Sarah Ferguson is reportedly “shaken to the core” as she navigates uncertainty amid her royal downfall.
On Oct. 30, King Charles III stripped his disgraced brother, Prince Andrew, of his royal titles. He also evicted him from Royal Lodge after weeks of pressure to act over the former Duke of York’s friendship with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The ex-prince shared the 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle with Ferguson, making it their longtime home. She is no longer styled as the Duchess of York and must now find a new home.
“She is leaning on trusted staff members,” British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard claimed to Fox News Digital.
“Her nerves are frayed. She is shaken to the core by the loss of her royal safety net. She fears further humiliation and worries that the serious allegations will affect her girls’ standing. The couple’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, have distanced themselves from their parents’ scandals.”
“Sarah has made it well known among her staff and others that she no longer believes in Andrew and is preparing to go her own way after years of loyalty and public defense of her ex-husband,” British royals expert Hilary Fordwich also claimed to Fox News Digital. “She’s described as ‘massively on edge’ and ‘panicking’ about her own future.”
“While Sarah and Andrew are currently both still residing in Windsor, they are reportedly sleeping at different ends of the sprawling Royal Lodge. They do get together to discuss their respective uncertain futures.”
“While their relationship had long been described as unusually close for divorced exes — cohabiting and supporting one another through public crises — there is now a real rupture,” Fordwich said.
WATCH: PRINCE ANDREW STRIPPED OF TITLES, EVICTED FROM ROYAL LODGE
Fox News Digital reached out to Ferguson’s representative and a Buckingham Palace spokesperson for comment. It’s understood the palace no longer speaks for Andrew, as he’s not a working royal.
Chard and Fordwich’s comments came shortly after royal biographer Robert Jobson appeared on Hello! Magazine’s “A Right Royal Podcast.” He told the outlet that Ferguson, 66, is “not great.”
“I’ve known her for many years, and I’m not saying that she hasn’t done anything wrong — because it has been documented what she did wrong,” Jobson said. “What I’m saying is, is it the same? Should she be in the same boat as Andrew? I don’t necessarily think so.”
“I think we should all be aware of people’s mental health, whether they’re ex-prince, princess, ex-duchess, whatever,” he added.
In September, Ferguson was dropped as a patron for multiple charities after leaked emails revealed she referred to Epstein as a “steadfast, generous and supreme friend.”
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According to the Daily Mail, Ferguson, who divorced Andrew in 1996, reached out to Epstein in 2011 after publicly denouncing their friendship during an interview with the Evening Standard.
During that interview, Ferguson expressed her “deep regret” and promised to “have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again,” three years after he had been imprisoned for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
In a statement to The Guardian, a representative for Ferguson said she stood by her public condemnation of Epstein.
“Like many people, she was taken in by [Epstein’s] lies. As soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations against him, she not only cut off contact but condemned him publicly, to the extent that he then threatened to sue her for defamation for associating him with pedophilia,” the statement read.
“She does not resile from anything she said then. This email was sent in the context of advice the duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats.”
Ferguson has admitted to accepting money from Epstein in the past.
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“Sarah Ferguson is probably more concerned right now with how she is going to support herself versus her relationship with Andrew,” royal commentator Meredith Constant told Fox News Digital.
“The latest blow to the former Duchess of York is that her upcoming children’s book has been withdrawn from sale. This is on top of charities dropping her. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the recent royal patronages given to their daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, were, in part, to keep Sarah and Andrew on the straight and narrow. Their daughters are the only ones in the royal orbit now.”
“I don’t think either parent wants to jeopardize their daughters’ titles or advancement within the monarchy,” Constant added.
“It could also prevent Sarah from writing a memoir that further erodes public confidence in the monarchy. We’ve seen reports that publishers are after Sarah to write one. If the royal family thought ‘Spare’ was damaging, a memoir by Fergie could deliver a death blow.”
Multiple royal experts told Fox News Digital it’s likely Ferguson is considering a move to Portugal. Eugenie, a married mother of two, lives in the country part-time.
“Sarah knows that the less she and her ex-husband are in the spotlight, the better it is for their daughters and whatever hope she might have of yet another career resurrection,” Constant said.
Andrew is expected to move to a property on the king’s Sandringham estate and receive private financial support from his brother.
“By all accounts, those who work for Andrew and Sarah say they are disintegrating into a hopeless struggle to reconcile with their respective diminished lives,” Fordwich claimed.
“Sarah most likely will move to Portugal to a villa owned by Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, while Andrew will be isolated at Sandringham,” Fordwich added.
“Many have observed the reclusive Andrew to be increasingly paranoid, ‘ranting and muttering’ around Royal Lodge. He’s totally secluded. But both are said to be particularly concerned about further revelations from the Epstein scandal.”
“Although all who speak of Sarah praise her kind and generous nature, she will have to learn to survive [on her own],” said royal expert Ian Pelham Turner.
Chard noted that Ferguson has “many friends in high places” and will likely have no shortage of places to stay.
“I doubt Andrew and Sarah will be having microwave meals alone at Christmas,” Chard said.
She noted that the former couple is now focused on salvaging what remains of their troubled future.
“The couple’s future looks uncertain, with Sarah facing financial struggles and Andrew trying to lie low. Andrew has been spotted taking the horses out for a stretch with a female riding companion as his association with Jeffrey Epstein continues to haunt him.”
KING CHARLES STRIPS PRINCE ANDREW OF ALL ROYAL TITLES AND HONORS AMID ONGOING SCANDALS
Ongoing pressure has loomed over the palace to punish the 65-year-old over new revelations about his friendship with Epstein and renewed attention on sexual abuse allegations by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Her posthumous memoir was published last month.
Giuffre accused Andrew of sexually abusing her on three separate occasions in 2001 when she was a teenager after Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her. While Andrew has consistently denied Giuffre’s allegations and claimed he has no memory of meeting her, unearthed emails obtained by The Telegraph and Sky News appeared to cast doubt on his denials.
Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell weeks after his 2019 arrest. He was awaiting trial on U.S. federal sex-trafficking charges involving dozens of teenage girls and young women, some as young as 14. Investigators ruled his death a suicide. That year, Andrew stepped back as a senior royal following a disastrous televised interview in which he attempted to explain his friendship with Epstein.
Maxwell, a British socialite, was convicted in 2021 for helping lure teenage girls to be sexually abused by him. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Giuffre died in April. She was 41.
“The drama surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson is like a never-ending Greek tragedy,” Chard said. “Fergie stayed with Andrew because she lived a good lifestyle. Her association with Andrew and the royal family helped her businesses bloom. However, that is no longer the case. They are also no longer the happiest divorced couple.”
