Sarah Ferguson has, at times, found herself in troubling circles.
Years before her links to Jeffrey Epstein raised eyebrows, the former Duchess of York found herself in headlines over her ex-dresser, later convicted of murder.
Jane Andrews, Ferguson’s former royal dresser, is the subject of the new BritBox scripted series, “The Lady,” which stars Natalie Dormer as the ex-duchess. It explores Andrews’ rise to prominence behind palace doors, her close bond with Ferguson and her eventual downfall.
“I would say that [Sarah] was probably not the best judge of character,” Allan Starkie, Ferguson’s former friend and author of “A Date with Death,” told Fox News Digital.
“She was desperate for money, desperate for guidance, and I think she gravitated very often to the wrong people,” said Starkie.
Ferguson is the ex-wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the son of the late Queen Elizabeth II who was stripped of his royal titles following his friendship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
Starkie first met Ferguson, 66, through his friend and business partner John Bryan, whose relationship with her dominated the tabloids. In 1992, the Daily Mirror published photos of Bryan sucking on the royal’s toes while on vacation in Saint-Tropez. At the time, the mother of two was still married, but separated from the former Prince Andrew.
WATCH: SARAH FERGUSON’S PAST STILL HAUNTS HER REPUTATION: AUTHOR
The scandal caused major embarrassment for the royal family and further damaged Ferguson’s public image as her marriage moved toward divorce in 1996.
Starkie claimed Ferguson maintained a large household staff despite financial pressures. Other accounts have similarly described a sizable staff and significant running costs as she faced well-documented financial strain in the 1990s.
“As a result, her life during the period of separation before divorce was one in which we were constantly coming up with ideas to generate money so she could be self-sufficient,” Starkie said.
WATCH: JANE ANDREWS’ RISE AS A ROYAL DRESSER ENDED IN MURDER: AUTHOR
“She was under a lot of pressure. She also began devoting more time to charity work because I think she felt, in a way, that in the public’s mind she was in direct competition with Princess Diana, who used charity work to really win over the British public — really the world.”
Andrews began working for Ferguson in 1988. She served as Ferguson’s dresser and later became more of a personal aide. Starkie said that during his time working on several business endeavors with Ferguson, he became acquainted with Andrews.
“We brought Jane with us most of the time,” he recalled of their travels. “She actually came into the orbit of the British royal family, believe it or not, by answering a classified ad in a magazine. I would say that Jane changed very much in terms of her personality, her dress, her mannerisms by mimicking the duchess’ personality and really turning into a chameleon of the duchess.”
“She was very deferential to the duchess, always referring to her as ‘Your Royal Highness,’ curtsying whenever they saw each other,” Starkie said. “She really seemed to have no personality at all. Anytime you asked her a question, before she answered, she’d lower her eyes and blush, no matter what the question was. She was very timid.”
As Andrews’ career blossomed, the two women became friends, said Starkie.
“In 1993, roughly one year after I had entered the scene and got to know the women, Jane had managed to befriend the princesses, Eugenie and Beatrice,” said Starkie, referring to Ferguson’s daughters.
“[Jane] kind of controlled the staff a little bit and ingratiated herself so much with the duchess that the duchess decided to incorporate her into her business staff,” he claimed. “Now, keep in mind, Jane studied fashion and didn’t have a financial background, so it was a very odd decision.”
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Starkie said he also witnessed Ferguson’s “chameleon” personality.
“She could change her accent to sound like the Oxford accent that the British royal family uses,” he explained. “She could make herself seem very aloof and princess-like. On the other hand, if you were hanging out with her, she could be very vulgar. She would tell dirty jokes. She would let her accent slip into what it naturally was.
“When she was with her husband, she would be the consummate officer’s wife. She would have that flirtatiousness with the other senior officers, but would still be aloof, somewhat distant, yet elegant and approachable.”
“I’ve also seen her in fits of depression, when she seemed hopeless, in fits of euphoria, where she thought everything would always be OK,” Starkie claimed. “She could wear a lot of hats. And when she was in one of those roles, they were very, very convincing. You would believe that was the actual Sarah Ferguson. And then it could flip into something else almost immediately.”
While Ferguson seemingly met her match in Andrews, the dresser was let go from the staff in 1997. According to reports, Andrews felt blindsided by the layoff but had felt increasingly underappreciated in her role. There were also claims she struggled with the loss of status and proximity to royal life, which she had valued.
“A lot of people think that Jane’s story is a Cinderella story, but it really isn’t,” Starkie explained. “During that whole seven-year relationship between Jane and the duchess, it wasn’t exactly a dream job. It had wonderful factors. It had wonderful perks, but she was a servant working for a lady who vacillated very much in the way she treated any relationship.”
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After leaving the royal household, Andrews was later introduced to businessman Thomas Cressman, People magazine reported. The whirlwind romance was tumultuous, and they would allegedly threaten each other, the outlet shared. Andrews claimed that the financier was abusive.
In 2000, the couple reportedly got into a heated argument over their future. The fighting was so contentious that Cressman called police, urging them to come because “someone is going to get hurt” and “would like somebody here to stop us hurting each other,” The Guardian reported.
Prosecutors said Andrews attacked Cressman, 39, striking him with a cricket bat before fatally stabbing him. Andrews claimed she had been abused and feared for her life.
Andrews was convicted of murder in 2001 and sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of about 12–15 years. She briefly escaped from an open prison in 2009 but was recaptured days later. Andrews was released in 2019 to a probation hostel, People reported.
Andrews has since kept a low profile and has not publicly addressed “The Lady,” People reported. ITV reached out to Cressman’s family ahead of filming and later showed them the series in a private screening, the BBC reported.
Fox News Digital reached out to Ferguson’s spokesperson for comment about the series and Starkie’s claims.
Starkie’s friendship with the former duchess collapsed over a business fallout in 1996, Page Six reported. When his other book, “Fergie: Her Secret Life,” was published, a spokesperson called his claims “ludicrous,” the outlet reported.
In September, following renewed scrutiny of Ferguson’s links to Epstein, Dormer announced she wouldn’t promote “The Lady” and would instead donate her salary to charity. Ferguson previously said she deeply regretted her association with Epstein, acknowledging it had been a serious error in judgment.
Starkie hopes Ferguson will think twice about who she lets into her life.
“I think that Sarah Ferguson chose people in many cases because they were interesting,” he said. “In choosing interesting, eccentric people, she sometimes endangered her own reputation by associating with people that would end up becoming notorious in different ways.”
