Princess Anne allegedly became so enraged by Sarah Ferguson during the early 1990s Royal Family turmoil that she “came close to throttling” her, according to explosive new claims in a recent book.
The dramatic incident reportedly unfolded after the now-infamous photographs emerged of Fergie and her American “financial advisor” John Bryan while holidaying in the South of France during her marriage breakdown with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
In his book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, royal author Andrew Lownie recounts how the incidnet sent shockwaves through the family.
According to the book, Ferguson travelled straight to Balmoral following the holiday with Bryan. But when she entered the breakfast room, she discovered the Royal Family already poring over newspapers splashed with the compromising photos.
Lownie writes: "She entered the breakfast room to find everyone reading the story and fled."
He also cites duchess biographer Chris Hutchins, reporting that a witness claimed Princess Anne “came close to throttling” Sarah and confronted her that evening: "There was not one voice raised against Anne."
Meanwhile, Andrew was said to be devastated. Lownie notes: "Prince Andrew's anger melted into sadness and he buried himself in the special reports compiled for the Queen, which she did not hesitate to let him read."
A servant present at Balmoral during the scandal said Ferguson behaved unexpectedly, telling the author: "You would have thought she was the person wronged, as if she had every right to go on holiday with another man, kiss and cuddle him, and the only person who had behaved wrongly were the photographer and the editors of the newspapers who had published the pictures."
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