Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, has been little more than a public embarrassment for the British Royal family ever since she married Prince Andrew in 1986, notwithstanding the popular myth about her injecting a bit of life into the moribund monarchy. And, frankly, this stemmed far more from her own insecurities, which compelled her to exhibit public displays of buffoonery for attention, than from her sense and sensibilities as a commoner.
In fact, here’s how Fergie lamented this fact in her 1996 memoir, My Story:
The harder I pushed, the more things fell apart… Even at my dizzy height of popularity, I knew that the clock would strike 12 and I’d be seen for what I was: unworthy, unattractive, unaccomplished.
Is it any wonder Andrew divorced her?
Moreover, as if to prove that the demands of royal life were the least of her problems, she moved on and traded on her erstwhile royal personage to amass a king’s ransom (from such high-brow pursuits as serving as a pitchwoman for Jenny Craig) only to lose it all by spending it like a drunken sailor.
This of course is what led to her latest embarrassment. For reporters from the London tabloid News of the World caught Fergie on tape last week blithely smoking and swilling red wine as she peddled access to Andrew, in his capacity as British trade envoy for the UK, for £500,000 in cold, hard cash.
I very deeply regret the situation and the embarrassment caused. It is true that my financial situation is under stress however, that is no excuse for a serious lapse in judgment and I am very sorry that this has happened. (Reuters, May 23, 2010)
To be fair, though, Fergie is not the first member of the royal family to be caught on tape displaying a very serious lapse in judgment. Remember the “Sophie tapes” on which Prince Edward’s wife could be heard not only trading on her royal title but also bad mouthing everyone from the prime minister to the Queen?
Anyway, there’s no denying the royal mess Fergie has gotten herself into now. And no matter how inclined Andrew is to continue cleaning up after her, I fear she may have dug herself into a hole so deep this time that even Prince Valiant could not rescue her royal standing … in Britain.
On the other hand, I have no doubt she could earn another fortune in no time amongst us commoners here in America, where she’d do well to seek permanent residency now since even a royal outcast would be treated like … royalty. I just hope she manages to live within her means this time….
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