"I'm 'Super Gran Pan!' ", said Sarah Ferguson.
Being a grandma is wonderful and being a Duchess is glorious! Sarah Ferguson knows how to do both well. The Duchess of York is savoring life with daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie's children, as per PEOPLE.
Beatrice is a mother to 1-year-old daughter Sienna Elizabeth and a stepmother to husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi's son Wolfie from a previous relationship, while Eugenie welcomed son August in February 2021 and is currently expecting her second child with husband Jack Brooksbank.
They "just follow me around like Peter Pan," the Duchess, 63, told PEOPLE of her grandchildren. "I'm 'Super Gran Pan!' " Ferguson added that her grandchildren, "think I'm very funny" and that they are always expanding her world. "August is teaching me about trains. My girls had Barbie dolls," she noted.
Understanding her grandkids comes naturally to the longtime children's book author, whose bestselling Budgie the Little Helicopter series became a popular animated show and whose enduring Little Red character also inspired a series of books. The Duchess also hosts a YouTube series for children, Storytime with Fergie and Friends. "Everyone says, 'Oh, has it changed your life?' And I go, 'No because I live [in the mindset of ] 3- to 6-year-olds.' So I've now got another audience that likes me," she said.
She has pivoted to historical fiction. The Duchess's newest book, A Most Intriguing Lady (out March 7) again explores real-life "invisible women" in history, following her 2021 bestseller Her Heart for a Compass. "I think my real love is to take an invisible woman from the grave and say, 'Right, this is your story. How would you like it to be told?' And just tell it," said Ferguson.
The Duchess had also posted a tribute to Instagram after Buckingham Palace announced that her daughter Princess Eugenie and son-in-law Jack Brooksbank are expecting their second child. The couple, who wed in October 2018, is already parents to a son named August Philip Hawke, who turned 2 last month. "You will be sharing puddles, Augie!" Fergie wrote alongside a photo of her grandson playing in a puddle while wearing a yellow raincoat. "Superb news, Granny heaven…. So deeply grateful."
She also spoke of her "idol" to PEOPLE, speaking of her beloved former mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth. "She put you at ease straight away. . . because it's terrifying, you know? I used to sit there for hours thinking, 'Oh my gosh, this is somebody's lifetime to have an audience with the Queen, and I'm sitting having a cup of tea'," recalled the Duchess.
"She was so brilliant at putting you at ease. She had the most incredible faith of any single person I've ever met," Ferguson continued. "She just knew what to do. She knew how to make people feel good. She never took it onboard as about her. It's about the monarchy, about making someone feel good. She was my total idol."
References:
https://people.com/royals/sarah-ferguson-fergie-idol-queen-elizabeth-adopting-corgis/
https://www.instagram.com/sarahferguson15/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Cooper Neill
