Duchess of York's tiara row

Apr 15, 2010, 12:02 GMT

Britain's Duchess of York refused to wear a tiara for a TV interview.

The duchess - who appeared on talk show host Oprah Winfrey's US show in 1996 following her spilt from Prince Andrew - was reportedly close to pulling out of the primetime slot after being told she would have to appear in sparkly headgear.

The revelations come in a new biography on Oprah, in a book of the same name, by author Kitty Kelly, who claims the 50-year-old royal was having none of it.

Sarah's publicist was reportedly told: "Oprah thinks it would be quite royal."

For a number of weeks both sides allegedly refused to back down even though Oprah's producers said: "No tiara, no interview."

In the book, Kitty claims a network executive finally "gave in" and allowed the duchess to appear on the show without the tiara.

She wrote: "This bubbled up into a real crisis. Oprah's producers were dead serious about the tiara and pushed until Sarah's publicists almost cancelled.

"There were two days and nights of high-level fits around here. Finally Oprah's side gave in and Sarah appeared on the show to promote her book - without a tiara."

Since then, the duchess has gone on to become a spokesperson for US Weight Watchers International, as well as endorsing a number of consumer brands.