Who do we think was the nicer royal between Sarah Ferguson The Duchess of York and Princess Diana? Who had the better morals?

Why did Sarah get so sleazy and money-grubbing?

Sleazy in what way ? I think her big failing was not being careful and discrete .I don't think she's any worse than other members of the royal family in terms of sexual behaviour .

Sleazy, the briefcase full of money.

Sarah wasn't some cheap ass floozie cavorting around with some foreigner in a foreign land.

I don't condone her behaviour with regards to that [R3] but she got a very bad divorce settlement from the royal family , a situation compounded by her own poor financial mismanagement I'm sure . Theres far worse things that people in politics and government do for money and influence and access etc .

It was wrong but some of the moral outrage in the uk over it amongst the media and political class stank of hypocrisy .

That's true, R5. They are all grabbing money. They just caught her, or set her up for it.

I think it was Kitty Kelley who shared the story that Prince Philip used to make Queen Elizabeth laugh by picking up a phone and saying, "What's this? Fergie's been run over?"

What about the Texan, R4?

Anyways do we know everyone Sarah has been with?

She and Di seemed to be friendly. Did they stay friends? What happened?

They both had positive press in the beginning, though I think Fergie was made fun of a bit

What kind of divorce settlement did Sarah receive? Was in the millions or less than $1 million? And how did Diana get the nearly $17 million pounds she received in her divorce settlement?

I knew a woman who worked for Fergie's ex-boyfriend, Paddy McNally. She left him after he refused to marry her and hooked up with someone else. She was still calling McNally long after she was married to Andrew the woman I knew would have to make up excuses why he couldn't come to the phone. Then Fergie would chatter on endlessly to this woman. She said she was very friendly but always trying to find out what was going on in McNally's life. She was also dumb as a post.

[quote] I think it was Kitty Kelley who shared the story that Prince Philip used to make Queen Elizabeth laugh by picking up a phone and saying, "What's this? Fergie's been run over?"

I could believe it maybe if it were "Sarah's been run over." But you have to remember: they never, ever, ever, even in jest, refer to her as "Fergie." Just like the former Kate Middleton: they always, ALWAYS refer to her among themselves as "Catherine."

Though well bred, pedigreed, and lovely, Diana was very naughty. Very naughty.

From Tina Brown's "The Diana Chronicles":

Diana was stashed away in Swiss Boarding Schools for the majority of her younger life. Upon being awakened very early one morning to learn of the death of her beloved grandfather, Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, thereby making her father, John Spencer, the 7th Earl Spencer, Diana, still dressed in nightgown, ran through the corridors of her residence, yelling and laughing at the top of her voice:

" . . . from now on it is "Lady Diana"! "LAAAADY DIANA"!

Then there was the incident with Tiggy Legge-Bourke, nanny to Princes William and Harry, and personal assistant to Prince Charles. Seems Tiggy found herself in a 'family way' during her tenure; but, unfortunately, had experienced a miscarriage.

Upon catching sight of Tiggy at a polo matched both had attended, having full knowledge of the relationships of respective dynamics, an enraged Diana ordered her butler, Paul Burrell, to accompany her while she expressed her condolences to Tiggy, saying to Paul, "Stay next to me, and watch."

They approached Tiggy, and Diana, in her most controlled and especially softened voice, had greeted Tiggy, saying, "Tiggy, I'm soooooo sorry to hear about the baby."

I’m not the morality police and don’t care about what other people get up to in their private lives but I have heard that behind the scenes Diana was difficult to work for and that she couldn’t keep staff.

Having said that, Andrew is reportedly an awful person very jealous of his sense of privilege so whatever Sarah has had to do to remain in his good books over the years is probably not fit for publication.

. . . Upon fully realizing the impact of Diana's words and her intent, Tiggy, devastated, ran off, nearly uncontrollably distraught in tears -

Recollection for T. Brown's book: Paul Burrell.

Didn't Tiggy have an affair with Charles?

[quote]Mr Burrell also claimed that the Princess was taken to task over false allegations she made that Prince Charles had had an affair with Tiggy Legge-Bourke, nanny to the young princes, which had resulted in her having an abortion.

