Former Duchess Sarah Ferguson is reportedly considering swapping the UK for Portugal amid the ongoing fallout from the release of the damning Jeffrey Epstein files
Princess Eugenie is reportedly prepping a guest suite in her swanky £3.6million villa in Portugal as her mum Sarah Ferguson is said to be considering fleeing the UK.
The princess is understood to readying the oceanfront property, owned by her and businessman Jack Brooksbank, in the event Fergie jets off for continental Europe. Fergie is expected to vacate the Royal Lodge home she has shared with ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten Windsor amid the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Andrew, who is expected to move into the Sandringham estate, has denied any wrongdoing regarding his connections to Epstein. Fergie was said to be on the brink of a “nervous breakdown” amid the ongoing turmoil.
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Royal Expert Phil Dampier claimed to have spoken to Fergie’s friends and added: “I’m told she has been on the edge of a nervous breakdown. I can reveal her older sister Jane has recently flown over from Australia to comfort her in the UK.”
The former Duchess was dropped from multiple charities after emails emerged that showed she had spoken favourably to Epstein despite his convictions over child sex offences, reports the Express. In the 2011 email, Fergie appeared to apologise to Epstein after she publicly claimed to have broken off all contact with him.
She said: “You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family.” The messages were sent after Epstein’s 2008 conviction.
Fergie previously claimed she would “have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.” But a spokesperson for the former Duchess said the message was written in a bid to counter a legal threat from Epstein.
The spokesperson previously said: “This email was sent in the context of advice the duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats.”
In 2011, Epstein is alleged to have written an email to his lawyer after Sarah had given an interview disowning him, instructing the legal team that Sarah “should affirmatively state that she was misquoted.”
The sex offender allegedly continued in the email: “[Sarah] took apartments in New York. She was the first to celebrate my release with her two daughters in tow. She visited me with [a] policeman sitting at my front desk. She has asked for help with her charities”.
Despite Fergie’s reported reasons for sending the email, her standing in the public consciousness has taken a massive hit and has raised tough questions about Epstein’s links to members of the Royal Family.
