana was just a tinkling laughter down the corridors and there was nobody like her in the world because she had that ability to give her entire heart,” the Duchess of York said on her new show
Sarah Ferguson is looking back at her bond with Princess Diana.
The Duchess of York, who is popularly known as Fergie, reflected on her friendship with the late Princess of Wales on the latest episode of her new podcast Tea Talks with the Duchess and Sarah, released Wednesday. In the “Drink or Spill” segment, co-host Sarah Thomson asked the Duchess, 63, if she and Princess Diana connected over charity work — and Fergie chose to spill.
“Diana and I, we definitely talked incessantly about charity. We loved to give. So she was very similar to me. She never understood how brilliant she was really, and together we both didn’t. And I used to hug her but she wouldn’t understand,” she began. “And her mother and my mother were at school together, and they were best friends. And Diana was my fourth cousin. You know, it’s just extraordinary that we were brought together.”
Fergie and Princess Diana were childhood friends and married into the royal family just a few years apart. Diana wed then-Prince Charles in 1981 and made the introduction between Fergie and Prince Andrew, who tied the knot in 1986. Both marriages would end in divorce, and Diana died in a Paris car crash in 1997.
Reminiscing on their friendship, the Duchess continued, “And we loved each other with all our hearts and she made me laugh more than any other single person I’ve ever met in my life. Diana was just a tinkling laughter down the corridors and there was nobody like her in the world because she had that ability to give her entire heart because she didn’t give her entire heart to herself. It’s been written about many times. And I have decided at 63, to perhaps start understanding what that means.”
The author of A Most Intriguing Lady said Diana gave her whole heart to causes she cared about, like smashing stigmas around HIV and AIDS. Fergie also added that her sister-in-law’s confidence inspired her as she found her footing within the royal family.
“I remember when I first became a princess with Duch [Diana’s nickname], and I watched her work a room, and I just copied her. I mirrored her, how she did it, because she was just incredible,” she said on Tea Talks. “She just immediately went in with her heart. Full heart, full energy, and she left everything outside the door.”
Looking forward, the Duchess of York told her co-host she hoped to bring the same fearless spirit to their new show.
“I am either doing this podcast with you Sarah, and I’m taking it very seriously because there are people listening. All in, or all out, but don’t be half at it,” she said.
In April, Fergie and her friend announced they were launching a new weekly podcast and promised not to shy from any subject.
“It’s about time we spilled the tea… our brand new podcast ‘Tea Talks with the Duchess and Sarah’ is out next week on all streaming platforms,” Fergie wrote on Instagram, linking to the show from Viral Tribe Entertainment.
According to Tea Talks’ Spotify profile, audiences can look forward to “candid conversations” from the co-hosts “as they spill the tea on the roller coaster of life.”