New Book Reveals Why Sarah Ferguson Was Deeply Jealous of Princess Diana: ‘He’s Mine…’
Before Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton came to rule royal gossip columns, it was Sarah Ferguson and Princess Diana who kept the tabloids buzzing. Reportedly, all was indeed not well between the two sister-in-laws, and behind the smiling pictures, the two women weren’t always the best of friends, especially when it came to attention and admiration.
According to Andrew Lownie's new biography, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, Ferguson once nursed a full-blown crush on none other than John F. Kennedy Jr. The Duchess of York was so taken by JFK Jr. that she reportedly went into a jealous rage after learning that Diana had met him first. "He's mine! Why can't she just leave him alone?" Fergie allegedly fumed, as per Lownie's account.
Diana had allegedly met Kennedy for a private 30-minute meeting at a New York hotel during Christmas of 1995. The meeting was arranged by Patrick Jephson, Diana's private secretary, and RoseMarie Terenzio, JFK Jr.'s assistant, as per the Daily Mail. Jephson, later in the book, JFK JR: An Intimate Oral Biography, detailed the hush-hush meeting: "It was never made public, so that made it quite fun, actually. Diana wanted it to be discreet because it had all the makings of a great gossip story. The world's most eligible bachelor at the time. And she had just gotten unmarried or was in the process of getting unmarried. It would've been a rather intriguing thing to dream about. She didn't want that, but she was curious to meet him. Partly, I think, because Sarah Ferguson had the hots for him and Diana wanted to, I think, do one up on her."
The rivalry didn’t end there. According to Lownie, Fergie became borderline obsessive about JFK Jr., even assigning him a nickname, 'Number Nine', representing his place in her alleged list of crushes. The book claims she invited Kennedy for drinks or dinner while they were both in New York, brushing off the fact that he was dating actress Daryl Hannah. "That's not going to bother me!" she reportedly declared. Unfortunately, the meeting never happened. Kennedy canceled, citing a prior engagement. This allegedly had Ferguson ordering staff to spy on his apartment all night to check if he had indeed told the truth.
As per the author, such was her obsession that Ferguson would cut out photos of JFK Jr. in his swimsuit, scan magazines for mentions of him, and spend hours debating with friends what aspects of her personality he might like. "She'll suddenly ask, 'Do you think Ken will mind that I don't like such and such a thing?' It's incredibly real to her, like a schoolgirl crush. She spends hours talking about him. The fact that she's never even met him doesn't seem to matter at all," a close confidante revealed, according to PEOPLE.
The book also outlined how this infatuation unfolded alongside the Duchess's mounting financial troubles, citing a newspaper article by former financial adviser and rumored lover, John Bryan. Ferguson reportedly racked up debts between $2.6 million and $5.3 million by the late '90s, owed to nearly 200 creditors. Queen Elizabeth had stepped in more than once to help, including covering a bill from Coutts Bank demanding over $660,000. Despite her financial chaos, the Duchess reportedly lived lavishly, spending over $1.1 million annually, including nearly $400,000 on staff, $200,000 on gifts, and more than $130,000 on clothing. A famous shopping spree at Bloomingdale's allegedly cost $33,000 in just one hour.