Sarah Ferguson Recalls How Late Friend Lisa Marie Presley Helped Her in a 'Dark Moment' (Exclusive)

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, is opening up about her special friendship with Lisa Marie Presley. ET's Rachel Smith spoke with the duchess at Alice's Tea Cup in New York, where she shared how her late friend helped her in a "dark moment."

"When I was really in a dark moment, she sent me an airline ticket and said, 'Come to Hawaii and I'll pick you up from the airport, and I'll drive myself.' I thought, 'OK.' Never in her life has she driven to the airport. Never has she ever driven herself, and so this is a big deal for me," she said.

The funny moment is just one of the stories about her time with Presley that the duchess wants to continue telling. The pair had a friendship that spanned over a number of years, beginning when the singer lived in England with her then-husband, Michael Lockwood. 

"She just was special. I think probably God wanted her because she's special," Ferguson gushed. "And I think that she's with Ben now and Dad. Singing a few songs with Dad."

She continued, "It's an amazing story, I just want to keep telling them and never forgetting."

As for how she's doing since Presley's tragic death less than two months ago, Ferguson said it's been "very difficult" not to be able to pick up the phone and call her friend.

"It's interesting, 'cause I use the quote the queen told me, which was, 'Grief is the price for love.' But then when I saw her there, my friend, I called her 'Sissy,' it was very difficult to go," she added of memorializing Presley at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, in January, where the 63-year-old duchess emotionally took the stage to pay tribute to her friend.  

"I was in L.A. last week, it was very difficult not to pick up the telephone. Grief is like that, isn't it?" she continued. "It's just another normal you get used to. And everybody has to."

Comparing Presley to the late Princess Diana, Ferguson said she wants share stories of the times she had with her friend to Presley's three children, Riley Keough, 33, and Finley and Harper Lockwood, 14, and remind them what a kind and genuine person their mother was.

"There is no question that Riley and Harper and Finley -- every time I go and see them, I'm going to keep talking about Lisa Marie and keep telling the stories, and I think that she genuinely was one of the kindest people I know. I mean, she was so kind and so funny, and she reminds me very much of Diana," she said.

Ferguson is using storytelling in another way too with her latest book, A Most Intriguing Lady. The novel tells the story of a duke’s daughter -- the perfect Victorian lady -- who secretly moonlights as an amateur sleuth for high society’s inner circle. 

It's something that has become her passion too, with Ferguson telling ET, "Storytelling is beyond my favorite thing in the life. I take that very seriously, and writing now has become my complete passion."

A Most Intriguing Lady is available in book stores and online on Tuesday.

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