Sarah Ferguson has plans to follow Meghan Markle as a former royal making a name for herself in the US entertainment industry. Photos / Getty Images
Sarah Ferguson has plans to follow Meghan Markle as a former royal making a name for herself in the US entertainment industry. Photos / Getty Images
Sarah Ferguson is keen to host a chat show in America, a move that could see the British royal stepping on the toes of Meghan Markle - currently the only woman with ties to the monarchy that has a foothold in the US entertainment industry.
The Duchess of York is believed to have met with TV producer Amy Rosenblum at New York’s Regency Hotel last month to discuss potentially launching her own chat show in the USA.
Rosenblum told the Mail On Sunday newspaper: “Sarah told me, ‘I want a show! I want a show!’”I did a pilot with her about 15 years ago. We were up against Ellen DeGeneres and ultimately they went with Ellen.
”But Sarah was really good when we did the pilot. We have been friends since then.”
Meghan Markle dropped her bid to revive her Archetypes podcast. Photo / Spotify
And TV insiders believe Ferguson - who was previously married to King Charles’ brother Prince Andrew - could command a large fee to present her own chat show.
An insider from ABC TV, part of giant Disney Studios, said: “Fergie could reasonably expect to earn around £2million (NZ $4 million) a year, but that figure would go up considerably should her show be a hit.
”She’s always gone down well in America. She’s never been too proud to promote the heck out of anything, be it one of her books or WeightWatchers. Americans respect someone who hustles.”
The continued: ”Ellen has retired so there is a gap in the market. The amount she’d earn as a chat-show host also depends on the network. Streaming services like Netflix are no longer offering silly money like they did with Harry and Meghan. A lot of people got burned.
”But Americans still love a Royal title and English accent and Sarah has both. If she’s serious about doing a chat show then doors will definitely open for her.”
While both Meghan Markle and Sarah Ferguson share quite a few things in common at first glance, both being highly ambitious, marrying into the royal family under enormous pressure and rebuilding their lives in the US, their supposed similarities have failed to forge a strong friendship between the pair.
In fact, according to the Daily Mail, the Duchess of Sussex and the Duchess of York have had a rather rocky relationship since meeting in October 2016.
After Harry and Meghan started dating, the Prince claimed he wanted Fergie to be the first royal to meet his new girlfriend, with the group allegedly having drinks at Prince Andrew’s current residence, the Royal Lodge.
However, while Markle is said to be close with Fergie’s daughter Princess Eugenie, and has attended various weddings and events with her - including the Queen’s funeral - the princess’ mum made a claim this week that she “doesn’t really know” the Montecito royal.
And it has been alleged that Fergie was left fuming when the Sussexes decided to announce their first pregnancy the day of Princess Eugenie’s wedding.
In Royals at War, investigative journalists Dylan Howard and Andy Tillett revealed: “Meghan put her foot in it when she decided that it would be the ideal moment to announce that she and Harry were expecting their first child.
Princess Eugenie of York and her husband Jack Brooksbank on their wedding day. Photo / Getty Images
“This was a huge social gaffe, even if you were not a royal – stealing the limelight from Eugenie, who was furious, as was her mother, Sarah.”
Whispers of bad blood between the Montecito royals and Fergie went into overdrive when the Duchess of York tweeted a picture of her royal wedding outfit at the exact moment the Sussexes announced they were expecting on social media on October 15, 2018.
At 8.40am, the Palace officially revealed the pregnancy on what was Eugenie’s mother’s 59th birthday.
At the exact time of the pregnancy announcement, Fergie shared a post on Twitter thanking the designer of the dress she wore on her daughter’s big day.
What’s more, the royal then posted three more messages saying how “proud” she was of Eugenie and Jack - Fergie’s son-in-law - but failed to mention Harry and Meghan’s big announcement.
