Sarah, Duchess of York: "Cash for Access" - May 2010

[Elly C]

Sky is reporting this morning that Sarah is unlikely to be paid for the interview. I would like to believe this. I guess she may ask for a donation to one of her charities. I just wish she would keep quiet though rather than prolong the whole affair - but I guess that's not her style.

[Warren]

A few more details about Sarah's Oprah appearance from the MailOnline article at post #340.

excerpts:

The 50-year-old former royal put back plans to return to England in order to fly to Los Angles after receiving a personal call from the star, whom she has known for several years, offering the chance to put across her side of the story.

Some of her aides advised against the interview, arguing that the unqualified apology she made on Sunday should be followed by a dignified silence. But the Duchess, who has been working in the US since news of the story broke, decided to go ahead with the deal, for which she is not being paid.

A source said: 'Sarah is conscious she may well be panned for it in England but most of her business interests lie in the US and Americans appreciate nothing more than a shamed star unburdening their self on prime time television.' Another added: 'At the end of the day she still needs to earn a living and she feels this would be the best way of ensuring that. She is still a name in the United States and Oprah is just about the biggest gig you can get.'
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[Elly C]

Originally Posted by Warren

excerpts:

'At the end of the day she still needs to earn a living and she feels this would be the best way of ensuring that. She is still a name in the United States and Oprah is just about the biggest gig you can get.'
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To whoever this source is, I suggest sometimes loyalty to your family & the country who gave you your privileged position in the first place should hold be of the highest consideration when making such a choice.

[Osipi]

Originally Posted by Wisteria

Referrring to the alleged remark by Sarah about being an aristocrat, it may come as a surprise to many but she is an aristocrat, through and through. She is descended from royalty through both her maternal and paternal families. Also perhaps even more surprising is that the so called "polo player" Hector Barrantes that her mother ran off with is also descended from William the Conqueror. A look at the family tree of Diana might just show that Sarah has more blue blood in her veins than Diana did, though Diana had the title and the money. A lot of this money,, in recent times came to the Spencer family through the marriage of one of Diana´s ancestors to an American heiress.
Sarah unfortunately belongs, or did before her marriage, to that sad class of people, aristocrats but without a sous.

This train of thought and discussion might belong in another thread rather than in Sarah's Cash for Access forum but I trust Warren will know where to move it to.

Every time I've heard of someone dating their aristocratic heritage back to William the Conqueror its made me think more and more about this William guy. So I went looking and found a brief but interesting synopsis of who this enigma was.

William the Conqueror - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

To press his claim to the English crown, William invaded England in 1066, leading an army of Normans, Bretons, Flemish people, and Frenchmen (from Paris and Île-de-France) to victory over the English forces of King Harold Godwinson (who was killed, beheaded, bodily dismembered in the conflict)[citation needed] at the Battle of Hastings, and suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the Norman Conquest.[2]

And up till then he was known as William the Bastard

The point is... over 10 centuries there have to be an amazing number of people that could claim being descended from William the Conqueror.

[Iluvbertie]

He also had a number of children two of whom became Kings of England - William II and Henry I. Henry's daughter was Maud/Matilda who claimed the throne as he brother had already died but her cousin Stephan seized the throne and then a civil war ensure before Maud's son Henry became Henry II from whom we get Richard I and John. Henry III was his son. Of course a number of these men, and their brothers had illegitimate children whom I haven't mentioned including Henry I. A large percentage of the English nobility and royalty throughout Europe can claim descent from William the Conqueror - the last man to successfully invade England.

[Osipi]

The style Duchess of York is the name for her that opens doors mostly and it looks like she has chosen Queen Oprah over going back to London and talking things over with Andrew and/or her famiy. Why do I now get the feeling that perhaps HM would be right in drawing up special letters patent ensuring that from here on in she will not only not be styled as Duchess of York but also make it clear that she can only be known as Sarah Ferguson?

[Iluvbertie]

As this is a style not a title it isn't covered by LPs. It is the style adopted by the divorced wives of all peers and would need legislation to change not LPs. The legislation would need to be approved by parliament to deny divorced wives the right to identify themselves with their ex-husbands, and would presumably have to extend to denying them the right to call themselves Mrs after their divorce as well - even if Sarah stopped being styled as Sarah, Duchess of York she would still be entitled to be Mrs Mountbatten-Windsor as the divorced wife of Mr Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Sarah isn't doing anything special by using 'Duchess of York' the way she uses it - she is following the convention set down for divorced wives.

[Osipi]

You are absolutely correct on this. Thanks!

[Idriel]

The Oprah interview is not surprising in the least. A cynical and disingenuous marketing ploy if I ever saw one.
Sarah is putting her commercial interests before any consideration for the family she has once again dragged though the mud. Good for her for looking out for herself, but couldn't have it waited until after she met with Andrew?

If she can's be bothered to put coming home to offer her ex-husband a face-to-face apology before any wheeling and dealing, I don't see why Andrew should feel any responsibility towards her and keep housing her gratis.

