Sarah Ferguson says mastectomy helped her get over ‘self-hatred’ and ‘self-doubt’ caused by years of comparison between her and Princess Diana

Sarah Ferguson has opened up about the lasting impact comparisons between her and Princess Diana have on her and shared that her recent mastectomy helped her to get over the ‘self-hatred’ and ‘self-doubt’ caused by the comments. 

• Sarah Ferguson has said that her mastectomy has changed her view of herself, curing her self-hatred' as she now 'likes herself.' 
• The royal shared that she suffered with 'self-doubt' as the press made comparisons between her and Princess Diana, with the impact of the comments lasting long after they were published. 
• In other royal news, The most iconic sapphire jewels worn by the Royal Family.

Sarah Ferguson shocked royal fans when she revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year and was ‘lucky to be alive’ following her successful single mastectomy at King Edward VII's Hospital in London.

In classic Fergie style, despite the trauma of the diagnosis and quick treatment, the royal remained upbeat about her life and managed to find the positives in a mostly bleak situation. 

One of those positives is that Sarah now says she finally 'likes herself' after suffering through years or 'self-hatred' and 'self-doubt' caused by comparisons made between her and her late friend, Princess Diana. 

Speaking on the final episode of her hit podcast series Tea Talks, she shared that she 'didn't like herself' when she was younger but in hindsight can see that she had 'good legs' and 'looked good.'

She said, "That was because I think I was always compared to Diana and I think that at the end I sort of believed my own press which is, you know, not too good."

However, following her mastectomy, Fergie's view of herself has changed. Sarah's co-host Sarah Thomson asked the royal if having a 'a body part cut off' woke her up to the wrongs of hating your body. She clarified her question, adding, "Not because of seeing death but waking up to stop worrying, stop self-hatred, stop self-doubt, stop all these things. Stop not liking yourself?"

In response, Fergie said, "Yes, it did in my case. You've got an enormous scar, but you like yourself....You like yourself a lot. You've got a badge of office, you just are what you are, and... of course the last thing that the Queen said to me [was]: 'Just be yourself Sarah'.

"And she saw it. She just got so annoyed when I wasn't being myself. And that's probably when I got into all the pickles. But now I am myself and I'm just so lucky to be able to be myself."

Following her diagnosis, Fergie has been vocal about urging women to get themselves checked for breast cancer as she never would have discovered that she had it had it not been for her sister sending her in for a mammogram.

Following her surgery, Sarah released a statement via a spokesperson, part of which read, "The duchess wants to express her immense gratitude to all the medical staff who have supported her in recent days. She is also hugely thankful to the staff involved in the mammogram which identified her illness, which was otherwise symptom free, and believes her experience underlines the importance of regular screening."

In her latest podcast episode, she reiterated the statement, saying, "I'm very lucky that my sister sent me to the mammogram because that was something which saved my life."

The whole ordeal must have been terrifying for the royal, but we're so glad that she can now see herself in a better light.