Sarah Ferguson became a patron of the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation on Wednesday, and whilst numeral members of the royal family are patrons to many different charities and foundations across England, it turns out Fergie has a very personal reason for wanting to work with a foundation that campaigns for allergy research and safety.
WATCH! Sarah Ferguson reveals uncle died from an allergic reaction to a sandwich in powerful interview
According to ITV, the foundation was named after 15-year-old British girl Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who tragically passed away after eating a sandwich containing sesame seeds from popular food chain Pret a Manger, in London‘s Heathrow Airport.
Unfortunately, the sad story is not uncommon. In a rare moment of candour, the Duchess of York shared her own families tragedy, when Fergie‘s dad’s brother suddenly passed after suffering an allergic reaction from a sandwich, at just 10-years-old.
“My uncle, age 10, died of a crab sandwich at Brancaster Beach and my father was never the same after that.
“And my grandmother never forgot John — he was called John.”
Fergie admitted that she did not think about the incident because it happened many years before she was born, however, after meeting with Natasha’s parents, the ex-wife of Prince Andrew finally understood the pain her grandmother and father, Ronald Ferguson, must have gone through.
“It wasn’t until working with Nadim and Tanya and being with them that I suddenly realized, ‘Can you imagine what my grandmother went through?’”
Adding more heartbreak to an already sad story, the redhead revealed that her grandparents weren’t even with their son when he passed away.
“He was out on the beach with his nanny — he wasn’t even with my grandmother or father — he was on his own with the nanny and he died within minutes.”
Natasha’s parents, Tanya and Nadim Ednan-Laperouse, established the charity after their daughter’s passing and have since been working in tandem with the foundation to introduce ‘Natasha’s Law’, a bill that will require all food businesses in England and Northen Ireland to list every ingredient in their pre-packaged food.
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