Prince Charles compared Diana to Fergie and asked 'why can't you be like her?'
27 December 2018, 12:03
It's reported that while Diana felt tension with the royals, Sarah Ferguson was immediately welcomed into the clan.
Prince Charles reportedly questioned Diana, Princess of Wales, on why she couldn't be 'more like Sarah, Duchess of York' after being impressed by Fergie's confident entrance to royal life.
After Sarah arrived on the scene and married Prince Andrew in 1986 - just five years after Diana and Charles tied the knot - she brought a newfound sense of excitement and glamour to the royal family but secured a close bond with the People's Princess.
Royal biographer Andrew Morton investigated the connection between the royal couples in the book Diana: In Her Own Words.
He put: "In some ways the arrival of the Duchess of York made her life less bearable... The newly created Duchess bounded into her new role like an over-excited Labrador."
READ MORE: Why Diana became known as the 'People's Princess'...
Andrew added: "Slightly older than Diana but infinitely more experienced in the ways of the world, the Duchess displayed enthusiasm where Diana showed dismay...
"Fergie was an immediate hit inside the family; Diana was still seen as an enigmatic stranger who held herself aloof.
"When Fergie arrived like a breath of fresh air, Prince Charles was not slow to make the comparison. 'Why can't you be more like Fergie?' he asked."
This was reportedly a change in his previous comparison where he held his wife under the same light as his beloved grandmother, the Queen Mother.
In a twist of fate, both couples split in 1992 and formally divorced in 1996 - with constant speculation ongoing that Sarah Ferguson will remarry Prince Andrew.