Sarah Ferguson has never been known for doing things quietly, and her surprise return to Britain last week was no exception.
The appearance marked her first public outing in the UK for more than a year. The woman still known in royal circles as ‘the Red Setter’ returned to the spotlight at a memorial service for one of her wealthy former partners, revealing both her legs and a bracelet bearing her daughters’ names.
The flame-haired 67-year-old may no longer hold the title of Duchess of York, but her appearance made one thing clear: she remains the mother of two princesses.
Her ambitions for the future, as Our News Outlet can reveal, also appear every bit as grand as they were before she lost her title just over a year ago. Now back in Surrey and living comfortably, Fergie has reportedly moved into a gated development just across the county border from Sunninghill in Berkshire, where she lived during the early years of her marriage to Prince Andrew, the former Duke of York.
Her reported rent of £10,000 a month is understood to be covered by a wealthy Middle Eastern benefactor, who is also paying for a small team of staff to look after her.
Despite that remarkable support, she is said to be searching for a larger, more permanent property. One possibility is a move to the Gulf, where she and her former husband retain strong business connections and a loyal network of supporters, particularly within royal households and their entourages.
Most strikingly, as Our News Outlet discovered this week, Ferguson’s future appears to remain closely linked to that of her disgraced former husband.
The pair were expelled from Royal Lodge in Windsor in February and initially appeared to go their separate ways. Andrew was moved to Norfolk, first to Wood Farm and later to Marsh Farm Cottage on the King’s private Sandringham Estate. Fergie, meanwhile, travelled between Switzerland, Austria and the south of France, relying on wealthy friends while she searched for somewhere to live.
Sarah Ferguson made her first public appearance in Britain for more than a year to attend a memorial service for businessman Paddy McNally
Before last week’s return to public life, Ferguson had been staying intermittently at Les Gais Lutins, a lavish £15 million, eight-bedroom chalet in the Swiss resort of Verbier. The property belonged to the late Formula One businessman and millionaire Paddy McNally, whose memorial service in Knightsbridge provided the setting for her comeback.
Ferguson dated McNally for three years before marrying Prince Andrew in 1986. The two remained close friends until his death at the age of 88 in July.
Behind the scenes, however, Andrew and Sarah have also remained in regular contact. Their relationship has been sustained by shared misfortune, controversy and financial interests that have long been difficult to untangle.
Their continuing association, described as co-dependent rather than romantic, has largely remained private. But sources told Our News Outlet that the pair have been seen together in Norfolk at the home of at least one of their so-called ‘Turnip Toff’ friends.
A royal source told Our News Outlet this week: ‘They have survived as a couple, with the occasional hiatus, for 40 years because they share an extraordinary love of money, a misplaced belief in their own abilities and an exaggerated sense of entitlement. Andrew has never been besotted with her, but as friends, confidants and guardians of each other’s secrets, they have built an unbreakable and sometimes bleak bond.’
Relations with their daughters have come under pressure amid the latest scandals, giving Andrew and Sarah further reason to remain close. More importantly, their finances continue to be intertwined.
Andrew remains under investigation over allegations of misconduct in public office. The source added: ‘There is a belief that, if he is cleared, they could both relocate to the Middle East, either separately or together.
‘Beatrice and Eugenie visit the region regularly, and repairing relations with their parents might be easier away from the glare of the media. It would certainly suit the Palace for Andrew and Sarah to be far away.’
Ferguson dated McNally for three years before marrying Prince Andrew in 1986, and they remained close friends for the rest of his life
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie joined their mother, who had kept a low profile since the Epstein Files scandal, at the memorial in London’s Knightsbridge
Ferguson’s carefully timed return may indicate that pressure on the former Yorks is beginning to ease, or that attitudes towards them are softening. According to the royal source, she had been seeking a public return to Britain for some time but did not attend McNally’s funeral in August. Princess Beatrice went to the private service instead.
She reportedly decided to attend McNally’s memorial at St Paul’s Church in Knightsbridge on October 29 after being encouraged by the apparent ease with which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex returned to the UK following years of tension with the Royal Family. The date was also almost a year after she was reduced to the status of a commoner.
‘It was Harry and Meghan’s apparent “reconciliation” with the family during the summer that finally persuaded Sarah to return,’ said the royal source. ‘It was not as warm or straightforward as some people may have thought, but it gave her the confidence to come back.’
Accompanied by Beatrice and Eugenie, their husbands and Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips, who knew McNally through his Formula One connections, Ferguson made her first public appearance in Britain since her ill-fated attendance with the then Prince Andrew at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral in September 2025.
The pair were said to have treated that occasion as a ‘jolly family outing’, laughing as they left Westminster Cathedral and joining members of the Royal Family on the steps.
It was also the first time Ferguson had been photographed at a public event with her daughters since the House of York’s reputation collapsed.
Wearing a navy knee-length dress, a matching lace jacket and navy heels, she displayed a determined smile.
