From one Duchess to another. Sarah Ferguson revealed she can relate to Duchess Meghan amid her battle with the British media.
“I know what Meghan is going through,” the 60-year-old Duchess of York said in a rare interview with Vogue Arabia. “It must be hard for Meghan, and I can relate to her. I believe she is modern and fabulous. She was famous before. She is great. Why can’t Meghan be great? Why can’t she be celebrated?”
While Ferguson, who split from Prince Andrew in 1996, noted that she tends “not to give advice because it is taken out of context,” she did offer support for the 38-year-old Duchess of Sussex.
“I have been in Meghan’s shoes, and I still am. There’s always a twist of negativity and it just gets so sad and tiring; it’s hard and mean,” she told the magazine. “I abhor bullying and I feel desperately sorry for the pain they must be going through because I’ve been through it.”
Meghan, who married Prince Harry in May 2018, made headlines in October after she admitted she isn’t “OK” during the pair’s Harry & Meghan: An African Journey documentary.
“It’s a lot,” the Suits alum, who gave birth to son Archie in May, admitted. “So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom and trying to be a newlywed … And also thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I’m OK, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.”
The revealing doc came the same month that Meghan and Harry, 35, decided to take legal action against the British press for “bullying” the retired actress.
“I have been a silent witness to her private suffering for too long. To stand back and do nothing would be contrary to everything we believe in,” the prince said in a statement. “There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behaviour, because it destroys people and destroys lives. Put simply, it is bullying, which scares and silences people. We all know this isn’t acceptable, at any level. We won’t and can’t believe in a world where there is no accountability for this.”
According to an insider, the couple’s decision wasn’t “about one negative story or incident,” but an accumulation.
“Harry refuses to sit and do nothing as the British press scrutinizes Meghan and invades her privacy,” the source told Us Weekly. “Meghan comes across as a strong woman, but she’s been deeply affected by the negative stories about her.”
Harry and Meghan previously announced their plans to take a break from their royal engagements to spend the holidays with the duchess’ mother, Doria Ragland, in Los Angeles.
