An insider has claimed that Sarah ‘Fergie’ Ferguson is taking notes from Earl Charles Spencer following the release of his memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister.
Last month, Princess Diana’s brother, 62, made headlines across the globe after he released a tell-all book that detailed the fraught relationship between then-Prince Charles and the late Princess of Wales.
Spencer alleged that Charles, 77, sounded “giddily elated” when he called to speak to him following Princess Diana’s untimely death, and that Charles told him, “We’ll forget Diana soon enough,” in another bitter phone call.
Buckingham Palace released a statement saying “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory.”
Now, a well-placed source has told Heatworld that the controversial tome has given the former Duchess of York, 66, a glimpse of the power she could attain if she decided to pen her own story.
“No one knew this book from Charles Spencer was coming until the last minute so it’s taken Sarah by surprise, although for her it’s been a very good surprise because it’s got the King and everyone else within the Firm completely on the ropes,” the insider tells the publication.
“It’s a good reminder of the sort of chaos someone can cause with a tell-all like this. And, considering how close Sarah has been to the family over the past five decades, odds are she could do a lot more damage to the King’s legacy than Earl Spencer has.”
Despite reports that Fergie is taking notes from the success of Spencer’s book, a spokesperson for the ex-wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has insisted she “is not writing a personal memoir”.
However, a separate insider has told Heatworld that her public denial of any biography plans is all part of a carefully-thought-out “strategy”.
“Sure, she’s loudly denying any talk about signing a deal of her own, but that’s very much a part of her strategy. She wants the King and the rest of the family to know that this is a choice that is ultimately up to her,” they claimed.
The source added that the former Duchess is not jumping at a book deal just yet as she is certain that “there’s still a place” for her within the Firm, and that her “loyalty” may earn her favour with the royals.
However, she’s keeping the memoir opportunity up her sleeve just in case King Charles and Prince William fail to “throw her a bone”.
Ferguson has faced intense public scrutiny since being mentioned multiple times in the Epstein files, and has also been stripped of her titles.
Fergie called Epstein a “supreme friend” in emails released by the Department of Justice, while also asking for financial aid and apologising to the convicted sex offender for publicly condemning him.
Since then, the former Duchess of York has kept a low profile and has not been seen publicly with the Royal Family since September 2025 at the funeral of the Duchess of Kent.
However, an insider revealed last month that Ferguson was putting pressure on King Charles to arrange a summit to discuss her financial woes after her links to Jeffrey Epstein saw her isolated from the Royal Family.
The former Duchess of York has reportedly “exhausted virtually every other avenue” when it comes to financial difficulties and is convinced that the only person capable of giving her answers now “is Charles himself”.
“She wants to be in the same room as the King, look him in the eye and understand whether there is any conceivable route back from where she finds herself now,” a royal source told Radar Online.
The insider adds that her financial position has become “considerably more urgent” after she and her former husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, were stripped of their titles and booted from Royal Lodge.
“For decades, Sarah’s lifestyle was intertwined with Andrew’s circumstances and, by extension, with the extraordinary privileges and security that came from remaining close to the royal establishment,” the source says.
However, now that she has become estranged from the Royal Family and has lost the perks that come with being in the Firm, Fergie is facing some “uncomfortable questions” about how she will fund her lifestyle and what the future realistically will look like.
Being mentioned in the Epstein files doesn’t indicate any wrongdoing.