“Hello? Where is Fergie?”
It's been a busy year for Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York.
Not only did she become a grandmother for the first time when her youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice, gave birth to "phenomenal" baby August, but she also became a first-time author, penning a romance novel for Mills & Boon.
While most real-life royals are notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to speaking out on controversial topics, Sarah is decidedly less so, and has offered her views on everything from what Princess Diana would have thought of Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, to being left off the guest list for Prince William's wedding to Kate in 2011.
So when it came to offering her insight on Netflix smash hit The Crown, which features scenes that have reportedly upset the Queen, it's fair to say that Fergie didn't hold back on expressing her views.
But unlike other royals, the duchess is reportedly an avid fan of the award-winning drama – so much so, in fact, that she offered to advise producers on how best to portray her. (Yes, really.)
Speaking to Town & Country, Fergie claimed that despite her hectic schedule, she carved out some time to contact The Crown's executive producer Andy Harries to offer advice on her character, who scarcely appears in the latest season. "I said to him, 'Why can't I help my character?'" Unfortunately for us, though, she was shut down.
None too pleased about her lack of screen time in the fourth season, she further quipped, "Hello? Where is Fergie?"
Set in the '80s, the duchess, played by Jessica Aquilina, makes a brief appearance in season four of The Crown, and is shown briefly when she begins dating Prince Andrew, and again during her 1986 wedding.
"I loved the way they put my wedding in," she previously told Us Weekly of her admiration for the show. "I thought it was filmed beautifully. The cinematography was excellent."
With Imelda Staunton stepping into the role of the Queen, The Crown's fifth season, scheduled to air next year, will cover the lives of the royals in the '90s and early noughties.
The Duchess of York was a close friend of Princess Diana, who is likely to be a focal point of the show's penultimate season, so it's possible that we could be seeing more Fergie on our screens when the show returns next year.
