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    Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson has revealed her fun nickname for Queen Elizabeth

    We love it.

    Iris Goldsztajn's avatar
    By Iris Goldsztajn
    Published 6 October 2022 In News

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    Sarah, Duchess of York arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle before the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England.
    WINDSOR, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 19: Sarah, Duchess of York arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle before the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Gareth Fuller - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
    (Image credit: Getty Images)
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    To most, she was Her Majesty the Queen, but to Sarah Ferguson, Elizabeth II was known by a different name entirely.

    The Duchess of York recently appeared at the Henley Literary Festival, where she had been invited to speak about her Mills and Boon book Her Heart for a Compass, which was published in August of 2021.

    According to the Telegraph, the Duchess expressed her deep admiration for her late mother-in-law and also revealed that she had gifted her a copy of her book in both English and French.

    "It’s been all my life that I’ve known the boss and there’s no one like her," the Duchess said, referring to none other than the late Queen.

    "I wouldn’t do anything unless the boss gave me her blessing though, and still to this day, I think about that."

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    She was also asked who her sources of inspiration were for her characters, and she didn't hesitate to answer.

    "There’s no question about it, mine is my mother-in-law," she revealed. "I’ve been the luckiest person alive. I have, there’s no question."

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    She continued: "When we wrote the book, I gave it to the boss and I said, 'you don’t need to read it.'"

    We don't know if the Queen ended up reading the book or not, but we like to think she did.

    Sarah added: "But I think she was so proud that we did it. And that’s just huge for me. She was just very, very special. I gave it to her in French as well.

    "And then, when I went to Italy she said, 'don’t give it to me in Italian because I don’t read Italian.' But she did read French."

    Sarah and Elizabeth II were reportedly very close even after the former divorced Prince Andrew (with whom she shares daughters Beatrice and Eugenie) in 1996.

    At the sad time of the Queen's death, both women had their home base in Windsor, making it easy for them to spend time together.

    Iris Goldsztajn
    Iris Goldsztajn
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    Freelance News Writer

    Iris Goldsztajn is a freelance news writer for Marie Claire UK. She covers celebrity and royal news, and has previously written for titles including Marie Claire US, InStlyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red.

    Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, she is especially interested in debunking diet culture and de-stigmatising mental health struggles.

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