17 April 2026 , 11:46
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There are plenty of incredible role models Meghan Markle would love to be compared to, but wealth, luxury, and celebrity-obsessed Sarah Ferguson is not one of them. As Meghan and Prince Harry continue to cash in on their ‘Sussex’ titles during their commercial tour Down Under, one person who would be impressed is Fergie.
Since her 1996 divorce from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Sarah Ferguson has attempted a range of business deals to try, but mostly fail, to maintain the lifestyle she desires. At one point, Fergie was earning a reported £1 million a year deal with Weight Watchers, while she also wrote children’s books like Budgie the Little Helicopter.
Fergie served as a "brand ambassador" for Pegasus Group Holdings, a failed solar-powered crypto mining firm, earning over £200,000, and in 2009, her lifestyle and wellness firm Hartmoor collapsed while over £630,000 in debt.
Then in 2010, the infamous ‘Cash-for-Access Scandal’ followed when she was filmed accepting £15,000 to facilitate access to ‘Prince’ Andrew.
Some claim Fergie was the first modern royal to aggressively "monetize" her title after stepping back from duties, but now with Meghan, we could have ‘Fergie 2.0’.
Fergie once appeared on instantly forgettable reality shows like a horse-dancing competition show called Dancing with Horses and her own mini-series Finding Sarah: From Royalty to the Real World (2011).
Similarly, Meghan has already had her own, now-cancelled, lifestyle show ‘With Love, Meghan’ on Netflix, and while in Australia, she has appeared on MasterChef to promote her brands.
Fergie has her ‘The Duchess Collection’ lifestyle brand with tea and biscuits, while Meghan has her ‘As Ever’ firm producing fruit spreads, honey, tea, and scented candles.
The blatant money-making from their Australia tour has already irritated the Aussies. This week, the Sydney Morning Herald said: "Australia was good to Harry and Meghan. Now they want to use us as an ATM."
Australian business leader Hilary Fordwich criticized the Sussexes for using their royal connections "to make money" for themselves.
But all this is straight out of the Fergie playbook, so expect more lucrative tours across the globe, appearances on primetime TV shows, and promoting their products.
There was a time when Harry and Meghan were lecturing the world on kindness, prejudice, and the danger of powerful institutions.
Now they are ‘blending’ their royal connections into charity work and serious money-making. Fergie would be impressed.
Politics Editor