SARAH, DUCHESS of YORK: The Queen, Corgis & Her 'Granny' Era

THE ROYAL MOM-AND PROUD GRANDMA!-OPENS UP ABOUT LOSING HER IDOL' QUEEN ELIZABETH, HER PAST STRUGGLES AND HER NEW NOVEL

- MICHELLE TAUBER 

“Where’s the talent?” asks Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, one recent February morning—playfully referring to Sandy and Muick, the corgis owned by her former mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth, until her death at age 96 in September. The dogs were the Queen’s last corgis, given to her by the duchess, 63—popularly known as Fergie—along with her ex-husband Prince Andrew, 63, and their daughters Princesses Beatrice, 34, and Eugenie, 32. Now the pups’ caretaker, Fergie—once the target of ceaseless cruel headlines targeting her weight, her marriage and her entrepreneurial endeavors—is at ease being “Sarah,” she says, “in joy and reasoning and silence and respect. I’m beginning to sort of really start being who I am.” With the debut of her second historical novel, A Most Intriguing Lady, on March 7, the duchess is embracing her blossoming career as an author—along with her role as “Granny” to Eugenie’s son August, 2, and Beatrice’s daughter Sienna, 18 months. (Eugenie is expecting her second child with husband Jack Brooksbank this summer.) She spoke with People about her romantic new book, grieving the Queen and the path blazed by Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

Your Granny era looks good on you!
One, I’m really proud of my girls. Two, I have very good grandchildren. Three, the most important thing is that you really focus on turning to joy. Why I look good, why I feel good, why I am in this place is not because of anything except my heart. The inner workings of Sarah are feeling much more balanced in joy rather than self-doubt.