Queen Royal - Princess Diana and Fergie became 'firm friends' due to KEY struggle with Royal Family

Sarah Ferguson faced a “very difficult” time in the months following her 1986 marriage to Prince Andrew and sought comfort in her close friendship to Princess Diana, explained Ms Arbiter. The royal expert said the Duchesses were thrust into the spotlight following their marriages to Prince Charles and Prince Andrew but the Royal Family had failed to offer the support needed for the pair. Speaking on Nine News’ The Windsors podcast, Ms Arbiter said: “It’s all so quick and then Prince Andrew, he was still serving in the Royal Navy so he’d be gone for months at a time. “And I think Fergie found that very difficult because when they were together they were a force to be reckoned with. “They laughed all the time. They are very similar in terms of the things they enjoy. “But when he was gone, she really felt his absence acutely and that’s where the Royal Family has become much better in later life. “They didn’t really know how to rally around and offer someone the support they needed, which I think this is why Fergie and Diana became such firm friends very early on because they could identify with the struggles of marrying into the Royal Family.” The royal expert said both Fergie and Diana were like “two little naughty schoolgirls” when together. She added: “I think it was at Royal Ascot that they were photographed prodding the men in front, prodding their bottoms with their umbrellas. Fergie and Diana were in fits of giggles. “That’s what they used to do - they used to giggle a lot. “And I think there was a lot of comfort at the sort of formal stayed family engagements that everyone was expected to roll out for because Diana had a wicked sense of humour, she was cheeky, she was naughty, she loved to laugh, and Fergie made her laugh and Fergie was equally naughty. “She just wasn’t quite as subtle about it as Diana was. “So they really enjoyed each other early on and they bonded over what is was like to marry into this very traditional formal Royal Family.” The comments come as royal expert Claudia Joseph said Meghan Markle’s father Thomas Markle has been “alienated” by the Royal Family in the same way the families of Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson were. Ms Joseph said Meghan’s father should have been warned about the press in the upcoming days to the royal engagement The royal biographer said both Diana and Fergie would often complain their families were also alienated and not part of the “royal circle”. Thomas Markle last week disclosed a handwritten letter to himself from the Duchess of Sussex where she pleaded for him in the months following her wedding to “stop lying” to the media. The Mail on Sunday published the extracts from the letter, which Mr Markle said left him feeling “devastated”. Part of the letter reads: “Your actions have broken my heart into a million pieces - not simply because you have manufactured such unnecessary and unwarranted pain, but by making the choice to not tell the truth as you are puppeteered in this. Something I wi