Sarah Ferguson was “hurt” and “disappointed” she was not invited to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding.
The Duchess of York told The Oprah Winfrey Show she was devastated she couldn’t accompany her daughters, princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, to the nuptials.
“It was so difficult because I wanted to be there with my girls… to be getting them dressed and to go as a family,” Sarah, 51, said.
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Instead, Sarah, nicknamed ‘Fergie’, was at a resort in Thailand watching the ceremony on TV. She said she thought Kate looked stunning, but found the wedding difficult to watch because she was the last royal bride to wed in London’s Westminster Abbey, marrying Prince Andrew in 1986.
“It was so hard, because the last bride up that aisle was me,” she said.
Sarah and Andrew separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996, but still have a close friendship. They talked constantly on the morning of William and Kate’s wedding so Sarah wouldn’t feel left out.
“When Andrew went with the girls, we were talking all morning and he was saying, ‘It’s okay. Just remember we had such a good day. Our wedding was so perfect,’ ” Sarah told Oprah.
“Because we’re such a unit together. He made me feel very part of the day on April 29.”
While the invite snub upset Sarah, she said she could understand why she wasn’t invited. She has been involved in a number of scandals since she separated from Andrew, most recently being taped offering access to her ex-husband for a large sum of money.
“I went through the phase of feeling so totally worthless and that [it] was quite right they didn’t invite me,” Sarah told the talk show host.
“Why would they — why would they invite me? I felt that I ostracised myself by my behaviour, by the past, by living with all the regrets of my mistakes, that I sort of wore a hair shirt and beat myself up most of the day thinking and regretting why did I make such a mistake? Why have I made so many mistakes?”
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In retrospect, Sarah said she was glad she wasn’t there. She said she thought it fitting that she and William’s mother Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997, were absent, and is certain Diana would be incredibly ‘proud’ of her sons.
“I really love the feeling that sort of Diana and I both weren’t there,” Sarah said.
“But I’m here to say how proud she would have been and Kate looked utterly beautiful.
“I think Diana would be so proud of her son. Both of them, you know? They did a great job.”
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