EXCLUSIVE: Read the Seven-Word Reassurance From Queen Elizabeth to Sarah Ferguson That Left the 'Duchess of Pork' in Tears
Sarah Ferguson credits the late queen for lifting her spirit.
Jan. 10 2026, Published 4:00 p.m. ET
Sarah Ferguson says seven simple words from Queen Elizabeth stayed with her for life – a private reassurance from the late monarch RadarOnline.com can reveal reduced the former Duchess of York to tears and helped her endure years of public cruelty and personal doubt.
The 65-year-old fallen ex-royal made the revelation while reflecting on her long relationship with Queen Elizabeth II, who died in 2022 aged 96.
‘She Was Much More My Mother Than My Mother Was’
Ferguson revealed a private reassurance from the late queen.
Ferguson described how the monarch became a maternal figure during her early years around the royal family and remained a constant source of support through marriage, motherhood, scandal, and illness.
The comments come as renewed attention is being paid to the queen's quiet influence behind palace walls and her role in sustaining family members away from public view – compared to today's scandal-mired monarchy.
Ferguson, now 66, was only 26 when she married the former Prince Andrew, now 65, but she said her bond with the Windsors began long before that.
Her mother, Susan Barrantes, was a close friend of the queen before leaving the United Kingdom for Argentina with her second husband, Héctor Barrantes Sansoni.
That departure, Ferguson said, deepened her reliance on the monarch.
"My mom was her close friend, so she knew me all my life, and she loved me. The Queen was much more my mother than my mother was," she said.
"I called her Mumma. She never let me down, even if I let her down. Even through the darkest days, she never left me."
'I Got Lost Probably Trying to Be Like Princess Diana'
Queen Elizabeth II told her, ‘Sarah, remember that yourself is good enough.'
Those darkest days, Ferfuson said, included struggles with postnatal depression, addiction, and relentless scrutiny of her appearance. She described how she turned to food to cope with emotional pain.
"I was an addict to food. The fact I could eat my emotions was the only thing that saved my life," she said. "I got lost, probably trying to be like (Princess) Diana."
Public mockery compounded the damage. Tabloids branded Ferguson "the Duchess of Pork," a nickname that, she said, cut deeply.
"I believed my critics," Ferguson recalled, describing how the label eroded her self-esteem and sense of worth.
The Seven Words That Changed Everything
Ferguson relied on the queen's quiet support through marriage and divorce.
It was in that context the queen's final advice landed with particular force.
Ferguson said the last line spoken to her by Elizabeth was the seven-word message: "Sarah, remember that yourself is good enough."
She added, "It makes me cry," crediting the monarch with helping her rebuild confidence when she felt at her lowest. Sources close to the royal household said the exchange reflected Elizabeth's private style of encouragement.
One insider added the queen understood Ferguson's humiliations had lasting consequences and wanted to leave her with a message of reassurance and self-belief rather than protocol or formality.
A Bond That Lasted Until the End
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The reassurance helped Ferguson endure years of cruelty and doubt.
Ferguson added about her hero-worship of Elizabeth: "I still got nervous seeing her right up until the end because she was the Queen of England."
Their bond included small, personal rituals during the COVID pandemic, when Ferguson made repeated efforts to remain close.
"I had many Covid jabs so I could walk the dogs with her," she said. "She had little brown walking shoes. Now I have the corgis. They're phenomenal."
Ferguson is now weighing up her options after she and her ex-husband were stripped of their royal titles in October by King Charles, 77, who has also ordered them out of the $55million Royal Lodge home they have shared for years, despite the pair divorcing decades ago.
