A royal scandal.
Natalie Dormer’s newest series, “The Lady,” dramatizes the true story of Sarah Ferguson’s friendship with her former royal dresser Jane Andrews, who was convicted of murdering her boyfriend, Tom Cressman, in 2001.
Allan Starkie, a former friend and confidant of the former Duchess of York, describes her connection with Andrews — who worked for Fergie from 1988 to 1997 — as “a boss-servant relationship.”
The “A Date With Death” author exclusively tells Page Six that Andrews, played by Mia McKenna-Bruce on the new BritBox series, was “very meek and deferential to the Duchess” when he first met her.
“She really followed protocol in the way she addressed the Duchess, and would curtsy whenever she would see her,” he explains.
However, as time went on, he claims that Andrews “began to insinuate herself more into the Duchess’s life” and tried to “improve and strengthen her relationship with the Duchess.”
According to Starkie, in 1994, Ferguson “essentially [made Andrews] deputy chief financial officer, which was astonishing. I mean, Jane had no background in this. At that point, Jane had kind of dominance among the staff members, and even almost a personal friendship [with Ferguson].”
Starkie, whose five-year friendship with Ferguson allegedly collapsed over a business fallout in 1996, tells us the former Duchess “had many personalities. I used to call her the chameleon, and she liked that.”
“[Ferguson] could be very strict [and] reprimand her servants if they didn’t treat her properly. She could also be overly friendly,” he adds.
Starkie first met Ferguson through his friend and business partner, John Bryan, whose relationship with the royal was famously exposed in 1992 when the Daily Mirror published scandalous photos of him sucking her toes in France.
At the time, she was still married, but separated from ex-Prince Andrew, whom she wed in 1986. The couple welcomed two daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, before officially divorcing in 1996.
After that scandal, Starkie explains, “Sarah didn’t want to be seen with John publicly, although he had planned on accompanying her on a lot of charity trips and research trips for a book that she wanted to write. And so, he asked me if I would step in for him.”
In “The Lady,” Ferguson is shown as feeling alienated by the royals and besieged by the negative press, causing her to confide in Andrews. Starkie, meanwhile is not portrayed on the series at all.
For just over four years, Starkie traveled with Ferguson and the duo worked on several business endeavors together. It was during that time, he became acquainted with Andrews.
Starkie claims that at one point Andrews “developed a big crush” on him and was encouraged by Ferguson to pursue her.
He says he raised concerns about Andrews’ behavior to Fergie and Bryan at the time, but they remained focused on her dating life.
“Sarah thought that Jane might be a nice relationship for me,” Starkie tells us. “Sarah wasn’t crazy about the girl I was dating at the time, and maybe thought that Jane could use a little bit of a boost.”
He notes that Andrews, during this time, was married to her first husband Christopher Dunn-Butler, whom she divorced in 1995 before her relationship with Cressman began.
“The fact that Sarah and John both encouraged me [to pursue Andrews] was odd,” Starkie says.
Ferguson, 66, did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment. In 1996, when Starkie published his other book, “Fergie: Her Secret Life,” a spokesperson for the former Duchess called his claims “ludicrous.”
Andrews killed Cressman, played by Ed Speleers in the show, by hitting him with a cricket bat and stabbing him with a knife after an argument in 2000, years after she ended her working relationship with Ferguson.
During the murder investigation, Starkie says he was interviewed by Scotland Yard, the FBI and Interpol.
“They said, ‘You dodged a bullet with that one,’” he recalls. “Clearly, I did. It’s one of the reasons why I didn’t encourage her in any way.”
He adds, “There was a weird, brooding intensity about her.”
By the time the murder trial happened, Starkie was no longer in contact with Ferguson, so they never discussed it, he says.
In September, following new revelations about Ferguson’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, Dormer announced that she wouldn’t promote “The Lady” and would donate her salary to charity.
“Since completing the project, new information has come to light that makes it impossible for me to reconcile my values with Sarah Ferguson’s behavior, which I believe is inexcusable,” Dormer told The Post in a statement at the time.
Starkie thinks the “Game of Thrones” actress’s stance shows that she’s “a person of principle. I respect Natalie for doing that.”
Meanwhile, Andrews served her prison sentence from 2001 to 2019, and is now free.
During her time behind bars, Starkie claims he received letters from her asking about his sales and royalties for his book about the case, “A Date With Death.”
“I think she was trying to find this out, because she felt she should be my partner,” he opines. “I didn’t answer her.”
If he saw her again, he says, “I wouldn’t be fearful, but I would be uncomfortable.”
“The Lady” is now streaming on BritBox. New episodes of the four-part series are out on Wednesdays.
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