Sarah Ferguson has spoken about her life as a member of the royal family with Oprah Winfrey years before Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
In 1996, the Duchess of York spoke with Winfrey for the first time after her marriage to Prince Andrew crumbled. In it, Sarah said that living as a royal isn't a fairytale and that the truth is, she fell in love and married a real person, who happens to be a royal. This marriage came with real problems, including following the protocols at Buckingham Palace.
This was the same sentiment Meghan spoke about in her interview with Winfrey. According to the Duchess of Sussex, she couldn't express herself as a member of the royal family as there were always people around her who were working for the Palace, who dictated upon what she had to do or say.
Meghan also expressed the almost "unsurvivable" struggles she had with the British tabloid press. The Duchess of York also told the same thing in her interview with Winfrey and described the British media as "utterly cruel and abusive and so invasive."
Sarah explained that she and her sister-in-law, Princess Diana, could not play the same game. They also could not be contained because they are "like rivers."
The Duchess of York did another interview with Winfrey in 2011, right around the wedding of Prince William and Kate. She said she was not invited to this wedding after she was banned from royal events because she accepted money and then promised some people they could have access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew.
William and Kate's wedding had been especially hard for her because the last royal wedding at Westminster Abbey was Andrew and Sarah's in 1986. The Duchess of York admitted she felt worthless after the royal snub.
Sarah hasn't spoken about Harry and Meghan at length in any interviews, but her daughter, Eugenie, is said to the only royal family member close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. They are said to be bonding over their pregnancy experience together.
Eugenie is currently staying at Frogmore Cottage, the home of Harry and Meghan, as it's close to the Royal Lodge, the home of Andrew and Sarah. Though they have been divorced, the Duke and Duchess of York live in the same house for their daughters' sake. Reports stated that the Sussexes agreed to loan their U.K. house to Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, as well as their son August, so that they could be closer to the Yorks.
