Inside Sarah Ferguson’s relationship with Jane Andrews

Natalie Dormer’s new series, The Lady, dramatizes the friendship between Sarah Ferguson and her former dresser Jane Andrews, who was convicted of killing her boyfriend Tom Cressman in 2001. Allan Starkie, a onetime friend and confidant of the former Duchess, describes the pair’s connection as a “boss‑servant relationship.” He recalls Andrews as initially meek and deferential, curtseying when she saw Ferguson, but says she later “began to insinuate herself more into the Duchess’s life” and was appointed deputy chief financial officer in 1994 despite having no background for the role.

Starkie met Ferguson through his friend John Bryan and spent more than four years traveling and working with her on business projects before their friendship ended in the 1990s over a business fallout. He says Andrews developed a crush on him and that Ferguson encouraged the match; Starkie raised concerns about Andrews’ behavior but felt the Duchess and Bryan were focused on her dating life.

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