Sarah Ferguson believes that members of the royal family who choose to leave the institution must decide whether they want to be “in or out”.
“You can’t have it both ways. You can’t sit on the fence and keep one foot in and one foot out. You’re either in or out,” she told The Independent newspaper.
The 63-year-old was supposedly speaking about her own post-royal life since divorcing Prince Andrew in 1996.
However, commentators were quick to suggest the Duchess may have actually been referring to her nephew Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle.
The Sussexes “stepped back” from the royal family in 2020 and have earned about USD$135 million from high-profile deals with Netflix, Spotify and Harry’s memoir Spare, which slammed the royal institution.
Simultaneously, the couple are allegedly demanding equal status to senior royals as a condition of attending the upcoming coronation of King Charles and have styled their two children “Prince” and “Princess”.
Ironically, Fergie, as she is affectionately known, herself blazed the trail for ex-royals attempting to profit off their time in the royal family.
Following her divorce, the Duchess of York released a memoir called My Story and even conducted her own controversial sit-down with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
She also signed endorsement deals with Wedgwood and Weight Watchers, setting a precedent for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to pursue their commercial deals.
The reason the Duchess of York has continued to work odd jobs is because she allegedly left her marriage to Prince Andrew in debt and without a large financial settlement.
Conversely, Princess Diana received about £17 million (AUD $31 million) in her divorce from Prince Charles and inherited wealth through the Spencer family.
Most recently, Ferguson has found success as a romance novelist.
Elsewhere in the new interview, Fergie insisted that she’s not bothered about being snubbed from royal events and confirmed she will not attend Charles’ coronation.
“Don’t cry about not being invited to weddings. You chose to leave, now go and live it – and be it,” she added.
Ferguson’s latest comments appear to contradict her earlier feelings about being left off the guest list to her other nephew Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011.
“It was so difficult because I wanted to be there with my girls and getting them dressed and go as a family,” she told Winfrey at the time.
Rather than stay “out”, the Duchess of York has slowly returned to the royal fold and moved back in with her ex-husband at Royal Lodge in 2004.
She prominently attended Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018 and even inherited Queen Elizabeth II’s surviving corgis following the Monarch’s death in September.
News Source: www.skynews.com.au