[quote]An investigation was launched by Sir Robert Fellowes, then the Queen's private secretary and the Princess's brother-in-law, after the Princess allegedly went up to Miss Legge-Bourke at a Christmas party and said, "So sorry to hear about the baby."

[quote]Miss Legge-Bourke instructed lawyers to deny the unfounded allegation, and after inquiries, Sir Robert wrote to the Princess: "Your allegations concerning Tiggy Legge-Bourke are completely unfounded.

[quote]"Her relationship with the Prince of Wales has never been anything but a professional one.

[quote]"On the date of the supposed abortion, she was at Highgrove with William and Harry. It is in your own best interests that you withdraw these allegations. You have got this whole thing dreadfully wrong."

Less than 1 million [R10] much less.

Some big royal insiders apparently said years later that it was a big mistake for the Queen to not ensure Fergie got a decent payout as it would have stopped her doing undignified controversial stuff for money and getting into trouble for years afterwards. BZut Fergie never fought for a big settlement her mindset didn't work like that.

Who gives a fuck.

[R17] Yes that is definitely a deserved blot on Princess Diana's reputation. I'm sure she could be quite vindictive in if she took against you. In the lead up to her death segments of the British press were very critical of her but it sometimes feels now that they have deified her beyond all reason.

Just realised that the Queens second cousin James Ogilvy is a godparent to one of The Duchess of Yorks daughters so he's bound to know Sarah fairly well. So I wonder if the poster on here who used to know James quite well years ago and was chatting on the sexy minor royals thread would be able to offer any hints or nuggets on this issue on James thinking or the general issue?

It's always good to have a knowledgeable 'inside' perspective on these issues if possible please!

They are both class acts.

What impresses you the most about both ladies [R22]?

Fergie and Diana had fallen out at the time of her death in 1997. Ferguson has confirmed this in interviews.

Fergie is definitely the most genuine of the two. She’s happless, indiscreet and after money, but she doesn’t seem to be at all bitchy or fall out with people.

Diana could be very spiteful, as the Tiggy Legge Bourke story displays. I remember that one well and the girl was utterly humiliated. The above account of the events does not fully explain it. It’s pretty much accepted Diana not only made up that rumour, but did her utmost to spread it to the papers. Her intent was to cause Charles to fire Legge Bourke, so as to prevent scandal. Diana was jealous of how attached her sons were to the nanny. However, this ended up backfiring more on Diana as (at the time) it was released to the press what Diana had done and the palace broke protocol and let their outrage be known. It also clearly didn’t damage the Prince’s relationships with Legge Bourke as one of her children was involved in William’s wedding.

I think Diana was a truly incredible person. She did so many remarkable things for charity and she did save The Royal Family, as she caused them to address how they were not managing late 20th Century Media nor connecting with the public. Had Charles married anyone else, the monarchy would have started to fade out of the publics conscience and would have refused to listen to the public at any point. I could be pretty sure that by now we (the U.K.)would have been given a vote as to whether to become a republic. But Diana’s marriage in 1981 ignited public interest. Diana was given no role, and she used her position as the most famous women in the world as a platform for many issues. She also knew how to be famous. In the film The Queen you can see how Queen Elizabeth refuses to bow down to public pressure and then finally realises how the public perceived the monarchy without Diana and takes a step in the direction Diana had taken and meets with the people.

Ultimately though, you have to remember how famous Diana was and the temperament she gained with it.

That was a brilliant thoughtful post [R24]

Thank you. Your sentiment sums up how I'm tending to feel that Fergie is more genuine.

R25 I can honestly say I’ve never heard a bad story about her. She’s appeared on British Radio shows and is great with those who call in and flight assistants say she’s friendly and charming to crew when she comes on board. Expecting no special treatment.

[R26] I recall once not long after she'd experienced a long run of bad tabloid press that in an interview with a family who'd previously been helped by her teenage cancer charity. They really stuck up for her and said she was lovely and down to earth in one to one's and she'd really helped and supported them privately for years including emotional support in long telephone chats during times of peak upset during their ordeal. I think this was around 2000 or a bit before or after. But they were adamant they didn't recognise the caricature of a nasty selfish clueless snob that was painted of her in the press. That told me a lot.

