Sarah Ferguson recalls how she was meant to be in the Twin Towers on 9/11 but missed the attacks as she was running late – as she pays tribute to those who were killed

• Sarah Ferguson, 63, should’ve been in Twin Towers but was running late that day 
• READ MORE: Sarah Ferguson was described as the ‘single greatest threat to monarchy’ by royal aide who blasted her ‘lack of grace’ 30 years ago

Sarah Ferguson has revealed she should have been in the Twin Towers the day it was hit by terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

At that time, the royal, 36, had an office on the 101st floor of the North Tower for her charity Chances for Children – her mascot for the charity, a small rag doll – was in that office.

She had been making her way to the World Trade Centre, but was behind schedule, after an interview had run late.

The Duchess of York took to Instagram Stories yesterday, to discuss how she should have been in the New York building at the time of the attacks, and to pay tribute to those who had lost their lives.

In the first of three stories, she shared a photograph of firefighters in the rubble. Sitting in the rubble a small doll can be seen – that is the Little Red Doll, the mascot for Sarah’s charity.

Sarah Ferguson poses with her charity mascot Little Red during the World Trade Center photography exhibit in New York in 2002

The royal took to Instagram Stories to pay tribute to the people who had been killed in the 2001 attacks

Superimposed on the image, text read: ‘My charity Chances for Children was located on the World Trade Centre N Tower. 

‘I was meant to be there that morning 22 years ago but an interview ran late. The Little Red doll, the charity’s mascot, was found in the rubble. Today I am thinking of those who lost their lives.’ 

A second story featured a photograph of the doll, alongside the words: ‘The original Little Red is in the Ground Zero museum. We remember today & always. I want to send the families love and strength.’ 

Sarah has previously spoken out about how close she was to being in the building when it was struck by planes.

She has described it as a near death experience, saying that being so close to being caught up in the attack gave her a greater appreciation of life.

Speaking in 2018 to Hello!, the mother-of-two said: ‘I take every minute as a blessing, I really do, and I really work hard at it. 

‘Because the minute you look too far forward, then you’re missing now. The minute you look back,… you can’t go back. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.’

After the collapse of the Twin Towers, Little Red was found among the rubble by photographers and was initially mistaken for a child’s doll.

According to Sarah, she was supposed to be in her office in the north tower when the attacks happened, but she was running late

Speaking to the BBC in 2014, Sarah said: ‘And when it came on TV, I looked and saw Little Red and the presenter said ‘Oh look there’s a child’s doll!’ and I immediately called up the presenter and said please, don’t worry.

‘Because I was so worried they would think that a child was lost or buried in the rubble.

‘So I said no, it’s not a child’s doll it’s Little Red and she is a symbol for Chances for Children.’ 

The original mascot is now part of the 9/11 memorial exhibit on Ground Zero, and Sarah has gone on to write a series of books based on the character. 

Sarah said on Instagram that the mascot (pictured) is now part of the 9/11 memorial exhibit on Ground Zero

A decade after the terror attack Sarah pitched an idea for a children’s book based around the atrocity which was rejected by publishers who feared Americans would find it offensive. 

The Duchess of York, 51, sent publishers an outline of the 32-page book, The Little Pear Tree, in 2011 following the story of a tree that survived the attack.

She told them she intended to present a copy to President Barack Obama at the opening of the Ground Zero Museum in New York in September that year.

But a source said at the time: ‘The Duchess got her people to contact at least three publishers but none showed any interest because the Americans regard works of fiction about 9/11 as insulting.’ 

A pear tree near the Twin Towers had its branches stripped during the attack. Workers brought it back to life as a symbol of hope. 

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