The Dutchess That's when she's not just a little trifling pop girl doing disposable hits." It was also announced that the album would feature samples from Little Richard, The Commodores and The Temptations. The album's title, "The Dutchess", is a derivation of the noble title "The Duchess of York", as Fergie (a derivative of her last name "Ferguson") and Sarah Ferguson, the real Duchess of York, share a surname and nickname. The album's title garnered media attention, with Sarah Ferguson commenting, "Automatically, everybody in America thinks I'm Fergie, the most beautiful woman in the world, from Black Eyed Peas. [...] You know,
Sarah, Duchess of York more to bring shame on the family than could ever have been imagined". After four years of official separation, the Duke and Duchess announced the mutual decision to divorce in May 1996. In the years after her divorce, the Duchess claimed that she had received £15,000 a year as a divorce settlement and cited her deal as a spokeswoman with Weight Watchers as her main "source of income". However, subsequent information given by senior officials to "The Sunday Telegraph" revealed that Sarah had received a lump sum settlement of £3 million. The couple shared the custody of their children. By