All hail Sarah Ferguson - the bounce-back duchess
The Duchess of York has survived royal scandals and tabloid trolling, but now she’s determined to make her first romance novel the next Bridgerton
She’s no stranger to drama, having navigated her way through turbulent waters in the Royal Family, so it’s fitting Sarah Ferguson has written a Mills & Boon romance called Her Heart for a Compass (out this week, order here). Now 61, she’s penned an incredible 77 books including two autobiographies, children’s books and even one on ski-ing. Kerry interviewed her for News Corp Australia this week, here is an extract, you can read the full piece here.
Sarah’s first foray into adult fiction follows flame-haired Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott from Victorian Britain to New York, where she forges a career as a writer and finally finds freedom… something she and Prince Harry can relate to.
“I always feel a weight lift off my shoulders when I arrive in the US. It was the place where I rebuilt my life after my divorce and had to get out there and make a living,” she tells News Corp Australia. “I’ll always be grateful to the American people for taking me under their wing.”
So, does she think that’s why Harry and Meghan fled there? “I am enormously fond of my nephew Harry and hope he and Meghan will be very happy in the US,” she says. “One thing I don’t like about the UK and its media is the tendency to build people up only to seek to knock them down again.”
It was her great-great aunt Lady Margaret who inspired Fergie’s heroine – as well as a healthy dose of herself. Lady Margaret is a red-head who spurns conventions, makes mistakes and has many adventures. Just how autobiographical is it? “I’m sure people will spot some parallels between us,” she says. “As I went into my sixties I felt more authentic and confident about myself than ever before, and that is reflected in the end of Margaret’s story.”
There are also echoes of Diana – possibly in the character Princess Louise. Sarah says she and Diana were “best friends from when she was 14 and I was 15.” And while Diana and Sarah’s marriages proved anything but fairytales, many of the female characters are in unhappy marriages. Lady Margaret describes her white-dress-clad self as resembling “a ghost at my own betrothal party … a spectre at the feast,” redolent of Diana admitting she felt like “a lamb going to the slaughter” at her wedding to Prince Charles. Diana was famously a Mills & Boon fan when young – did Fergie love a romance too? No, she says, she preferred horses. “When I was young, I tended to read about nothing but horses. I wanted to be an Olympic showjumper.”
With her co-author Marguerite Kaye, she’s produced a novel that’s a riotous romp, and has more than a touch of Bridgerton about it. “I loved Bridgerton so much, I watched it twice. I can absolutely see Her Heart for a Compass as a period TV drama,” she says. “We are already having some conversations with producers. It would be a dream come true to see it brought to the screen.”
But next up is her second novel. “It’s another period drama, with more of an element of mystery. I can’t tell you any more, I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”
Lady Spencer wins weddings forever
What is it with the Spencer family and show-stopping weddings? While we were reminiscing this week about Diana and Charles’ era-defining nuptials 40 years ago; Diana’s 30-year-old niece, Lady Kitty Spencer married Michael Lewis, a 62-year-old fashion retail multi-millionaire, in a lavish ceremony which saw the bride wear five spectacular bespoke dresses over the course of three days. Frankly, we’d be chuffed with just one of the Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda couture gowns.
Kitty is a model and global ambassador for the Italian luxury fashion house, so maybe she got a BOGOF deal and just thought ‘I’m a Lady, why stop at two?’ For the ceremony, held at Villa Aldobrandini on the outskirts of Rome, Kitty looked amazing in a Victorian-inspired gown echoing Grace Kelly’s 1956 wedding dress. The lace creation also nodded to the one worn by her mother Victoria Lockwood for her 1989 marriage to Earl Spencer. Domenico Dolce told Tatler Kitty wanted her main dress, which took six months to make, to be “fairly traditional” with a “timeless allure.”
For the reception, Kitty changed into a hand-painted silk gown embellished with flowers and crystals. Later, she shimmied in a cocktail dress embroidered with silver and golden beads. The night before her big day, Kitty wore a baby-blue gown embroidered with cross-stitched flowers. Dolce & Gabbana’s shared beautiful clips and pics of the newlywed on Instagram (see our fave video here) and for the eagle-eyed, dress number five appears - an ivory dress adorned with flowers and crystals.
The society wedding of the year was attended by Spencer family members and famous mates, such as Pixie Lott. Kitty was walked down the aisle by brother, Louis, Viscount Althorp and half-brother Samuel Aitken because her dad, 57-year-old Earl Spencer, remained at Althorp. Newspaper reports suggest their relationship has become increasingly estranged. Whatever the reason, you can bet it’ll be Kitty’s bridal trousseau everyone will remember.
Is Prince Harry blooming livid at Orlando?
The satirical animated TV series The Prince launched in the USA this week and either Prince Harry’s in on the joke, or his Montecito neighbour Orlando Bloom is having a laugh. The Brit actor voices Harry in the show that follows Prince George, as he navigates his way through the fictionalised antics of the Royal Family. Kerry wrote this for The Sunday Telegraph, here’s a sample…
The controversial HBO Max comedy series by Family Guy’s Gary Janetti sees the Queen voiced by acting legend Frances de la Tour, Prince George by Janetti, Prince Charles and Prince Philip by Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens (whatever would the Dowager Countess say?), Princess Charlotte is Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner, Prince William is Game of Thrones’ Iwan Rheon and Catherine is Motherland’s Amanda, aka Lucy Punch. That, at least, must have tickled Kate.
Harry and Meghan – voiced by Billions’ Condola Rashad - are also ridiculed – by one of their buddies. Orlando and his wife Katy Perry live “just down the road” from the pair, and the prince has previously said they “keep in touch” by text, about neighbourly things. They both have baby daughters, which would have been perfect for playdates. But Daisy and Lili’s friendship doesn’t look like it will bloom now.
Unless Harry has a great sense of humour, Orlando’s turn as the hapless prince might mean the end of that WhatsApp chat. Back in August 2020, Orlando told Hollywood Reporter Katy persuaded him to take the role. “I try to justify it, because quite frankly, if I’m honest, it’s not like me to poke fun at anyone but it is done with affection.”
Meghan finds her ‘peaceful place’ as she hits 40
As the Duchess blows out 40 candles on her cake this Wednesday, she has much to celebrate - having overcome a lot in the last year, not least a devastating miscarriage which she wrote about in the New York Times. Happily, she’s now a mum of two with Lilibet Diana’s arrival in June, joining big bro Archie who turned two this May.
She’s written a book and launched philanthropic and humanitarian projects through the couple’s Archewell Foundation and cut deals with Netflix, Spotify and Penguin Random House. They’ve also ridden out a tumultuous time after being criticised for giving that Oprah interview. “She’s in a very peaceful place, just enjoying being with her family and focusing on projects that she feels contribute to the greater good,” Finding Freedom author Omid Scobie told Grazia this week.
Now you can rent Kate’s clothes
High street label LK Bennett is the Duchess of Cambridge’s go-to favourite. From her nude courts to the too-many-to-count dresses, whatever Catherine wears sells out fast. And now you can rent her looks, through their new rental platform, LK Borrowed.
Launched as a subscription service on its website this week, for £79 a month you can rent two pieces from its current collection – and swap them up to eight times. The company said it wants to offer “an endless stream of beautiful products, whilst limiting the environmental impact on fashion”. Genius.