Former Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's separation was announced in March 1992, while Prince Charles and Princess Diana's was announced late that same year in December 1992.
However, the story of Sarah and Andrew's separation was leaked to the Daily Mail before Buckingham Palace had planned to make a formal announcement.
Palace officials and royal family members suspected Sarah leaked the story to the press before the official announcement was made.
According to author James Whitaker in his 1993 book "Diana Vs Charles", she was reportedly put under probation by Sir Robert Fellowes, the Queen Elizabeth's aide, after the publication of the story.
He wrote that before the story of separation was leaked to the press, the Queen had consulted Fellows and other aides about the possibility of a separation, but they were convinced nothing would happen before a general election.
They were also convinced that it was a set-up job, an orchestrated campaign by suspected individuals, and they were deeply upset.
The story that she was seeking an official separation from Andrew and approached lawyers for advice was published barely two months after Sarah Ferguson's explicit images with her lover were published.
Writing what the then Duchess of York thought about the leak, Whitaker noted , "The question still lurked in Sarah's mind - If she didn't leak the story of her separation to the newspapers, who did? For there seemed only one answer - Diana.
"A guest at Sunninghill recalls: 'I heard Sarah claim, "Well, you know who did that - that woman."' And Prince Andrew felt that she was probably right. He said, "I can't be sure, but I wouldn't put it past Diana."
The author also copied the comments of Lesley Player, Major Ronald Ferguson's closest confidante: "Diana was immensely competitive where Sarah was concerned - she never wanted Sarah to have more attention than her. She doesn't want anyone to be more important than her. It sounds childish, but that sort of thing really does happen in the royal family."
Sarah's father told Lesley that Diana and Sarah had discussed the possibility of separation and divorce together and had made a pact that they should both leave their husbands at the same time. But, Sarah believed, Diana had "done the dirty" on her by not separating when she said she would - and, at the same time, shopped her to the press.
Diana's motive, according to Sarah, was to gain the upper hand, to move into a more favorable position with the Queen, and to appear more responsible. The Duchess felt that it had occurred to Diana that if Diana walked out on her marriage before Sarah did, there was an outside chance that Andrew, in certain circumstances, like the premature death of his elder brother, could be made Prince Regent.
"That would make Sarah more important than her, a situation Diana could not face," observed the Sarah's father to Lesley Player. "She couldn't bear to be usurped in that way."
