Fergie praises ‘extraordinary’ Beatrice and Eugenie and says her family stands for ‘kindness’

The Duchess of York has praised her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, for their hard work as she says the York family is a ‘supportive unit’.

Sarah Ferguson, 63, appeared on This Morning to promote her new romance novel, A Most Intriguing Lady, which is published today, and was asked about her family.

After publicly expressing her support for Prince Andrew when he was taken to court over sexual assault allegations, which he has always denied, the Duchess said she will always stick by her ex-husband just as he has always supported her.

She told presenters Holly Willoughby and Joel Dommett that the family ‘symbolises no judgment, kindness and moving forward’.

Fergie discussed the importance of ‘walking forward as a unit’ amid difficult times, and criticised the ‘sewer’ of social media for being unkind.

As she sat on the This Morning sofa, Holly asked the Duchess about the difficulties of the last few years as Prince Andrew was accused by Virginia Giuffre of assault. 

Last year the Duke of York, 63, settled out-of-court with Ms Giuffre in a payment that has not been disclosed, but is thought to have been approximately £10 million.

Discussing her support of her ex-husband, Fergie said: ‘It’s Beatrice, Eugenie and I. We are a family unit.

‘My girls stand for service, they stand for holding and maintaining very very hard jobs and they’re mothers and they’re public figures and they do charity work. 

Fergie said the York family unit symbolises ‘no judgment, kindness, and moving forward’ and that people should ‘stop believing what [they] read’

She continued: ‘They’re extraordinary examples of princesses out in service which is what their grandmother taught them and what I taught them, with humility.

‘So I think the York family’s unit symbolises no judgment, kindness and moving forward to make people sit up and go ‘stop’. 

‘Stop all this believing what you read… walk forward as a unit.

Fergie added: ‘Remember, I’ve been through difficult times and he’s always stood by me.’ 

Elsewhere in the interview, the Duchess joked that her grandchildren August Brooksbank and Sienna Mapelli-Mozzi think ‘granny’s hilarious’ because she frequently reads bedtime stories to them and gets into character while doing so.

She also revealed her book would soon be adapted for TV, however she did not confirm when the series would begin production.

When asked if she thought the novel could knock Prince Harry’s memoir Spare off the top spot on the bestseller list, she said: ‘I think so! And Jeffrey Archer too! Take them out!’

In a later segment, the Duchess took part in a pet psychic reading, showing Bethany Crowler a photo of Muick and Sandy, the corgis she and Prince Andrew inherited from Queen Elizabeth, to find out what they were thinking.

After looking at a photo of the pooches, the psychic determined that they had managed to adapt to new owners fairly well following the death of Her late Majesty, but that they needed reassurance and one of the corgis followed Fergie around frequently. 

She added that one of the dogs was likely suffering from bloating and could do with a change of diet.

Fergie revealed that Ms Crowler was ‘spot on’ and that Sandy did in fact follow her around everywhere she went, while Muick ‘eats everything’. 

On Monday, the Duchess appeared on The One Show as part of her promotional tour, and revealed she worries about the corgis.

‘They’re national treasures – I’m terrified when they go out running,’ she told the presenters. 

‘They chase everything. Straight into trees, bang, like that! I go “no, no, no, the nation loves you, stop, stop, stop chasing the squirrels!”‘ 

The Duchess’s novel, which is out today, is her second romance book following Her Heart for a Compass, which was published in 2021.