Sarah Ferguson has revealed she should have been in the Twin Towers the day it was hit by terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
The royal, then 36 years old, had an office on the 101st floor of the North Tower for her charity Chances for Children – her charity mascot, a small rag doll – was located in that office.
She was on her way to the World Trade Center, but was behind schedule because an interview ran late.
The Duchess of York took to Instagram Stories yesterday to discuss how she should have been in the New York building at the time of the attacks, and to pay tribute to those who had lost their lives.
In the first of three stories, she shared a photo of firefighters in the rubble. Sitting in the rubble is a small doll: the Little Red Doll, the mascot of Sarah’s charity.
Sarah Ferguson poses with her charity mascot Little Red at the World Trade Center photography exhibition in New York in 2002
The royal family paid tribute to those killed in the 2001 attacks via Instagram Stories
On top of the image was the text: ‘My charity Chances for Children was located in the World Trade Center N Tower.
‘I was meant to be there that morning 22 years ago, but an interview came too late. The Little Red doll, the charity’s mascot, was found among the rubble. Today I think of those who lost their lives.”
A second story featured a photo of the doll next to the words: “The original Little Red is in the Ground Zero museum. We remember today and always. I want to send love and strength to the families.”
Sarah has previously spoken about how close she was to the building when it was hit by planes. She has described it as a near-death experience and said being so close to the attack gave her a greater appreciation for life.
In 2018, the mother of two children said Hello!: ‘I consider every minute a blessing, I really do, and I really work hard on it.
‘Because as soon as you look too far ahead, you miss now. Once you look back, you can’t go back. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.”
After the collapse of the Twin Towers, Little Red was found among the rubble by photographers and initially mistaken for a child’s doll.
According to Sarah, she was supposed to be in her office in the North Tower when the attacks happened, but she arrived too late
Speaking to the BBC in 2014, Sarah said: ‘And when it came on TV I looked and saw Little Red and the presenter said, “Oh look, there’s a child’s doll!” And I immediately called the presenter and said, don’t worry.
‘Because I was so afraid that they would think a child was lost or buried under the rubble. So I said no, it’s not a child’s doll, it’s Little Red Riding Hood and she symbolizes Chances for Children.’
The original mascot is now part of the September 11 memorial exhibit at Ground Zero, and Sarah has subsequently written a series of books based on the character.
Sarah said on Instagram that the mascot (pictured) is now part of the September 11 memorial exhibit at Ground Zero
Ten years after the terror attack, Sarah presented an idea for a children’s book based on the atrocity, which was rejected by publishers who feared that Americans would find it offensive.
The Duchess of York, 51, sent publishers an outline of the 32-page book, The Little Pear Tree, in 2011, following the story of a tree that survived the attack.
She told them she planned to present a copy to President Barack Obama at the opening of the Ground Zero Museum in New York in September of that year.
But a source said at the time: ‘The Duchess had her people contact at least three publishers, but none showed any interest because Americans consider works of fiction about September 11 offensive.’
The attack stripped the branches of a pear tree near the Twin Towers. Workers brought it back to life as a symbol of hope.