Princess Diana Had A Secret 'Divorce Pact' With Duchess Sarah Ferguson

It's no secret that Prince Charles and Princess Diana had a tumultuous marriage. Not only did their relationship make headlines when they were together, but the former royal couple's troubles were recently depicted on Netflix's popular historical drama The Crown. The relationship of Charles' youngest brother, Prince Andrew, and his now ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, is lesser-known, however, their marriage was struggling around the same time.

According to royal sources, Diana and Sarah agreed to a secret divorce pact. The two women agreed to leave their husbands at the same time. Sarah was reportedly the one to propose the idea to Diana after the pair became close due to their unhappy marriages.

Lesley Player, the girlfriend of Sarah's father Ronald Ferguson, claimed that while Diana initially agreed to the plan, she ended up backing out. Diana's lover at the time, James Hewitt, added that the late Princess of Wales dropped out of the pact due to pressure from the Royal Family. “There was no way the Palace was going to let both royal couples announce they were splitting up at the same time," he said. "Diana had been informed in no uncertain terms that the effect on the Royal Family would be disastrous." 

After facing pressure from her in-laws, Diana decided to stay and try to make her marriage work despite knowing her husband had been having an affair with Camila Parker Bowles—who is now married to Prince Charles—for the entirety of their marriage. Sarah and Andrew, however, split in March 1992.

Diana and Charles were not able to make their marriage work. It wasn't long after Fergie and Andrew split that Charles and Diana followed suit. The Prince and Princess of Wales announced their breakup in December 1992. They would go on to officially divorce four years later.

Photo: Getty