EXCLUSIVE: Duchesses of Disgrace! Radar Reveals the Eerie Similarities Between Meghan Markle and Sarah Ferguson's Scandal-Stuffed Lives
Meghan Markle and Sarah Ferguson may have more in common than even they know.
Jan. 11 2026, Published 4:20 p.m. ET
Meghan Markle has long been framed as a disruptive force inside the monarchy, but RadarOnline.com can reveal royal watchers are increasingly drawing uneasy parallels between her post-palace trajectory and that of Sarah Ferguson, another one-time working duchess whose royal rise was followed by scandal, exile, and relentless self-reinvention.
The comparisons span decades but echo with striking familiarity.
Markle married Prince Harry in 2018 and entered the monarchy as a supposed modernizer.
Ferguson, 66, entered royal life in 1986 at the age of 26, marrying the then-Prince Andrew at Westminster Abbey and quickly becoming tabloid fodder as the so-called "Duchess of Excess."
Markle, 44, an American actress best known for Suits, married Prince Harry, 41, in 2018 at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, amid hopes she would modernize the monarchy.
But both women exited royal duties under different circumstances, yet with similarly explosive consequences.
A Royal Shakup
Both women stepped away from royal duties and lost the practical use of HRH status.
After divorcing Andrew in 1996, Ferguson's role as a working royal effectively ended amid financial troubles and scandal over her finances and links to s-- trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Markle and Harry stepped back in January 2020, later relocating to California in what they described as an effort to carve out a progressive new role for themselves and focus on their privacy.
Both Markle and Ferguson were subsequently stripped of the HRH styling in practice, if not by law, a shift that neither has accepted quietly.
'She Is Not a Blue-Blood Royal'
Both Markle and Ferguson lost the active use of their HRH titles after leaving royal duties.
Sources said Markle continues to regard herself as part of the royal family, just like Ferguson.
One insider claimed: "Sarah still expects to be called a duchess, even though the title was taken from her over her and Andrew's Epstein mess. And Meghan has total delusions of grandeur and refuses to acknowledge she is not a blue-blood royal."
Markle ignited controversy last year after a gift hamper sent to a friend bore a note reading: "With the compliments of HRH The Duchess of Sussex."
One royal expert said: "Had Queen Elizabeth still been alive, she would have taken real offense at this, as she was extremely particular about matters such as the correct use of titles."
The HRH style was not formally stripped from Markle and Harry, but they were explicitly instructed not to use it for business purposes.
"With the Queen gone, there is a sense they believe those boundaries no longer apply."
Ferguson and Markle's Similar Path
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Both Ferguson and Markle have utilized media to shape their narratives, through reality TV and memoirs or Netflix projects.
Reality television has also proved a shared refuge for both Markle and Ferguson
Ferguson's 2011 series Finding Sarah followed her attempts to recover from debt and disgrace, granting unprecedented access to her private life.
Markle's Netflix projects, including Harry & Meghan and With Love, Meghan, similarly offered intimate detail after her royal exit, despite privacy being cited as a reason for leaving. Both women have also turned to publishing.
Ferguson found success with children's books such as Budgie the Little Helicopter, while Markle released The Bench in 2021.
Ferguson later published My Story, earning an advance close to $1million. Meanwhile, Markle has not released a memoir, though Harry's Spare shattered sales records in 2023.
The pair's media paths intersected most dramatically on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Ferguson appeared twice following her divorce and financial scandals. Markle and Harry's 2021 interview with the chat show titan drew an estimated 50 million viewers and prompted a rare palace response, with Queen Elizabeth II stating that "recollections may vary" about some of their statements.
Even the duo's public lives beyond royalty mirror one another, from Disneyland trips with their children to high-profile fashion week appearances. Yet despite the overlap, a lasting bond seems unlikely.
Ferguson said in 2023 she "doesn't really know Meghan," despite shared family connections.
Separated by a generation but linked by pattern, both duchesses continue to challenge the royal code of silence and to reap the consequences of their controversial actions.
