The world was never the same on Sept. 11, 2001 when terrorists deliberately flew two planes at the World Trade Center in New York, killing nearly 3,000 people. Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, was almost killed in that attack as she was heading to the building that morning to visit her charity's office.
The Duchess of York's trip to New York on 9/11 was filled with meetings. After her TV appearance on NBC's morning show, she was supposed to be at the Chances for Children charity's office at the 101 floor of the World Trade Center's north tower.
Her taxi from the NBC Studios, however, was caught in traffic, making her 20 minutes late for the appointment. Moments later, the attack happened and the north tower collapsed.
Fergie talked of this tragic incident in an interview. She said that it made her more determined to embrace living in the moment and making the most of her life. The Duchess of York said that the attack made her appreciate "every minute as a blessing" because no one knows what's going to happen.
While she escaped the tragic incident, 700 people from a firm that used part of her charity office for free had been among the casualties. Fergie also found a footage of her charity's mascot, the Little Red, among the rubble.
People at BBC thought that the doll with red hair and orange dress belonged to a child who also died from the attack so she had to call the network that it belonged to Chances for Children. The doll is now part of the 9/11 exhibit in New York's Ground Zero.
In 2019, Fergie attended an event in London to commemorate the victims' memories. According to Hello, this has been a yearly tradition, dubbed the GFI Charity Day.
In this COVID-19 environment, however, the GFI Charity Day was held on a virtual platform. Nevertheless, the Duchess of York shared a photo from last year's event and said that the online event was still "packed" with people raising money for various charities.
Meanwhile, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, also recalled the day he thought his ex-wife was in danger. He said that he was also on a plane from Atlanta going back to the U.K. but their flights were grounded. He said it was hard to stay calm when he still didn't know if Fergie was okay. The Duke of York said the anguish he felt was small compared to the many families who lost their loved ones on 9/11.
