The duchess, 61, was raised in Dummer, Hampshire, and attended Hurst Lodge School in Ascot. After graduating from Queen’s Secretarial College at 18, she worked in PR. In 1986 she married the Duke of York and had two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, before they divorced in 1996. She has written more than 70 books. Her first novel for adults is published this week.
I get up at 6.30. I dream very vividly and my first thought is often to wonder if a dream I have just had is true. Then I always do an hour or so of meditation.
I travel a lot and I’ve always been able to make wherever I am home. If I am staying in a hotel I have the same family photographs and scented candles around me. When I’m in the UK I’m lucky enough to stay at Royal Lodge [Prince Andrew’s official residence]. I wouldn’t call it my home as that would be presumptuous.
Breakfast is my most important meal of the day and if I miss it that makes me feel very uptight. I tend to have soft-boiled eggs with granary toast and then a tangerine.
I train when I can. When I can’t I try to do an hour of steps on the staircase. Every other day I’ll do 30 press-ups and 50 sit-ups.
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My team calls me the General and we try to be very disciplined and motivated. Often first thing I’ll check in with my publishers in Australia while they’re awake. My novel, Her Heart for a Compass, is a story about duty, family and love. It’s romantic — it’s a Mills & Boon novel, after all — but not risqué. Then I might have a briefing from one of my charities. I’m also working on a screenplay.
Growing up I always wanted to be an Olympic showjumper. I never dreamt I would be a princess. When I married Prince Andrew I became a public figure and it was the greatest honour. When you marry into the family you give up your anonymity, and that comes with challenges but also opportunities.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s loss has left a huge void in the life of the family. I have known him all my life: he played polo with my father. When it comes to the Queen I’ve always made it a rule not to talk about private conversations.
If I’m at Royal Lodge for lunch, I’ll have grilled fish or chicken. Skittles are my guilty pleasures.
I see my girls and their families as often as possible. The three of us call each other a tripod, in that we will always support the other. I love spending time with August [Eugenie’s son, born in February]: he seems to love my energy and seeing me dress up in headbands and hats. And when I make helicopter noises — his grandmother is a pilot, after all.
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We [the duchess and Prince Andrew] are very good co-parents together. My family likes to make magic and we used to do that by going for picnics. We would always try and find the positive in any situation. If it was raining, we’d find joy in jumping in puddles.
I’m very proud of how my girls have dealt with having public profiles. I think the challenges presented by social media and trolling are nightmarish. A lot of social media is an absolute sewer.
In terms of my own mental health, I have always had to work very hard on that because I am a very sensitive person and I take things personally. I really did mind when all those terrible articles were written about me, and sometimes still are. I have a therapist and I rely on friendship, my family and my work to keep me focused on what’s important.
I love to unwind with a glass of burgundy. I’m taking it very slowly post lockdown. I don’t want to rush back out there. And I’m definitely not dating. I like to have a proper dinner, but I don’t cook — I can’t. I haven’t the patience.
I never have a set bedtime. Sometimes I watch movies or I might binge-watch a series. My final thought before going to sleep will be of my family. I’m never complacent about the fact that I have been the luckiest girl ever.
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Her Heart for a Compass by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, is published on Tuesday by Mills & Boon at £14.99
Words of wisdom
Best advice I was given
Kevin Costner once told me: ‘Experiment with experiences and experience your experiments’
Advice I’d give
Live every second as though it’s your last
What I wish I’d known
‘Get busy living, or get busy dying,’ from The Shawshank Redemption
