Princesses' mom had 'like a schoolgirl crush' on John F. Kennedy Jr.: Report© Corbis via Getty Images

Princesses' mom had 'like a schoolgirl crush' on John F. Kennedy Jr.: Report

The mom of two was reportedly 'furious' that Princess Diana had met JFK Jr.


AUGUST 7, 2025 1:09 PM EDT

A new book claims that Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice's mother had a crush on John F. Kennedy Jr. Author Andrew Lownie wrote in the biography Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York that Sarah Ferguson once invited the son of former President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis over to her hotel for drinks or dinner during a trip to New York—an invite which JFK Jr. is said to have accepted.

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 29: (L to R) Princess Beatrice of York, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and Princess Eugenie of York attend The Anti Slavery Collective's inaugural Winter Gala at Battersea Arts Centre on November 29, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for The Anti Slavery Collective)© Dave Benett/Getty Images for The Anti Slavery Collective

"On being told that Kennedy had a girlfriend, the actress Daryl Hannah, the duchess replied: 'That's not going to bother me!' But it bothered Hannah, and Kennedy cancelled, claiming a prior engagement. Staff were then ordered to spy on his apartment all night to check that he had told the truth," Andrew penned, via an excerpt published by the Daily Mail on Aug. 5. "The duchess was not to be discouraged, especially after learning that Princess Diana had met Kennedy for 30 minutes at Christmas 1995 at a New York hotel. She was furious: 'He's mine! Why can't she just leave him alone?'"

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Andrew alleged that Sarah gave JFK Jr. the code name "Number Nine," which was "his place in the order of her lovers, with Steve Wyatt 'Number One' – and spent hours scouring magazines for articles about him, cutting out pictures of him in his swimming trunks and talking to her friends about whether he would like different aspects of her personality."

"A close confidante revealed: 'She'll suddenly ask, 'Do you think Ken will mind that I don't like such and such a thing?' It's incredibly real to her, like a schoolgirl crush. She spends hours talking about him. The fact that she's never even met him doesn't seem to matter at all,'" Andrew wrote.

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Sarah reportedly also had crushes on Kevin Costner, Tiger Woods and George Clooney. Andrew claimed in the book that Sarah flew 1,500 miles to meet the golfer and "then confided to broadcaster Piers Morgan: 'I'm in love.' 'Who's the lucky guy?' Morgan asked. 'He doesn't know yet,' the Duchess replied. 'It's Tiger Woods! He's so gorgeous. Do you think I stand a chance with him?'When Morgan suggested Woods might not have much room in his schedule for dating royals, Fergie roared again: 'Well. I am going to follow him around the course for a bit and see how I get on.' Morgan concluded, 'Poor old Tiger isn't going to know what's hit him.'"

Sarah was previously married to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's second son, Prince Andrew, whom she shares daughters Beatrice and Eugenie with. She and the Duke of York, who wed in 1986, divorced in 1996.  

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