Sarah Ferguson's Party Etiquette Hacks Are Perfectly Brilliant

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, may have been diagnosed with breast cancer and undergone a long surgery, but she isn't letting that stop her from recording her podcast "Tea Talks With the Duchess and Sarah" with co-host Sarah Thomson. In one of the episodes, Ferguson talked about what she's learned about politeness and party etiquette. And if there's anyone who knows about etiquette, it's surely someone who's been in the royal family. The Duchess of York shared some tips that anyone can use if they want to know how to get themselves out of a conversation without offending anyone — and who hasn't been in a situation like that?

On the podcast, Ferguson revealed that she's a fan of the show "Downton Abbey," and she used a reference to the show to describe how you can get yourself out of a conversation you're done with. "If you're in British 'Downton Abbey,' you get to a point when you say, 'One second, could you hold that thought because I've just got to go and see Fred over there because I've got to give him a message," she shared. "And by the time that the person you're talking to has gone onto the next subject, they've forgotten that you were coming back to tell something about Fred." 

But that wasn't the only helpful piece of party etiquette advice that Ferguson dished out.

On her podcast "Tea Talks With the Duchess and Sarah," where Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York has vowed to be honest about her life, she had some more handy party etiquette tips. If, for example, you have multiple parties to attend in one night, Ferguson has just the thing for you to do to make sure your presence is known at each one. "What you do is you walk through the door, go in very loudly and walk all the way around the room. And you'll be so loud that most people are going, 'Oh my goodness, it's so loud,'" she suggested. "Then you leave after five minutes, and so the host and everyone will say, "Oh, I didn't see Sarah tonight.' And everyone in the room says, "Oh, well we did.'" Genius!

And if someone brings up a controversial topic or a question that you really don't want to talk about or answer, you can dodge it by asking it again yourself. Ferguson suggested saying something like, "'Oh, that's so interesting. I'll tell you what, I'm going to throw that question to Matilda," Ferguson said. "Matilda, what do you think about that question?' And you've thrown the ball again." There you go — you can tuck away those duchess-approved etiquette tips for your next big event.