By Marisa Laudadio
3:21pm PST, Feb 25, 2026
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Sarah Ferguson and the late
Princess Diana bonded over life inside the palace. They even came up with a biting nickname for the people who were pulling the strings behind the scenes.
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In his 2025 memoir,
The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana, former palace butler
Paul Burrell recalled how Sarah Ferguson and the late Princess of Wales grew close in the 1980s as they navigated royal life together as brides of
Queen Elizabeth II's eldest sons,
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and
King Charles III, respectively. "Fergie formed a friendship with Diana, Princess of Wales, from the beginning of 1982," Burrell wrote, as reported by
DailyMail.com, and they "would discuss the dour men in grey suits within the royal household" whom they "nicknamed 'the enemy within.'"
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Paul Burrell — who was a footman to the late Queen Elizabeth II before working as a butler to King Charles III during the monarch's days as Prince of Wales and served Princess Diana until her death — explained in his newest book that Diana, "having been in the royal family for five years" by the time Sarah Ferguson married Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, "was able to offer Sarah some sage advice on the dos and don'ts, whom she could trust and a rather lengthy list of those with whom she should be cautious."
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In the 2025 memoir The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana, former royal butler Paul Burrell, a longtime confidant of the late Princess of Wales, also explained how her friendship with Sarah Ferguson eventually ended. The women had a falling out after the former Duchess of York released a memoir in 1996 — a year before Diana died following a car accident in Paris. "'It was tragic that the relationship between them disintegrated after the publication of Sarah's autobiography, My Story, in 1996," Burrell wrote. "Although Diana supported Sarah's decision to go public and become an independent woman, her support came with conditions."
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According to former royal butler and author Paul Burrell, Princess Diana had asked Sarah Ferguson not to write about her, her sons — Prince William and Prince Harry — or their relationship. "But it was too much to ask," Burrell explained. "When the book was published, Diana was furious that throughout its pages, there were references to her, William and Harry." While some reports indicated their falling out was caused by a specific claim Ferguson made in the book — she'd suggested she'd contracted plantar warts from shoes Diana had given her — "that was not the case," Burrell clarified. "Diana felt used and refused to speak to Sarah."
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No longer talking, Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson wrote to one another instead, according to former royal butler Paul Burrell's latest book. Diana, however, became incensed when she received a letter seemingly from Fergie's daughter Princess Eugenie, with the envelope written in a child's hand, Burrell claimed. "Diana said to me, 'Look at this,' as she held the letter head high. 'She is now using her children to intervene. It's her last resort?'" he wrote. "Diana was incandescent with rage. The relationship was terminated for good, and they never spoke again."
