Royal Photographer Shares The Touching Gesture a Grieving Sarah Ferguson Made to Him After Princess Diana Died

Sarah Ferguson talking to Princess Diana, wearing a red sheep sweater.

Sarah Ferguson has experienced her share of highs and lows in the Royal Family, and as she's been welcomed back into the royal fold, veteran photographer Arthur Edwards has shared some of his favorite moments working with the Duchess of York. Edwards—a longtime royal photographer for the Sun—is marking 40 years of working with Ferguson this year, and one sweet gesture the duchess made shows why she's one of his favorite members of the family.

Writing in the Sun, Edwards shared that he was instrumental in helping Ferguson during the early days of her relationship with now ex-husband Prince Andrew. When Fergie's father called Edwards and asked if he could help with the relentless press pack who followed his daughter to work each day, Edwards stepped in to intervene.

"So, I spoke to all the photographers and said, 'Can we stand back, not hassle her, let her walk into work and we will still get good pictures,'" Edwards wrote. The Duchess of York, in turn, "never forgot what had happened that day." But it was one gesture she made to the photographer that truly showed her character.

Fergie and Diana are pictured at Trooping the Colour in 1991. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Sarah Ferguson is pictured at the Andrea Bocelli "Notti Toscane" Event in July 2025. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Sharing his memories from the day Princess Diana died in August 1997, the royal photographer wrote that even though Fergie had suffered a tragic loss, she personally reached out to him.

He recalls that he was "at the airport in Paris" when he received a phone call. "It was Fergie, who had been very close to Diana, asking if I was alright," he wrote.

Speaking of his decades-long career, Edwards said that the Duchess of York has always been "a joy to work with, a joy to photograph," adding that she "never once —however bad things were in her life—turned her back on me."

Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew are pictured on their July 23, 1986 wedding day. (Image credit: Getty Images)

The photographer also weighed in on the Duchess of York's relationship with Prince Andrew and their ongoing battle with King Charles over Royal Lodge. "One thing I know about the King is that he is a kind man who was never going to kick his brother and Fergie out of their home, Royal Lodge at Windsor," Edwards wrote. "He’s not that sort of person."

The photographer added, "Sarah and Andrew are still very close and will be until the day they die."