For decades, Sarah Ferguson has lived under the same roof as her ex-husband at Royal Lodge. Now, she must strike out on her own, as fresh controversy envelops the former couple.
Sarah and Andrew, referred to until recently as the Duke and Duchess of York, moved into the sprawling 30-room mansion with daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, back in 2004, moving from their marital home, Sunninghill Park.
By this point, the exes had been separated for 12 years and divorced for eight years, but they still maintained an unusual degree of closeness.
In light of Andrew’s controversial friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, there have long been calls to turf the 65-year-old out of the enormous house, where he has paid ‘peppercorn’ rent for two decades. The ex-Duke has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, including allegations that he sexually assaulted Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre when she was a teenager.
With the scandal continuing to unfold, King Charles has taken decisive action, forcing both Andrew and Sarah out of Royal Lodge. Disgraced Andrew, who has relinquished the use of his titles and honours, will now live in a property on the Sandringham Estate, with Charles forking out the bill from his own private funds.
As for Sarah, she must now make arrangements for her own accommodation, and may well find herself disappointed as she searches for a suitable home.
It was claimed earlier this week that Fergie had initially set her sights very high, allegedly asking to live at Adelaide Cottage, the home of Prince William and Princess Kate, in exchange for moving out of Royal Lodge.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, and their three young children, are expected to move to Forest Lodge, a picturesque Georgian mansion in Windsor Great Park, early next month, leaving the pretty, pink cottage vacant.
Royal experts were left aghast at the suggestion that Fergie, whose own correspondence with the late Epstein has sparked controversy in recent times, would think to live in the family home of the future King and Queen.
A mutual friend of Andrew and Sarah told The Sun: “No one is really sure how it’s going to go down at the Palace yet. Andy is willing to leave, but these are his demands. He is realistic and knows the writing is on the wall and that his time at Royal Lodge is up.
“If he must go, then he has asked for Frogmore Cottage. Incredibly, Sarah has said she wants Adelaide Cottage. It’s incredible that they are willing to go their own separate ways. But it indicates that they have been under immense strain this year and need a break from one another. It’s a fresh start for both.”
Both camps seemingky began to brief against each other as the scandal ramped up, with a source close to Sarah insisting that it was the palace that first offered her Adelaide Cottage back in May. However, royal sources quickly shut down those claims, stating that Adelaide Cottage was never offered to Fergie, who has now been left to fend for herself, with no offer made to house her.
It seems extremely unlikely that senior royals would have given in to Andrew and Sarah’s demands for two royal homes. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail: “If they think that having two homes – which the King, I’m sure, won’t agree to – is likely to solve things, they’re still living in a rather weird fantasy world. I’m surprised that Sarah Ferguson has managed these comebacks. There’s no comeback now; she’s in disgrace.”
He added: “If it was adopted, there’d be outrage… she’s not been a working royal since 1996 – the idea that should get anything on the Crown Estate… it doesn’t matter what she wants, she is getting out of touch with reality as he has so obviously been.”
Cut adrift from her in-laws, it’s previously been speculated that Fergie could potentially start a new life for herself overseas, with Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, discussing this prospect in an interview with Hello! magazine, before she and Andrew were ousted from Royal Lodge.
Predicting that the pair would choose homes that would allow them to slip “under the radar”, Lownie remarked that it was likely Sarah could move to Switzerland, where she and Andrew once owned a ski chalet in Verbier. This £20 million chalet was put on the market in 2022, allegedly to fund Andrew’s out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year.
Lownie went on to note that Sarah’s sale of a Belgravia property earlier this year could help make a fresh start away from the UK, should she so wish. It’s understood Fergie owned the £4.25million terraced property mortgage-free, with a sale reportedly ensuring she and Andrew have “certainly got various options.”
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Sarah was recently dropped by various charities over a 2011 email, sent to Epstein after he was found guilty of procuring a child for prostitution in 2008. In this exchange, Sarah referred to Epstein as her “supreme friend” and seemed to apologise over criticisms she’d made about him publicly. Sarah’s team insisted the email was sent through fear for her safety – and that of her family.
As daughters of the son of a Sovereign, HRH Princess Beatrice and HRH Princess Eugenie will retain their titles in accordance with King George V’s Letters Patent of 1917. The sisters will also still be welcome at family gatherings at Sandringham for Christmas and other royal events.
A full statement issued by the Palace on Thursday night read: “His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew. Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence.
“Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease, and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him. Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”
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