23 years after 9/11, Sarah Ferguson shares the remarkable story of one Little Red doll

On September 11, it is common for people around the world to recall their experiences with the attacks on several sites of importance in the United States of America that took place on that date in 2001. Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, took to Instagram this year to remember a doll of special significance in a moving video.

"That's no child's doll"

On the morning of September 11 Sarah was driving into the city. A friend had provided an office for her in the North Tower of the World Trade Center and, as many of these stories start, "I was late for work."

Says Feguson "The doll Little Red, the symbol of my charity, sat on the desk overlooking Manhattan on that fateful day when the towers came down." CNN, covering the aftermath of the attack reported seeing a child's doll. Famed television personality Larry King corrected this description:

"That’s no child’s doll. That’s Fergie’s Little Red and she stands for children’s rights all over the world and she's a symbol of hope."

- Larry King

Removing the lid from a plain box, Ferguson displays "the actual doll that survived." There are still traces of dust from that day on the face and shoes of Little Red, whom Sarah describes as "a very strong, stoic person." This doll now has a home in the 9/11 Memorial museum.

Little Red's other work

This is not the first time a Little Red has brought comfort after a calamity.

Displaying another Little Red doll, Ferguson spoke a few days ago of how this one, dressed in a cowboy hat and outfit, "was born to save the life of children in the Oklahoma City bombing." When Ferguson visited children in intensive care, a grandmother asked for help for her grandson PJ. Sarah sketched this doll on a napkin and brought the design to FAO Schwarz. The resulting doll is the logo and the symbol of Chances for Children.

The foundation and doll are both dedicated to Ronda, the daughter of Ferguson's driver on the way to the hospital where she met PJ and his grandmother.

Both these dolls and her "sisters" still remain a symbol of hope, and we appreciate Sarah's shared memory of the one who survived 9/11.