Sarah Ferguson Says She and Princess Diana Were Once Arrested for Impersonating Police Officers, After Getting Kicked Out of a Club

Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor.

British Royals Sarah, Duchess of York, wearing a dark blue outfit with white polka dots and white wide brim hat with a dark blue band, and Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997), wearing a pink Catherine Walker suit with a white silk floral blouse, and a matching pink-and-white hat by Philip Sommerville, attend the Derby Day meeting at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Epsom, Surrey, 3rd June 1987
(Image credit: Photo by Tim Graham / Getty)

You know how royals usually don't say anything particularly controversial?

Well, it seems Prince Harry's memoir Spare has opened up some sort of a dam with its jaw-dropping revelations about his virginity, his drug use, and his lifelong feud with his brother.

Now, it's Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York's turn to give us some very juicy stories about her time as a royal, and WOW, I can't quite believe what I'm hearing.

Fergie went on The Kelly Clarkson Show and told an incredible story about her bachelorette ("hen") party, when she and Princess Diana dressed up as police officers, got kicked out of a club, got arrested, and then stole snacks from the arresting officers before being recognized. No, I know.

"It was extraordinary, because we went to a nightclub," Fergie started after being asked about that night.

"Of course we went to a nightclub with the Princess of Wales—then-Princess of Wales—and I was just still Fergie, wasn't married yet, and we went into this nightclub, and she was very good as her costume.

"Anyway, so we sat down, and the waiter came up to us and said, 'Excuse me, this is a members' club, and it's for fun, and we don't serve police officers here,' looking straight at us!"

Being polite and good-natured, the two women obliged and left.

"And we went out, and as we came out of the—up the stairs, a lady was getting out of a cab, and Diana said, 'She's got my dress on!' and I said, 'Dutch!'—I called her 'Dutch'—I said, 'Dutch! No, no, no, you can't say that, we're meant to be police officers.' It was very funny," the duchess continued.

After that is when the story gets really wild.

"Kelly? We were then arrested," Fergie said dramatically.

"We were arrested by parks police, so we go in the back of the van, and [Diana] had put her engagement ring round the other way, and I'd put mine round the other way, and we were sitting in there like this, and she just looked round and saw smoky bacon-flavored crisps and started taking them and eating them, and the policeman in the front said, 'You can't do that!'"

??????

"And then eventually they realized that it was just... you know, Diana, and me," the duchess concluded.

Clarkson was confused as to why the two friends had been arrested, and Fergie answered matter-of-factly, "Oh, because we were impersonating police officers."

Oh, right, of course.

Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.