The nicer royal between Sarah and Diana? That would be Prince Edward, when they all were attending a performance by Dame Edna Everidge.

......

Diana was mentally ill.

Fergie is just flat-out trash.

So all of her bad behaviour was down to mental illness was it [R30]? The dubious moral logic of that argument is that she just couldn't help it anyway. But that same logic can be applied to someone who is trash as you say? I mean it could be said people who are trash can't help it it's just the way they were born.

As I said dubious moral logic...

R13 's post about Tiggy Legge-Bourke made me wonder if Meghan Markle named her silly lifestyle blog "The Tig" because it would have some sort of subconscious appeal to Harry, seeing as that was the name of his beloved nanny.

I mean, why pick that name? Is Sparkle a big fan of Tig Notaro?

Intriguing thought [R32] and well spotted.

I don't know why people think princess Diana was so beautiful. Oh ok, morals. Carry on

Morals are an important part of people[R34]!!

[quote] Some big royal insiders apparently said years later that it was a big mistake for the Queen to not ensure Fergie got a decent payout as it would have stopped her doing undignified controversial stuff for money and getting into trouble for years afterwards. BZut Fergie never fought for a big settlement her mindset didn't work like that.

The Queen could have given Sarah hundreds of millions of pounds, but the slag would have burned through that in no time. The more money she has, the more she spends. People like that will always be broke.

Well she's not broke now [R36] so doesn't that undermine your point?

Technically, she's probably broke. But when your daughters and ex-husband are paying every single expense for you, does it matter if you're broke?

Sarah was, of course, the nicer of the two -- and in a sincere way as well. I kind of pity her more than anything. Her problems seem real, as opposed to Diana's whose "problems" were of her own creation.

Why did people never warm to her? She was really no worse looking than Diana. And the media was never sympathetic to her... but still...

Princess Diana in the lead but not by as much as I would have thought. Despite my own feeling that Sarah is the right answer I was expecting Diana to garner 60% upwards of the vote easily so she's slightly underperforming to my mind.

As of now, Sarah's gotten just under a third; Diana just over half.

But I have to ask again: Why do people not like her?

I like Sarah quite a lot. She's a good person. I hope she and Andrew remarry. They deserve to be happy together officially.

I also liked Diana. She was fascinating. Both Sarah and Diana were steamrolled by the royal family, who are heartless to the core, and neither Sarah nor Diana were that way. They were both good girls, good time girls, but they were not cruel people at all.

Sarah and Diana knew each other from the time they were 14. They were best friends. They had a falling out when Sarah wrote in her book that she borrowed shoes from Diana and then said she think she got a plantar's wart from wearing Diana's shoes. Diana, very much Princess of Wales did not appreciate Sarah saying that and stopped talking to her. One thing led to another as Diana's life was under the heat of the spotlight. But before Diana died, she asked a mutual friend about Sarah and wanted to talk with her. They would have made amends, but shortly thereafter Diana died. When reports that Diana was in a car accident, Sarah called Diana's mobile phone that night and could never reach her. Sad ending for two lifelong friends.

Di famously spoke about “there were three people in this marriage” all the while ignoring her role as the third person in about ten other marriages. She never said a word about the suffering of all the women who’s husbands she fucked. Hypocritical bitch. Add that to her lying about everything possible to make herself seem a victim and you’ve got the full picture of a manipulative sociopath.

I agree [R43] the really zealous and ardent Diana fans totally airbrush or minimise those hurt by her including the wife of England rugby player Will Carling, Julia Carling.

Sarah and Diana had personality and pizzazz. They added a lot to the royal family including reaching out the average person and having a sense of humor and a modern touch. They are responsible for the royal family being relevant today. The current crop of younger royals are boring and lack any substance and don't make a difference in people's lives. The royal family will never admit it, but Sarah and Diana changed the royal family for the better.

[R45] But surely if they changed the royal family for the better then the impact of their change could be seen in the younger royals whom you describe as having no substance or impact?

There shouldn't be a royal family! Their all just a bunch of snobs.

I think some of them have more substance to them than just being snobs [R47]!!

Still majority support for the monarchy in the UK [R47]

Diana besides her mental issues was a hypocrite and a backstabber. The paparazzi did the world a favor that night.

This thread is none of my business.