Reflecting on her relationship with Queen Elizabeth, Ferguson shared, “She was one of the only people who saw me properly,” adding that the Queen once told her, “Sarah, being yourself is enough.”
Ferguson, the ex-wife of Prince Andrew, admitted to Hello! Magazine that she had often felt compelled to suppress her vibrant personality. She recalled, “I haven’t shown my huge personality properly because I’ve tried to keep it under the cushion. I’ve heard things like, ‘It’s too much,’ or, ‘Shut up, no one wants to hear from you.’ Even my father once told me, ‘You’re a bore.’”
The Duchess credits the Queen’s encouragement, along with a recent cancer diagnosis, for helping her embrace her authentic self. “And now I'm just not excusing myself anymore,” she said with newfound confidence.
Last June, Ferguson confirmed a breast cancer diagnosis and later revealed a skin cancer diagnosis from January. These health challenges have been a wake-up call for her. “I think it woke me up,” she said. “It gave me a swift kick in the butt and told me, ‘Right, are you going to start living now, at 64, or are you going to keep on not quite living?’ You don’t have to be what everyone wants you to be: just be yourself.”
