Sarah Duchess Of York

Weight Watchers International Inc. is halting a new ad campaign in which the Duchess of York says losing weight is "harder than outrunning the paparazzi." Tens of thousands of brochures with the line were mailed to homes last week before Princess Diana, the duchess' former sister-in-law, was killed in a Paris car wreck while being pursued by paparazzi. "It has a touch of irony that nobody could have predicted," said publicist Howard Rubenstein, whose agency set up the campaign.

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, and U2 frontman Bono will be guest editors of the British Broadcasting Corp.'s flagship radio news program this month. They will be among five guest editors of "Today" over the Christmas period, the BBC said. The guests will choose some of the stories to be tackled by the daily current affairs program. The shows will air Dec. 27-31. Ferguson has decided to focus on motor neuron disease, while Bono said he would highlight the global fight against poverty.

Sarah, the Duchess of York, flew into town on Tuesday, and by her departure Thursday evening, she had dined with Hollywood executives, signed hundreds of autographs and taken meetings with at least half a dozen TV studio and programming chiefs to discuss her future.

Ronald Ferguson, father of Sarah Ferguson, the duchess of York, and former polo coach to Prince Charles, has died. He was 71. Ferguson died Sunday night at a clinic in Hampshire, England, after suffering a heart attack, a family spokeswoman said. He had been diagnosed as having prostate cancer in 1996 and had had several previous heart attacks.

Here is what it's like to be Sarah, the Duchess of York, on your first official day as spokeswoman for Weight Watchers International. After a long flight from England, where it has just been announced that you finally paid off that $6.89-million overdraft, you are awakened at dawn and taken to a morning news show where, while getting made-up in a room full of chocolate doughnuts, someone asks when you'll be appearing on "Melrose Place." (Probably never, you say, because you have yet to be asked.

It was Queen Victoria--royally pained in 1900 by a courtier's impersonation of her prim voice and puffy cheeks--who noted that we were not amused. With such aloof precedence, we must presume today's royals are unamusedly bashing their heads against Buckingham Palace at word that Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, will appear in TV commercials and throw her rank around for Weight Watchers.

It had all the makings of a Broadway hit: Famous star. SRO. Giddy fans. And even though it was just an appearance at Gearys in Beverly Hills, to the admirers of Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, it was as satisfying as a one-woman show. This was the last stop of a four-day tour of the country to promote Wedgwood, the English tableware manufacturer.

Initial reports of royal toe-sucking may have been slightly overblown. But that hardly mattered Thursday as a British tabloid newspaper published a startling collection of photographs depicting Sarah Ferguson--the Duchess of York, Fergie--cavorting topless at a St. Tropez villa with a Texas businessman identified as her "financial adviser." Well, as royal watchers are saying here, "look at the financial advice that woman is taking."

A diamond necklace and bracelet belonging to the Duchess of York were stolen during a flight from Washington to London, Buckingham Palace said Tuesday. The jewels, wedding gifts from the duchess's mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II, were reportedly worth $382,000. They were taken from a suitcase belonging to an aide who was on a different flight Monday from the duchess.

After 5 1/2 years of marriage, a formal separation appears imminent for Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York--red-haired "Fergie," whose exuberance initially captivated Britain but whose behavior and appearance eventually prompted an outpouring of criticism. An announcement from Buckingham Palace was reportedly in the works Wednesday night after England's tabloid press splashed news of the breakup over front pages earlier in the day.

It had all the makings of a Broadway hit: Famous star. SRO. Giddy fans. And even though it was just an appearance at Gearys in Beverly Hills, to the admirers of Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, it was as satisfying as a one-woman show. This was the last stop of a four-day tour of the country to promote Wedgwood, the English tableware manufacturer.

Susan Barrantes, mother of the Duchess of York, has been killed in a car crash in Argentina, dealing the former Sarah Ferguson another blow just a year after her onetime sister-in-law Princess Diana died in a Paris crash. The duchess, or "Fergie," ex-wife of Queen Elizabeth II's second son, Prince Andrew, heard the news early Sunday while on vacation in Italy. She flew into London's Gatwick Airport late Sunday afternoon and later continued on to Argentina.

I prepared for lunch and my interview with Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, in the usual way: I packed my spare tape recorder and tapes, note pads and pens--and one teddy bear, Oatmeal. Weight Watchers was hosting a luncheon for journalists at Rockefeller Center to tout its 1-2-3 Success program. The draw, though, was the duchess, a spokeswoman for the diet company.

She arrived at the Century Plaza Hotel in a shiny black GMC Suburban, private security guards in tow. As she stepped out into the driveway of the hotel towers, she smoothed her sleek gray skirt, the hem of which rested a good three inches above her perfect thoroughbred-like knees. (In all her various incarnations--heavy and thin--she has always had fabulous legs.

Weight Watchers International Inc. is halting a new ad campaign in which the Duchess of York says losing weight is "harder than outrunning the paparazzi." Tens of thousands of brochures with the line were mailed to homes last week before Princess Diana, the duchess' former sister-in-law, was killed in a Paris car wreck while being pursued by paparazzi. "It has a touch of irony that nobody could have predicted," said publicist Howard Rubenstein, whose agency set up the campaign.

Here is what it's like to be Sarah, the Duchess of York, on your first official day as spokeswoman for Weight Watchers International. After a long flight from England, where it has just been announced that you finally paid off that $6.89-million overdraft, you are awakened at dawn and taken to a morning news show where, while getting made-up in a room full of chocolate doughnuts, someone asks when you'll be appearing on "Melrose Place." (Probably never, you say, because you have yet to be asked.

In just two years, from 1984 to 1986, Princess Diana dramatically transformed herself from a shy, awkward young princess into a confident, dashing young woman who would win praise from fashion experts around the world for her poise, elegance and style. It was almost certainly the arrival of Sarah Ferguson on the royal scene that gave Diana a radically different perspective on life. Fergie's confidence began to rub off on Diana.

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, and U2 frontman Bono will be guest editors of the British Broadcasting Corp.'s flagship radio news program this month. They will be among five guest editors of "Today" over the Christmas period, the BBC said. The guests will choose some of the stories to be tackled by the daily current affairs program. The shows will air Dec. 27-31. Ferguson has decided to focus on motor neuron disease, while Bono said he would highlight the global fight against poverty.

It was Queen Victoria--royally pained in 1900 by a courtier's impersonation of her prim voice and puffy cheeks--who noted that we were not amused. With such aloof precedence, we must presume today's royals are unamusedly bashing their heads against Buckingham Palace at word that Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, will appear in TV commercials and throw her rank around for Weight Watchers.

A slimmed-down Sarah Ferguson, once dubbed the "Duchess of Pork," signed on as a spokeswoman Wednesday for Weight Watchers International. The company said it believed the Duchess of York, who went on the Weight Watchers program in December, would inspire others to lose weight. But marketing experts said Ferguson, caught in tabloid photographs topless and having her toes sucked by her financial advisor, might prove an embarrassment to Weight Watchers, a company with a wholesome appeal.