Sarah Ferguson led birthday tributes to her “dear friend,” Princess Diana, on what would’ve been the late royal’s 63rd birthday.
Diana was born on July 1, 1961, and was 36 when she died in a automotive accident in Paris on August 31, 1997. Prince Harry was simply 12 on the time of his mom’s loss of life, whereas Prince William was 15.
“Happy birthday to my dear friend, Diana. You were a pillar of light and love,” Ferguson, the previous spouse of Prince Andrew, wrote in an Instagram publish on Monday.
“And what a legacy you have left behind. I will forever remember our laughter and the kindred, kind spirit I found in you,” she added. “I am sure you are watching over us always. Rest in peace my friend.”
Ferguson, often known as “Fergie,” included a photograph of herself and Diana from September 1990 within the publish.
Julian Parker by way of Getty Images
The Duchess of York has spoken out about her friendship with Diana, which was made all of the extra difficult at occasions by tabloids pitting the 2 towards one another.
“In the ’80s, it was Diana looking beautiful, and there was fat, frumpy Fergie,” Ferguson informed People journal in 2021, explaining that she and Diana “were positioned as saint and sinner” within the eyes of the media.
The two additionally had a well-known falling out earlier than Diana’s loss of life, although Ferguson has insisted they had been on the trail to reconciliation.
“Because we were like siblings — actually, we were fourth cousins and our mothers, who went to school together, were also best friends — we rowed,” she informed Harper’s Bazaar again in 2007.
“And the saddest thing, at the end, we hadn’t spoken for a year, though I never knew the reason, except that once Diana got something in her head … I tried, wrote letters, thinking whatever happened didn’t matter, let’s sort it out,” Ferguson added. “And I knew she’d come back. In fact, the day before she died she rang a friend of mine and said, ‘Where’s that Red? I want to talk to her.’”