The happiest divorced couple no more? While Sarah Ferguson has vowed in the past to stand by her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, she appears to be distancing herself from the disgraced former Duke.
Despite divorcing in 1996, Sarah once remarked: “My duty is to him. I am so proud of him. I stand by him and always will. The way we are is our fairy tale. Although we are not a couple, we really believe in each other. The Yorks are a united family.”
But, that closeness between the exes, both linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, seems to have recently frayed.
The loss of titles
Just back in October, after Andrew announced that he would no longer use his title or honours, a source told HELLO! that Sarah, who up until that point had used the courtesy title Duchess of York, would “always support her former husband’s decisions and do anything for the King”. The source added: “For her, this will not make a big difference.”
However, that was before the release of Virginia Giuffre‘s memoir, Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice. Virginia alleged in the book that she was forced to have sex three times with Andrew.
Separate homes
Following the release of the memoir, King Charles stripped his brother of his title, honours and style, and a formal notice to surrender the lease to Royal Lodge, where both Andrew and Sarah lived, was also served. It was understood at the time that Sarah would be making her own living arrangements.
Andrew officially left the residence in early February for Wood Farm, where he is temporarily staying before moving to Marsh Farm. Back in December, a source told HELLO! that Sarah would not be joining her ex when he moves to Norfolk.
“She has stood by him all these years but is now ready to spread her wings,” the source said. “She won’t be moving in with him to the new house on the Sandringham Estate. She won’t be moving into Beatrice’s Cotswolds home though. Eugenie’s home in Portugal is a contender while she finds somewhere.”
PEOPLE reported in December that Sarah was looking for a place in Windsor.
Since the U.S. Department of Justice published more than three million Epstein files in January, including correspondence been Sarah and the pedophile, the former Duchess has reportedly been “lying low while she ‘gets her head together'”.
In one email, Sarah called Epstein the “brother I have always wished for” and “a legend” in another from 2010, in which she wrote: “I really don’t have the words to describe, my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness. Xx I am at your service . Just marry me.”
© Getty ImagesThe Daily Mail reported on February 10, that Sarah had recently spent a few days in the French Alps with friends, before heading to the United Arab Emirates. She is also said to have been spending time with her younger daughter Princess Eugenie, who was in Doha for Art Basel Qatar. According to the outlet, Sarah has informed friends that she needs money and to get back to work, and reportedly told one: “When I come back I am going to have to put some distance between myself and Andrew.”
Their daughters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice
The crisis has been taking a toll on Andrew and Fergie’s children, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, sources have told HELLO!. While the sisters celebrated Christmas at Sandringham without their parents last year, a friend previously revealed to HELLO! that the two Princesses “are not abandoning their father”.
“They aren’t turning their backs on him. But everything is obviously very strained and hard,” the friend said.
© UK Press/Getty ImagesAnd when it comes to their mother, royal author Robert Jobson told HELLO! that Eugenie and Beatrice “have been very sympathetic” to Sarah, “but that might start to unravel.”
The current image of the family seems to be a far cry from how Sarah once described them to HELLO!. “A table goes best with four legs,” she told us in 2017. “A table can’t stand on three legs, so you have the Duke and I, and the two girls. We’re a family unit and we lead by example.”
Now, that table appears to be under increasing strain… one of Sarah and Andrew’s own making.
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