Sarah Ferguson paid tribute to her “friend” Queen Elizabeth II during an interview on The View on Wednesday, March 8. The Duchess of York, 63, shared memories of walking around Her Majesty’s garden with the monarch during the last few years of her life. She also revealed some of the wonderful advice that the queen gave her over the years.
When asked what she missed most about Elizabeth, she simply responded “my friend” and said that the two used to “chat a lot,” and shared that during the COVID-19 pandemic, they used to go on walks together. “I did take her out into the garden, and we both went wandering around the garden with the doggies,” Sarah said.
Fergie continued and said that Elizabeth would ask about the plants, and they’d talk about Sarah’s work as a writer, but she revealed that she was always very playful. “I’d point down and say, ‘See, there’s a fairy ring there,’ and she was so brilliant and so great and such a sense of humor that she’d say, ‘Yes, there is a fairy ring there.’ She came with the game.”
Sarah continued and said that her bond with Queen Elizabeth was very close throughout her life. “I miss my friend, because she was more of a mom to me than my own mom, and she was so incredible. She was so forgiving, and she didn’t judge me, and she used to say to me, ‘Just be yourself, Sarah. One day you’ll be alright,'” she said. “I made a choice that I loved her, and I really respected her since I was a little girl, and therefore it’s my duty to be with her.”
Besides her relationship with the queen, Sarah also weighed in on the treatment that Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have received from the British press, which she called “out of control.” Despite many reports, she said that she was glad to see the Duke Of Sussex in a loving relationship. “I just think that it’s so good to see Harry happy. He’s so happy, and she makes him happy, and that is good,” she said, before calling for more “kindness.”
When the queen passed, Fergie took to Instagram in a since-deleted post to say she was “heartbroken” over the monarch’s death. “She leaves behind an extraordinary legacy: the most fantastic example of duty and service and steadfastness, and a constant steadying presence as our head of state for more than 70 years. She has given her whole life selflessly to the people of the UK and the Commonwealth,” she wrote in the tribute. “I will always be grateful to her for the generosity she showed me in remaining close to me even after my divorce. I will miss her more than words can express.”