Sarah Ferguson has revealed how she hid her ‘huge personality’ from the public after her father told her she was a ‘boredom’ – but found support from the late Queen.
The Duchess of York, 64, made these comments during a recent interview with Hello magazine, after she was asked if her recent experience with cancer had changed her outlook on life.
She revealed that it had made her feel more like herself. Speaking about her personality, she said she had previously “tried to keep it under the pillow,” revealing that her father, Major Ronald Ferguson, called her “boring” and told her she was “too much,” or even ‘too many’. shut up, no one wants to hear from you’.
However, the mother of two said that after being diagnosed with cancer, the experience gave her “a swift kick in the butt,” prompting her to wonder: “Are you going to start living, or are you going to live now? won’t you live all the way? You don’t have to be what everyone wants you to be: just be yourself.
And not everyone wanted her to change her personality: the late Queen Elizabeth II told Sarah before her death that “being yourself is enough.”
Sarah Ferguson (pictured, left) revealed that her father, Major Ronald Ferguson (pictured, right) told her to hide her gregarious personality and called her a ‘boring’ (pictured at the El Dorado Polo Club in Palm Springs in 1988)
According to Sarah (pictured, left), the late Queen Elizabeth II (pictured, right) told her that being herself was ‘enough’ (pictured in England in 1990)
Now, according to Prince Andrew’s former wife, she has made the decision to be herself. She explained that she ‘just doesn’t apologize’ [herself] even more’.
Her battle with cancer began last summer, when she was diagnosed with the disease during a routine mammogram.
Sarah underwent a single mastectomy, but six months later she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma.
She is currently undergoing regular checkups, and although she told Hello that “her doctors say she shouldn’t use the phrase ‘cancer-free’,” her health outlook currently appears positive.
Just months after being treated for breast cancer, Sarah was diagnosed with skin cancer in January.
The Duchess had a birthmark removed from her body. Tests revealed that it was malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.
However, at the time she was described as being in ‘good spirits’ following the ‘disturbing’ news, which was told to her just days after Christmas.
While she keeps a close eye on her health, taking precautions like charting moles and visiting the doctors if she has any concerns, Sarah told the magazine that she believes her health is “better than ever” (before hitting Wood correct).
Sarah Ferguson (pictured at the 30th Cannes Gala in Cap d’Antibes last month) has revealed that her father once called her a ‘boring’, prompting her to keep some control over her gregarious personality.
Sarah described how difficult it was to cope with the condition and said it was the support of her loved ones that helped her through that time.
Among them she named her daughters Princess Beatrice, 35, (as well as Beatrice’s stepson Wolfie, eight, and daughter Sienna, two) and Princess Eugenie, 34, and her two sons – three-year-old August and Ernest, who had one last week.
She said: ‘I have the most exceptional family and I have an extremely wonderful team and I have an enormous capacity to create joy.’
Since the diagnosis, her new ‘mission’ is to encourage people to be vigilant about their health.
According to Sarah (pictured at the 30th edition of the Cannes Gala in Cap d’Antibes last month), after her cancer diagnosis, she started to be herself and worry less about what people thought of her outgoing personality.
During the interview, Sarah also discussed the upcoming release of the paperback version of A Woman of Intrigue – her second work of historical fiction for Mills & Boon.
She echoed earlier comments she made about the pride she feels as she embarks on a new career as a novelist at age 60.
While on a media tour for her in April 2023 with the hardcover version of the novel (which had a different title: A Most Intriguing Lady), Sarah said she was happy that her writing career had taken off, giving her another ‘claim to fame’. apart from marrying into the royal family.
In an interview with OK! magazine, the royal said her new career meant marrying into the Firm was no longer her “only claim to fame.”
She said: ‘I’m very proud to have started a new career in my 60s.
After the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, her two corgis Sandy and Muick (pictured) moved to Royal Lodge, where Sarah (pictured) lives with former husband Prince Andrew
‘Not many people get that opportunity. Now, marrying into the royal family isn’t my only claim to fame; I am a Sunday Times Bestsellers List author. It feels like this is my time. It’s very liberating.’
Sarah also answered the question that many royal fans are eager to hear about.
After Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022, her corgis Sandy and Muick were adopted by the Duchess and came to live with her at Royal Lodge in Windsor (the home she shares with former husband Prince Andrew).
The 64-year-old has previously described how the dogs showed clear signs of grief after losing their human companion, the queen.
But things are going much better now, she says. Sarah described herself as ‘dog crazy’ and said the two corgis are ‘exceptional’, and that Sandy follows her everywhere. They are “national treasures,” she concluded.