Sarah Ferguson Explains Why She and Princess Diana Got Arrested at Her Bachelorette Party—and How Queen Elizabeth Reacted

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 16 July 2024

Oh, to be a fly on the wall for this night—per The Independent, Sarah Ferguson is opening up about being “arrested” with Princess Diana during the future Duchess of York’s bachelorette party—and how Queen Elizabeth, whom Ferguson called “the boss,” was (thankfully) able to see the funny side of the incident.

So, here’s the story: Ferguson revealed that she and Diana “were nearly arrested for impersonating policewomen on her hen night,” The Independent writes (that’s slang for bachelorette party). Ahead of her July 23, 1986 wedding to Prince Andrew, Ferguson recalled on “Thornton’s White Wine Question Time” podcast that “On my hen night, we did dress up as policewomen, and we were arrested by Parks Police,” she laughed. “We were put in the back of a Parks Police van and Diana then leant and ate his smoky bacon crisps,” referring to the man that was driving the police van.

“In the U.K., it is illegal to impersonate a police officer, with the Crown Prosecution Service reporting that it carries a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment ‘and/or a fine to the statutory maximum,’” The Independent reports.

Ferguson added that “We got off eventually, but I was hauled in front of the boss [Queen Elizabeth, her future mother-in-law] the next day with her [Diana]. But, luckily, HM [Her Majesty] did laugh.”

Sarah Ferguson — Fergie was a bright spot for Diana in an often dark experience of being a member of the royal family.

Fergie said that she and Diana’s outfits were mistaken for police officers by the staff in the club they visited that night: “Princess Diana’s costume was very good,” Ferguson said. “We sat down and the waiter came up to us and said, ‘Excuse me, this is a members club, and it’s for fun. We don’t serve police officers here.’”

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson — Before her July 23, 1986 wedding day to Prince Andrew, Ferguson had one heck of a bachelorette party.

Long before the women married into the royal family and became sisters-in-law, they were friends. Ferguson said that her fond memories of Diana keep the former Princess of Wales alive in her mind, saying on the podcast that she “loved” Diana. “She’s with me all day,” Ferguson said. “She and I, we laughed a lot. We got into trouble a lot. Do you know what she used to do? She used to tell me the worst joke stories just before I had to be serious.”

She added of her beloved friend “I called her Dutch,” Ferguson said. “We had a great time together.”

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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