In the years since Queen Elizabeth died in September 2022, her former daughter-in-law Sarah Ferguson has been outspoken about her legacy, commenting on the late queen’s corgis and the relationship they shared. In a new interview with The Times, Ferguson recounted their final conversation before the queen died at Balmoral Castle.
“The best advice she gave me was the last thing she said to me: ‘Sarah, remember that yourself is good enough,’” Ferguson said. “It makes me cry.” Ferguson added that the queen had been supportive during years where she struggled with postpartum depression and negative tabloid stories about her weight.
She noted that her mother, Susan Barrantes, had a close friendship with the queen before she was born. “My mum was her close friend so she knew me all my life and she loved me,” Ferguson said. “The queen was much more my mother than my mother was. I called her Mumma. She never let me down, even if I let her down. Even through the darkest days, she never left me.”
In the interview, Ferguson said that she has also known King Charles III since she was young. “I’ve known the king all my life and I absolutely adore him,” she said. “He’s kind and makes me laugh, and I love that he still calls me Fergie.”
Ferguson sat for the interview with The Times alongside her older sister Jane Ferguson. On Jane’s urging, Sarah went in for a mammogram in 2023, and she was subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer. In June 2023, she underwent a mastectomy and breast reconstruction, and recovered at Royal Lodge alongside her ex-husband Prince Andrew with help from her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. In December 2023, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of melanoma.
“I’m through treatment but I won’t go outside in the sun,” she said of the melanoma diagnosis. “Otherwise I’ve got to live life, I’m lucky, it’s freed me from the shackles of my heart. Before, I didn’t think it was OK to be myself. Don’t wait to get cancer to free yourself.”
