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Divorce is never easy, but when you’re a member of the Royal Family, the stakes—and the scrutiny—are even higher. In 1992, both Princess Diana and Prince Charles and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson announced their separations, marking a disastrous year Queen Elizabeth dubbed as her “annus horribilis.” The Duke and Duchess of York’s split came first, and according to one royal author, Princess Diana viewed it as a master class in how not to handle a divorce.
Tina Brown, author of The Palace Papers, wrote that the late princess paid close attention to the way her longtime friend Ferguson navigated her separation from Andrew. “Diana, who knew she would soon face divorce herself, regarded her sister-in-law’s negotiations as the road map of how to mess it up,” Brown penned (via the Daily Mail).
One of Diana’s key takeaways? Choosing the right lawyer. The Duchess of York had enlisted “someone from within royal circles,” and Princess Diana made sure not to repeat the same mistake. She hired Anthony Julius, an outside lawyer that was independent from the royal establishment to fight in her corner—and this choice would prove crucial in securing the settlement she wanted.
In fact, per the publication, Diana’s total settlement came in at £17 million versus Fergie’s roughly £3 million, which included “a £350,000 settlement, £500,000 towards a house, and a £1.4million trust fund for Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie” along with “a modest monthly allowance.”
Prince Charles, Princess Diana, Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew are seen on a 1987 ski holiday. | Credit: Getty Images
Despite their separation, Prince Andrew joined the Duchess of York for their daughter Beatrice’s school sports day in 1993. | Credit: Getty Images
The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor–The Truth and the Turmoil
When discussing her divorce settlement with the late Queen, Ferguson reportedly told her mother-in-law that all she wanted was “your friendship, ma’am”—an answer that surely cost her in terms of money.
“Fergie desperately wanted to claw back a relationship with the senior royals, failing to understand the Windsors’ long-practiced art of pulling up the drawbridge irrevocably,” Brown wrote in the book. However, this eventually proved to be wrong, as Ferguson enjoyed a long friendship with Queen Elizabeth up to her 2022 death and even takes care of the late monarch’s beloved corgis today.
Brown pointed out that the Duchess of York seemed to navigate her divorce with “the same unerring naivety with which she mishandled everything else,” and Diana saw that as a learning opportunity when she’d split from Charles later that year.
However, even though she got more money, one thing Princess Diana didn’t get came in the form of a confidentiality agreement. The Duchess of York never signed one, per the author, and this meant she was able to take on business deals to support herself, writing numerous books and appearing in everything from commercials to talk shows.