How Sarah Ferguson Reportedly Helped Princess Diana Through King Charles' Affair

The late Princess Diana's relationship with her sister-in-law Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York wasn't perfect, but the royal duo mostly got along. Notably, the women were distant cousins and friends even before they became sisters-in-law. And, when Diana and King Charles III (then Prince Charles) were having marital issues, Ferguson reportedly helped her in a rather unconventional way. Prince Andrew and Ferguson saw an astrologer named Penny Thornton, whom they recommended Diana see as well. It was 1986, the same year Charles and Queen Camilla restarted their affair, which Diana knew. Connecting her and Thornton seemed to be a good jumping off point, leading Diana to continue seeking guidance from other astrologers, psychics, and spiritualists in the ensuing years. 

However, Ferguson was more open to the public about her affinity for new age healing. Referring to Diana's reported discussions with deceased loved ones through mediums, Sally Bedell Smith — who penned "Diana in Search of Herself: Portrait of a Troubled Princess" — remarked that the beloved royal was: "Wary of telling people about her ghostly encounters, because she was scared of being called 'a nut,'" (via Vanity Fair). Still, Diana reportedly kept Ferguson in mind while speaking with certain experts. Simone Simmons was an energy healer and friend of Diana's who co-wrote "Diana: The Last Word."

The book posited that the princess typically wondered about the fate of her children and husband, "And she was always asking if good things were going to happen to Fergie. She really cared about her and said that they were real 'soulmates.'" However, Paul Burrell — a former butler of Diana's who also claims to be psychic — would sometimes tell his boss that Ferguson was gossiping about her on an American television show (without providing any proof), which negatively affected the women's friendship.

Penny Thornton, the first astrologer that Princess Diana saw on the advice of her in-laws, wrote the book "Synastry: The Astrology of Relationships." Funnily enough, in it, she included her take on Diana and King Charles III's relationship, speculating that the royal couple would inevitably divorce. Thornton informed Vogue Australia that the Princess of Wales first contacted her in April 1986, due to her connection to Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson (and since she'd read Thornton's book). The astrologer admitted, "Initially, I declined preparing Diana's chart due to the pressure of a book deadline, but as soon as she said, 'I just want to know if there's a light at the end of the tunnel,' I agreed to see her immediately." Thornton ultimately spent about six years acting as Diana's astrologer. 

In a 2019 Daily Mail interview, she noted that a mutual friend of herself and Ferguson's disclosed that, according to the Duchess of York, Diana was planning on leaving Charles but stayed with him after Thornton's reading. There was still trouble in Diana and Charles' relationship, however. Moreover, during a chat with Fox News Digital, in 2024, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams revealed, "As her marriage disintegrated, she used a variety of holistic practices for support [...] Those who treated Diana frequently made a good deal of money out of their client."

After Diana eventually divorced Charles, she continued seeing spiritualists. Royal author Christopher Andersen even shared that she took her boyfriend Dodi Fayed to one named Rita Rogers, who "claimed to be visited by the spirit of Dodi's dead mother Samira, who warned her son not to go driving in Paris." The French capital is, of course, where Diana spent her final moments, since she and Fayed were killed in a car crash there in 1997.