Sarah Ferguson
Sarah Ferguson arrives to take her seat inside St George's Chapel ahead of the wedding of her daughter Britain's Princess Eugenie of York to Jack Brooksbank at Windsor Castle, in Windsor, on Oct. 12, 2018. Getty Images/Yui Mok

When Sarah Ferguson married Prince Andrew in 1986, Princess Diana gave her a warm welcome into the Royal Family. Even though Sarah felt supported by the Princess of Wales, Princess Anne wasn’t as accepting of her new sister-in-law.

Sarah, who is often called Fergie, struggled to adjust to her new life as a member of the Royal Family. Although the Duchess of York admitted she didn’t want to follow in Diana and Anne’s footsteps, she still felt inferior to the women who seemed to find their “niche” easily.

In the book, “Sarah: HRH the Duchess of York,” Ingrid Seward spoke with Fergie, who vented her frustrations about not measuring up to Princess Diana and Princess Anne. “What can I do? Anne has the Third World, and Diana has Birthright. I need to be involved too,” she told the royal biographer.

When Fergie married Edward, Diana was associated with the Birthright charity, which has since been renamed Wellbeing of Women. The Princess of Wales continued to expand her charitable works to AIDs research and other causes.

Whereas, Anne has remained the president of the Save the Children charity since 1970. While Princess Anne and Princess Diana were passionate about their charities, Fergie longed to do something else with her time.

“Sarah’s ambition is to find a niche for herself within the working scope available to members of the Royal Family. She does not want to be a patron of dozens of charities just for the sake of it. She would rather channel her interests,” Seward wrote.

Luckily, Fergie was eventually able to find several charities that she was passionate about and continues to dedicate her time to the organizations.

Years after founding the Children in Crisis organization, The Duchess of York seemed to also pass on her interests to her daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. Fergie merged the organization with the Street Child charity, where Beatrice and Eugenie currently serve as ambassadors.

Along with overseeing several charities, Fergie became a patron of the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation in 2019. The organization was founded following the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse.

The teen died in 2016, after suffering an allergic reaction to a sandwich, which didn’t display allergen warnings on the wrapper. The organization was the driving force behind “Natasha’s Law,” which will protect food allergy sufferers. The law is expected to be fully enforced by the summer of 2021.

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