A classic Princess Diana story.
In a recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show to promote her new novel, Sarah Ferguson (famously known as “Fergie”) recalled an impossibly charming anecdote about her friendship with Princess Diana. It involved a bachelorette party, bacon-flavored crisps, and a police outfit — not to mention actual police officers, too.
Ferguson’s official title is Duchess of York. She, like Diana, is a member of the British Royal family who underwent a famous separation. She married Prince Andrew in 1986, and divorced him in 1996, while Diana married Prince Charles in 1981 and divorced him in 1996.
Ferguson and Diana were best friends since they were teenagers, but their friendship deepened through their shared experiences. Throughout the years, Ferguson has told many stories about her best friend “Dutch,” as she calls her — but this one is particularly perfect.
Why Princess Diana got arrested for wearing a cop costume
On Clarkson’s show this week, Ferguson explained how she and Diana dressed up in police officer costumes for her “hen party,” which is the British equivalent of a bachelorette party. Fergie was set to marry Prince Andrew that year, so she and Diana went out to the club in these costumes — and then a little bit of mayhem ensued.
“We sat down, and the waiter came up to us and said, ‘Excuse me, this is a members club. And it’s for fun, and we don’t serve police officers here,'” Ferguson recalled.
Ferguson said Diana eventually broke character when they left the club, because (and this also feels classic Diana) she saw a woman on the street wearing a dress she had. Fergie and Diana were then arrested for impersonating police officers, Ferguson said, and placed in the back seat of a police van.
Ferguson did offer one detail about their costumes that helped them stay under wraps: They’d both turned their engagement rings inward on their fingers so that no one could spot the iconic gems.
Oh, but the story gets even better from here: In the backseat, apparently, Diana noticed “smoky bacon flavored crisps” in the van, according to Ferguson, and “started taking them and eating them.” This inspired the actual police officer to tell her she couldn’t do that.
The cops eventually figured out who, exactly, was in their back seat — and though Ferguson doesn’t mention how the altercation ended, it’s safe to assume those officers were very eager to get the internationally famous Fergie and Diana out of their police van.
“She and I, we laughed a lot,” Ferguson said, reminiscing. “We got into trouble a lot. You know what she used to do? She used to tell me the worst story, a joke story, just before I had to be serious.”
Ferguson believes Princess Diana would be “proud” of her sons and grandchildren
In another recent interview, Ferguson touched on a highly sentimental topic. As a grandmother herself now, she imagined how Diana would feel about her grandchildren if she were alive to know them today.
“I think that [Princess] Diana would be incredibly proud of her grandchildren,” Ferguson said to People. “And not just the Sussex grandchildren, [Archie and Lilibet,] but Will’s children, too.”
She added hilariously, “I think we’d have a ‘Granny-Off.’ Because she would run faster in the races. I wonder — she’d probably be funnier. No, I think I’d be funnier.”
Ferguson also weighed in (just barely) on the ongoing drama surrounding Prince Harry’s messy exit from the royal family. To People, Ferguson said, “What I’m thrilled about is seeing Harry so happy. He’s got his lovely wife, and he’s got beautiful children. He deserves to be loved like that.”
