“He was a very good friend to me then; we found the same things funny, made each other laugh.
“We don’t see each other any more, and I miss him more than he knows.”
Fergie’s reflection on the Prince of Wales came after she recounted an incident where Charles stepped in to save her after a skiing accident.
In her book, she wrote: "One morning in March 1988, when I was four months pregnant with our first child, I somehow skied into a stream and fell head-first.
“I chipped the hangman’s bone in my neck, and for a second fell unconscious.
“To my great good fortune, the Prince of Wales was close by and jumped in to rescue me.
“As his boots filled with icy water, Charles pulled my head clear.
“‘Come on, Fergie, you can do it,’ he kept saying, until I regained my wits.”
Heartbreakingly, although Fergie and Charles have been at a number of the same royal events over the years, it is unclear whether their friendship has ever been rebuilt.
Some have even gone so far as to say that Charles dislikes Fergie, and is unhappy at rumours she has rekindled her relationship with her ex-husband, Andrew.
A source close to Prince Charles told The Sun: “Charles is not OK with Fergie. He can’t stand her in reality.”
However, the Duchess’ famously fractious relationship with the Duke of Edinburgh may be have entered a ceasefire, according to the newspaper.
Reporter Dan Wooton wrote: “Friends say Philip simply ‘doesn’t care’ any more if Andrew and Fergie are officially reunited.”