The sweet story behind Sarah Ferguson's appearance in Friends as she pays tribute to 'brilliant' Matthew Perry

Sarah Ferguson's appearance in Friends was an iconic moment where pop culture and the Royal Family merged for a brief moment.

Sarah Ferguson made a surprise appearance in the 1998 episode of Friends titled The One with Ross's Wedding. The show was typically set in New York City but took a trip across the pond for Ross Geller's wedding to his English fiancée. 

But do you know why the Duchess agreed to appeared in the show? Apparently, it's all down to a certain royal duo.

It was revealed that while the Duchess of York wasn't a fan of the show, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice were big fans and insisted that their mother grabbed this opportunity to appear in the show. 

Per the Daily Mail, Kelsey Miller revealed in her book I'll Be There for You: The One About Friends that her daughters were reportedly fans of the show and loved the idea of their mother being involved.

In the episode, the Duchess of York interacted with Matt Le Blanc's character  Joey Tribbiani who was wearing a Union flag top hat that he brought from a stall manned by Richard Branson - who also made a cameo in the episode. Chandler mocks Joey's hat and later in the episode, Joey showed him a video of the Duchess of York saying she liked it. "Hi Chandler, Joey says you don't really like his hat, but I think it's kind of dashing," she says on the video camera recording. Monica and Chandler are shocked and Joey exclaims, 'It's Fergie baby!' 

According to Comedy Central, the Duchess practised her lines with Matt LeBlance before filming and Matthew Perry, who wasn't in the scene, stood nearby to offer assistance. 

The Duchess is among the many people who worked with Matthew Perry to release a statement following the news of his passing.

In a post on Instagram, Sarah paid tribute to the late actor. "I remember being thrilled to have met a natural talent, comedian and brilliant actor. It is a tragedy to lose you so early in life, rest in peace dear Matthew … you have given so much joy and laughter to so many," read the heartfelt caption.