31 August 2023 , 13:04
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Sarah Ferguson has revealed how constant cruel comparisons to Princess Diana led to "self-hatred", but says her recent cancer surgery has now helped her "like herself". The Duchess of York is still currently recovering from an eight-hour mastectomy after she received a shock breast cancer diagnosis earlier in the summer. She has been recuperating from the gruelling surgery at Royal Lodge, the home she shares with her ex-husband Prince Andrew.
She also joined other members of the Royal Family at Balmoral earlier this week on their annual summer holiday. And speaking on the latest episode of her Tea Talks podcast with co-host Sarah Thomson, she reflects on the trip, her surgery and if she considers herself lucky.
Fergie has been opening up about her cancer surgery (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)During the discussion, Fergie, 63, ponders whether having a "body part cut off" was something she needed "in order to wake up". She explains: "Not because of seeing death but waking up to stop worrying, stop self-hatred, stop self-doubt, stop all these things. Stop not liking yourself."
Her co-host then asks if that's what it had taken for the duchess to become more confident, and Fergie replies: "Yes, it did in my case. When I look back, I was OK, I've got good legs but I didn't like myself and that was because, I think, I was always compared to Diana. And I think that at the end, I believed my own press which is, you know, not too good."
Fergie with Princess Diana on the Buckingham Palace balcony in 1990 (UK Press)Diana - who died exactly 26 years ago today aged 36 - and Fergie were firm friends after they both married into the Royal Family. They were pictured together at many royal events and shared precious family holidays alongside their children Princes William and Harry and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
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Meanwhile, Fergie also shares on the podcast that her self-confidence had soared since her surgery and the firm advice the late Queen gave her. She adds: "You've got an enormous scar, but you like yourself. You've got a badge of office, you just are what you are, and... of course, the last thing that the Queen said to me [was] 'Just be yourself, Sarah'.
"And she saw it. She just got so annoyed when I wasn't being myself. And that's probably when I got into all the pickles. But now I am myself and I'm just so lucky to be able to be myself."
The pair pictured together at a polo match in 1983 (Getty Images)Fergie's comments come after it was revealed that she may have been used as a "broker" to help bring her ex-husband Andrew back into the Royal Family fold. The disgraced Duke of York had been pushed to the sidelines of the Firm after being forced to step down from duties and having his military titles stripped by the late Queen Elizabeth II after a sex scandal.
King Charles is said to have overruled William by ordering the family to fall in line in welcoming the disgraced Duke back into the family fold, it has been claimed after he was pictured joining them for a church service at Balmoral last Sunday - travelling in the same car as the Prince and Princess of Wales.
And well-placed sources have revealed how Fergie, who was at Balmoral alongside Andrew and their daughters had been the "life and soul" of family gatherings. One Balmoral insider said she had been seen talking to the King and William on "several separate occasions".
The recent developments have given rise to the theory that Fergie has been a "broker" of her former husband’s brief resurgence in the family. Insiders also suggested the duke would be buoyed by the family's show of support after being forced to miss public events and stand aside from all royal duties in recent years.