As a young princess, Diana struggled to adapt to life in the Firm – unlike her sister-in-law Sarah Ferguson, who appeared to seamlessly fit in with the Royals.

Princess Diana and Charles pictured with a young Prince William in 1983 (Image: Getty)

The bitter divorce of Princess Diana and Charles shocked the world as details continued to emerge about their messy separation. The young princess had struggled to adapt to life in the Firm – unlike her sister-in-law Sarah Ferguson.

As a “proper country girl”, Sarah had a lot in common with her new in-laws, including a passion for animals, skiing and horse riding. And it wasn’t long before people started to compare the two women, with a cutting comment from Charles highlighting how bad things had become, the Mirror reports.

Aware of the differences between his wife and his brother Prince Andrew’s other half, Charles reportedly one day asked Diana why she wasn’t more like the Duchess of York.

Psychologist Jo Hemmings told the documentary: “There was a point at which Charles said to Diana, ‘why can’t you be more Fergie?’. For someone whose self-esteem is already pretty low, who is feeling very vulnerable… that wasn’t just a rebuke – that would have been one of the most cutting, hurtful remarks that her husband could have made to her.”

The two women were extremely close friends before tensions between them started to build. It was actually Diana who set Fergie up with Andrew. But long before that, Diana tried to get Sarah into the fold by asking the royals if she could be her lady-in-waiting – a high honour that sits somewhere between close friend and personal assistant.

Princess Diana with the Duchess of York during a skiing holiday in Klosters, Switzerland, in March 1988 (Image: Getty)
But the royals rejected Diana’s request, saying Sarah wasn’t suitable. Sarah’s friend Lizzie Cundy previously said: “Sarah was told that she was actually unsuitable to be Diana’s lady-in-waiting, which was a huge blow to Sarah.

“I think the Royal Family felt Sarah wasn’t posh enough. Diana was actually quite upset about this but maybe she didn’t fight for Sarah enough. Maybe she could have put her foot down more.”
Royal biographer Tom Quinn previously claimed that the Palace was “nervous” of Fergie, who was loud and outspoken. He told the programme: “It’s not a servant and it’s not a friend. It’s sort of somewhere halfway between. It’s a genteel occupation and gives enormous status.
“Diana was persuaded that it was too risky having Sarah Ferguson, she was seen as a loose cannon. She was fun, but she made them nervous.” Diana also defended her sister-in-law to other members of the royal family during her early days in the Firm

Speaking on the documentary, Richard Kay, editor-at-large at the Daily Mail spoke about one particular instance that took place not long after Sarah joined the family. He said: “Diana had quite a set-to with Princess Anne, who was complaining about something that Fergie had done.

“Diana stood up for her and said her piece. It was rather brave of Diana. She more or less asked Anne, ‘you’ve got to give her a break. Fergie is good for the family but she’s finding it hard to adjust, just as I did’.”