Prince Andrew's former wife has shut down rumors suggesting she met with Netflix producers and offered her service as a consultant on the royal drama series.
- Oct 29, 2022
AceShowbiz - The Duchess of York insists she never discussed helping consult on "The Crown". On Friday, October 28, Sarah Ferguson's representative issued the denial to the Daily Mail newspaper after an insider claimed the 63-year-old had offered to "help out with information on her character in the show and the inner workings of the royal family."
The publication said sources at "The Crown" producers Left Bank Pictures said Sarah was seeking to partner with them on a TV adaptation of her romance novel "Her Heart for a Compass". It added that during discussions with its founder Andy Harries the topic of her depiction on the Netflix drama allegedly came up.
A source told the Mail, "She made repeated contact via emails and on the phone. She offered advice and background information and said that she had an inside view which would make her invaluable to the show as a consultant."
The publication said, when Sarah was contacted about the story, a source close to the duchess initially said she was "thinking she might simply offer some insight into her character and there was certainly no discussion of any fee."
But it said a spokesman for Sarah later said, "The Duchess was in contact with Andy Harries, who produces 'The Crown', last year and they had a discussion about adapting her novel, 'Her Heart for a Compass', into a TV series."
"They did not discuss 'The Crown', or any idea of her helping with the series in any way. Such a suggestion was made separately at one point by a mutual friend, but was not progressed by either side."
It comes as "The Crown" is under fire for spotlighting Princess Diana's death in its upcoming sixth series, and after a plotline featuring then-Prince Charles talking about Queen Elizabeth's abdication was branded a fiction by figures including former British prime minister Sir John Major.