Also, Private Eye has digged an amusing quote from an interview Sarah made to Seventeen Magazine (April 2010):

"When you're royal, the most important thing you must be is royal in your heart, not in your title. You must always think of the ramifications of your actions and lead by example through manners."

To her defence, Sarah isn't royal and has no title.

PS: the amusing cover

[susan alicia]

Sarah Ferguson's latest disastrous decision: appearing on Oprah Winfrey – Telegraph Blogs

[rominet09]

Interesting article... thank you Susan Alicia

[Warren]

Originally Posted by Idriel

Sarah is putting her commercial interests before any consideration for the family she has once again dragged though the mud. Good for her for looking out for herself, but couldn't have it waited until after she met with Andrew?

Not so much her "commercial interests" but her only chance of retaining an income stream which will allow her to pay off those mounting debts. She can still be in London early Friday evening to meet with Andrew although she's possibly already spoken to him.

However, while Andrew may offer Sarah his private forgiveness, Oprah provides the opportunity for an express ride to public redemption with her and Sarah's similar commercial demographic. Only one of these options has any chance of keeping the creditors from baying ever louder at her door. In any case, appearing on Oprah shouldn't be too taxing for Sarah as she's spent many years repeating and fine tuning her public mea culpa.

We're also dealing in two different worlds. From our perspective as keen royal-watchers, this week we've experienced disappointment or anger at Sarah's latest self-inflicted misfortune and from a strictly British perspective the fallout has touched the Royal Family and the Queen herself. Forgiveness is therefore extremely difficult or impossible and many would hope she simply goes away. But she has to go somewhere.

From an American perspective her fall from grace is an opportunity for a celebrity morality play where all parties know their roles and the script outline was written some years ago by Hugh Grant. Oprah Winfrey has kindly offered her perfectly lit stage upon which this performance will be acted out. If the audience is sufficiently emotionally touched, absolution will be the reward. For Sarah, the choice between appeasing the British public and the path to redemption offered by Oprah is a no-brainer.

[sirhon11234]

In her silence is her strength. She should not do this interview the story will die down but not anytime soon with this interview coming.

[Idriel]

Originally Posted by Warren

She can still be in London early Friday evening to meet with Andrew although she's possibly already spoken to him.

Or, alternatively, she could have flown to meet Andrew face to face on Friday then done the Oprah interview on Monday, either by flying back to America (would it be inconvenient? Maybe, but her convenience should be the last thing on her mind right now) or buy doing the interview long distance.

Make no mistake, Oprah's offer would still be on the table on Monday, as it's quite a 'coup' for her to get Sarah, who is currently hot topic, to do her mea-culpa on TV. Her financial situation would not any different either in the space of a few days.

You need not to spell the many advantages of appearing on Oprah, I think they are crystal clear.
I don't berate her for trying to keep the income rolling. I berate her for putting that ahead of doing what would have been the first decent thing she could have done since the scandal exploded.

Anyway, I'm long done making excuses for that woman's behavior, but it's touching to see there is still plenty of people who are willing to do so.

[zembla]

Originally Posted by Elly C

Sky is reporting this morning that Sarah is unlikely to be paid for the interview. I would like to believe this. I guess she may ask for a donation to one of her charities. I just wish she would keep quiet though rather than prolong the whole affair - but I guess that's not her style.

Oprah wouldn't pay for an interview anyway, she wields too much power. If it was a news program like The Today Show then that would be different.

[CrownPrincess5]

Her interview with Oprah will air Tuesday.
National Ledger - Fergie Opens Up on Scandal to Oprah - Sarah Ferguson Explains Sting

Donald Trump wants to help her. So hopefully she'll be on The Celebrity Apprentice. If indeed she decides to be on the show, that will be something to watch. I would love to see her business skills.
Duchess of York Getting Hired By Trump on 'Apprentice'? | PopEater.com

Sarah also wants to appear on Dancing With The Stars. Sarah dancing? I don't know...
http://www.digitalspy.com/ustv/s92/d...r-on-dwts.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/20...ys_fergie.html


She should be on The Bachelorette. I'd get a kick out of that.

[Lumutqueen]

I could see her on both Dancing with the stars and Celebrity Apprentice. Only desperate people go on those shows.

[Odette]

Perhaps Sarah is in no hurry to return to the UK or perhaps she was advised to stay away for a while. How many times is she going to pull out the Kleenex to wipe away the tears?
This is getting old and let us not forget that last year even her American business ventures collapsed in bankruptcy and she left a few millions due to different interests who will have to wait a long time before they recover a penny.
Perhaps another scandal is the only way she can become interesting enough to be hired as a spokesperson again.

[CrownPrincess5]

The A-list stars do not go on these shows. Sarah is desperate. Celeb Apprentice will really show her people, business and financial skills...if she has any.

[AuntyTam]

The thought of Sarah doing "Celebrity Apprentice" or "Dancing With the Stars" gives me the same feeling I had when the young royals did "It's A Royal Knockout" all those years ago. Disappointment. Anyone associated with the royal family should surely steer clear of such cheese.

I understand that Sarah has to make a living, but why doesn't she find a career that will give her a sense of dignity? Fifty is not too old to train for a new career...