Why shunned Fergie turned down her invite to the Diana service
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=473076&in_page_id=1879Part of the article: "The Duchess of York has turned down an invitation to join the Royal Family at the memorial service for Princess Diana, the Daily Mail can reveal. It is understood she feels attending "would not be right" as she has never felt welcome at royal events. "She has not been on a royal guest list for some years and it has been made clear that the family do not want her to attend royal events," one said. The Duchess's daughters, Princess Beatrice, 18 - one of Diana's 17 godchildren - and Princess Eugenie, 17, will be attending together with their father, Prince Andrew. Five years ago the Duchess decided to opt out of public royal occasions after a series of discussions with the Queen. It followed heated speculation that she was "banned" from the Golden Jubilee celebrations due to the ongoing rift between her and the rest of the family. The last major royal event the Duchess attended was the Queen Mother's funeral at Westminster Abbey in April 2002 when she was forced to sit apart from her children and not join the rest of the royal party. Close friends said she had long been made to feel like an outcast and would have felt "uncomfortable" marking the occasion with the Royal Family. "Fergie's point is that she has not been embraced by the Royal Family in recent years," one friend said. "She has been excluded from many family events and it makes her feel uncomfortable on such occasions. "She understands that and it made it easier for her to come to the decision to stay away. "Even though she was one of Diana's closest friends within the Royal Family and not a day goes by when she does not think about Diana, she has turned down the invitation. "She was grateful to be asked, but feels it would not be right to go to it." Rather than attending the ceremony due to be held on August 31, Sarah is planning her own private remembrance of her close friend. " "
