Life & Style | People
Fergie speaks from the heart
The Duchess of York, in Dubai to launch her brand of "compassionate capitalism" tells Natalie Long she's finally sure of herself.
- By Natalie Long, Deputy tabloid! Editor
- Published: 00:43 October 7, 2008
- Image Credit: Atiq-Ur-Rehman/Gulf News
- Fergie was in town.
Shush! Yes, thank you for shushing!" Sarah Ferguson, the Dutchess of York, is losing her patience with the guests at Select Group's launch party, which was held at Buddha Bar on Sunday night.
First, Ferguson — better known as Fergie — already had to play second fiddle to a video of Oscar-winner Hilary Swank, who was booked that night to launch Aquitania, Select's property on The World. (Swank, who, pulled out following surgery for a benign growth, filmed a speech, in which she praised the company – and its signature cocktails.)
Now Fergie, in schoolteacher mode, is telling the crowd to, essentially, be quiet. She turns to Select Group's founder, Mark Stott, berating him — "You just said Hilary's gorgeous… well, hello?" she says, gesturing to her own carrot-topped head.
Fergie was in town not only as a brand ambassador for the property company, but to implement her own unique brand of charity, called Sarah Select. The charity launched with an auction, raising a total of Dh3.5 million from the sale of an apartment and dinner with Fergie.
"I said I would be a brand ambassador, as long as it fits with my core values," she says. "I can come in a philanthropic position, so I said, ‘Why don't we give back?' That's what I call compassionate capitalism."
Charitable work (in addition to stints as the face of Weight Watchers in the US) has been the mainstay of the Duchess's work for the last decade and a half. (She was divorced from Prince Andrew in 1996, but the two remain close friends and dedicated parents to their two daughters.) She describes herself as "a mother" first, so it's not surprising to hear that children's charities are at the top of her list.
Those benefiting from the Sarah Select auction on Sunday will be the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an Imperial College campaign to help children suffering with diabetes and a school in northern Iraq.
"For 12 years, I've been working to tackle obesity in America, so it's something I'm very strong on," she says. "We're going to put the money into an escrow account and work out the best way forward. 100 per cent of the money raised goes to the child. That's another one of my core values — that I don't take any money for administration."
But put aside the charity work, and what most people will remember about Fergie is the terrible time she had at the hands of the British press as her marriage Andrew fell apart. It's something that's made her stronger, she says, and helped her define the "core values" she mentioned.
"You've got to speak from the heart. It's taken me 48 years to talk from my heart, and be sure about myself and not be frightened of the press. They can turn anything if they want. Just be honest and real and if they do, they do. You can't please everybody all the time."
Girl talk
Rivalling their royal cousins for attention are Fergie's two daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice. Bea, in particular, has become something of a fashion plate in recent months. So how does Sarah feel about them being in the public eye at such a young age?
"I think from the day they were born they had to accept that they're in the public eye. [Prince] Andrew and I both believe in co-parenting. We're very strong together. Being so strong we're very united, and in being united, the children are confident and strong and they're very happy girls."
Any guidelines?
"They understand the rules. They will always be in public, there will always be press, therefore they must always smile. And if they don't want to smile, stay at home."
Sarah's world
Sarah Ferguson may be here as a brand ambassador for Aquitania, but don't expect to see her living alongside Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on The World. "I don't think I will [buy anything], because I'll just give it to charity.
So what would be your dream house? "It would be very close to the sea so that I can have all my windows open and can hear the sea swishing on the sand, because I like that. And there must be palm trees and monkeys in the palm trees. I'd like to have a place where you have to have a log fire and the smell of the log fire comes seeping through the house. And I'd like to sit there and write my books.
Sarah's halfway through her first historical novel, and the main character sounds rather familiar.
"She's a very strong red-headed lady. [Laughs] She comes from a very strict routine in Britain and she gets kidnapped and taken to America, where she starts the first china shop in Houston street, which actually did happen in real life. It's a story of survival."
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