Sarah Ferguson reveals why she and Princess Diana were ‘arrested’ on her hen do: ‘Her costume was very good’

Her Majesty – ‘the boss’ – is said to have seen the funny side of the incident

Emma Guinness
Thursday 11 July 2024 11:42 BST
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Sarah Ferguson recalls moment she and Princess Diana got arrested on her hen night

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Sarah Ferguson has revealed that she and Princess Diana were nearly arrested for impersonating policewomen on her hen night.

The Duchess of York, now 64, made the revelations on podcast where she said she “loved” the late princess.

“I called her Dutch,” she said on Thornton’s White Wine Question Time podcast. “We had a great time together.”

She then shared a hilarious story about her hen night ahead of her 1986 wedding to Prince Andrew.

“On my hen night we did dress up as policewomen and we were arrested by Parks Police,” she laughed. “We were put in the back of a Parks Police van and Diana then leant and ate his smoky bacon crisps.”

She clarified that the crisps belonged to the man who was driving the police van, having previously told Kelly Clarkson that the pair were arrested after visiting a nightclub in full policewomen uniforms.

In the UK, it is illegal to impersonate a police officer, with the Crown Prosecution Service reporting that it carries a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment “and/or a fine to the statutory maximum.”

Sarah Ferguson recalls moment she and Princess Diana got arrested on her hen night.
Sarah Ferguson recalls moment she and Princess Diana got arrested on her hen night. (White Wine Question Time)

The Duchess added: “We got off eventually, but I was hauled in front of the boss [the Queen] the next day with her. But luckily HM [her Majesty] did laugh.”

Fergie added that the pair’s outfits were mistaken for being police officers by the staff in the club they visited.

“Princess Diana’s costume was very good,” she admitted. “We sat down and the waiter came up to us and said, ‘Excuse me, this is a member’s club and it’s for fun. We don’t serve police officers here.’”

After opening up about the incident to Clarkson last year, Fergie said that her fond memories of the late princess keep her alive in her mind.

“She’s with me all day,” the Duchess said. “She and I, we laughed a lot. We got into trouble a lot.

“Do you know what she used to do? She used to tell me the worst joke stories just before I had to be serious.”

Fergie said her fond memories of Diana keep her alive in her mind.
Fergie said her fond memories of Diana keep her alive in her mind. (Getty)

Fergie recalled the hilarious story once again after a difficult start to the year, which saw her beat cancer for a second time.

News of her recovery was first shared by her daughter, Princess Beatrice, after she was diagnosed with skin cancer in January just six months after getting the all-clear from breast cancer.

Beatrice, 35, said her mum had the “all clear” in May and was now “thriving”.

“She’s been through so much but I think really now she’s really coming into her own,” she told This Morning.

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