Sarah Ferguson spent decades inside the royal fold, but now she has to start a new chapter by herself – and experts think she may well abandon the UK altogether for a new life away from the scandal
It only took weeks for Sarah Ferguson’s life to dissolve – but her fall from grace had been a long time coming. Sarah Ferguson has lost much of the life to which she had become accustomed. From her royal title, which she has used for decades, to her long-term UK residence, Royal Lodge, Fergie has been forced by the ongoing controversy surrounding her and her ex-husband, Andrew, into the start of a new chapter.
Whilst Andrew is understood to be moving to a home on the Sandringham Estate – the King’s private 20,000-acre Norfolk property – his ex-wife will be making her own way, but it is by no means the first time Sarah has found herself forced to reinvent herself. The former Duchess is, according to reports, on the “brink of a breakdown” as scrutiny continues to surround her, so much so that her sister Jane is reported to have flown in from Australia to provide support to Sarah.
Whilst it is currently unknown exactly where Sarah will be spending this next chapter of her life, more than one expert has claimed that she is likely to leave the UK behind altogether, with public outcry showing little sign of dimming anytime soon. One royal expert has claimed that there is one country in particular that Sarah might be likely to call her new home, but it would come with one huge drawback for the mother of two.
READ MORE: Andrew’s tyranny behind closed doors ‘still making staff bow and call him HRH’READ MORE: Sarah Ferguson’s huge fine for ‘packing 51 pieces of excess luggage’ – including ÂŁ515 teddy
Phil Dampier, writing for Woman’s Day, claimed that Fergie might well opt to join her sister Jane in Australia, in an attempt to get away from the ongoing scandal. Jane, who is reported to live in New South Wales Central Coast, is only a year older than Sarah, but has lived on the other side of the world since she was a teenager.
“Sarah’s sister Jane recently came over to comfort her, and she has suggested she could always move to be near her in Australia,” the expert claimed, adding, “Fergie has always loved Oz and Aussies, and some still like her.”
Despite living so far apart for decades, Jane and Sarah are said to have remained close, with Sarah calling her older sister a “phenomenal human” and saying in an interview last year about their bond, “I respect, love and admire [Jane]. I’m her little naughty sister, and she puts me first.”
However, there would be a major drawback to the potential plan, the expert acknowledged, being thousands of miles away from her two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, as well as her grandchildren. “Like many families with loved ones on the other side of the world, she would miss her daughters and grandkids,” he wrote. “But they could always visit, and at least she would be free to live again.”
Sarah has opened up about how important being a grandmother and mother is to her many times, describing the arrival of her grandchildren as “precious, joyful, [and] exciting” but noting that she has big shoes to fill.
Andrew’s ex-wife has often expressed her admiration for what a committed grandmother the late Queen Elizabeth was to her daughters and saying that she can “only dream to aspire to be the wonderful grandmother” the former monarch managed to be.
It is not only Sarah’s personal life that has been rocked by the recent scandal engulfing her and her ex-husband, regarding their ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – her professional life has taken major hits too.
When an email emerged that Sarah sent to Epstein only weeks after publicly disowning him in 2011, many of the charities she worked with dropped her like a hot potato, declaring it would be “inappropriate” to continue their ties.
The email saw Sarah apologise to the disgraced financier for saying she “abhors paedophilia” in a newspaper interview, and calling him a “supreme friend”.
Her spokesperson, however, has claimed that Sarah sent the email under duress: only being ingratiating and apologetic towards Epstein because he had threatened her. The email saga did not end there though.
Another piece of correspondence emerged, from Epstein to his legal, that allegedly saw the sex offender tell his lawyers that Sarah should say she was “misquoted” and claim that she and her daughters had visited him after his release from prison to “celebrate”. A source has said that Sarah, nor her daughters – who would have been 19 and 20 at the time – remember this trip.