The scene was a stark contrast to Beatrice’s daughter Athena’s christening last December. On that occasion, Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor entered the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace quietly, arrived in separate cars and skipped the post-service gathering at a Marylebone pub to avoid creating embarrassment.
Behind the scenes, Ferguson has continued to remain in close contact with her former husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Even so, the royal source warned Our News Outlet that claims Ferguson and Andrew have fully repaired their relationships with their adult children would be premature, particularly following their dealings with the late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Sarah is thought not to have seen her grandchildren and may not even have met Eugenie’s youngest child, Adelaide, who was born in August. ‘Both princesses are worried about the possibility of further damage to their reputations,’ the source said.
‘Beatrice and Eugenie have not fully reconciled with their mother, and certainly not with their father. Beatrice is more open to rebuilding the relationship; Eugenie is less so.’ Royal biographer Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise And Fall Of The House Of York, also believes relations remain fragile as the sisters attempt to balance loyalty to the Crown with their responsibilities as daughters.
‘I think Eugenie is conflicted,’ he said. ‘Beatrice is so influenced by her mother that it is more difficult for her. Neither of their husbands’ families is particularly keen on Sarah and Andrew because of the potential reputational damage.
‘But the girls have been aware of the scandals throughout their lives. They have always known that this was the world their parents inhabited and the kind of people they associated with.
‘They have also benefited from their parents’ business connections, especially in the Middle East.’
From an early age, both princesses were introduced to their parents’ wealthy international circle. They accompanied their father on trips to the Gulf states and their mother on visits to meet ‘Uncle Jeffrey’, the name by which Epstein was known to them.
Their connection to the lucrative Formula One world also goes back decades, through Ferguson’s friendship with McNally. The sisters, and more recently their husbands, have regularly attended Grand Prix events as VIP guests.
There has been speculation that McNally, who was 22 years older than Ferguson, may have left her part of his £600 million fortune. Given her well-known extravagance—she famously spent £25,000 in a single hour at Bloomingdale’s in New York—and her poor financial judgement, she has relied on the generosity of wealthy individuals for much of her life.
Ferguson has written more than 50 books, including memoirs, royal biographies and historical romances, which continue to provide a modest income. That money, however, is not enough to support the lifestyle to which she has become accustomed.
Nor is she expected to publish a full tell-all account of her dramatic fall from grace, despite tentative discussions, because doing so could irreparably damage her relationship with her daughters.
The royal source said: ‘Andrew has been her main source of money. Sarah has taken a scattergun approach to earning, whereas he—or more accurately, his trusted business contacts—has been considerably more calculating, leaving him financially comfortable.
‘Sarah has benefited from Andrew’s financial judgement, both through her own investments and through joint ventures with her husband.’
The full scale of the former couple’s wealth, as well as that of their daughters, remains unclear.
‘Andrew’s business activities are primarily overseas and intentionally complicated,’ the source said.
‘His business associates have remained loyal, allowing him to continue pursuing ventures—usually from a distance—without the burden of official duties interfering.’
Lownie said: ‘They still have mutual friends and contacts in the Middle East who support them. They are treated extremely well there and continue to be addressed as HRHs. Their business interests remain active. The main difference is that there is now much less scrutiny of their finances because they are no longer representing the Royal Family, only themselves.’
There are other indications that life may be becoming slightly less difficult for the former duke and duchess, including within the Royal Family.
Although they are unlikely to return to the inner circle, two of Andrew’s siblings—Princess Anne and Edward, Duke of Edinburgh—are said to have shown some sympathy towards their brother.
One entertaining but unverified story claims that Andrew was recently brought secretly into Anne’s Gatcombe Park estate in the back of a horse box.
The King is also said to have asked wealthy friends among north Norfolk’s upper-class community to ‘keep an eye out’ for his socially isolated younger brother.
Lownie said: ‘High society has not abandoned them. Andrew is still welcome at shooting parties and in the homes of the Turnip Toffs.
‘People have been encouraged to show him kindness. He has not been formally boycotted, but much of it is happening behind closed doors.’
The couple’s future will depend largely on the outcome of the ongoing misconduct in public office investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor. The inquiry follows allegations that he passed confidential information to Epstein while serving as the UK’s trade envoy.
Andrew was arrested in February this year but has not been charged. He challenged the legality of warrants used by Thames Valley Police to search Royal Lodge in Windsor, his former residence, and Wood Farm, his temporary home at Sandringham. A High Court judge agreed that warrants issued at the Old Bailey were unlawful because the wrong legislation had been used.
The warrants were quashed in July during a private hearing that became public last month. The investigation itself continues, with police seeking permission to retain the documents and electronic devices seized during the searches. A private hearing is scheduled for 2027. The royal source said the delay was ‘hindering planning’ for the former prince.
Ferguson also faces unresolved questions over her own business dealings. Her charity, Sarah’s Trust, closed earlier this year, while concerns remain about the collapse of Gate Ventures, the entertainment investment company on whose board she served.
Most significantly, neither she nor Andrew has fully addressed their dealings with Epstein, whose legacy continues to cast a shadow over them from the United States.
This week, Police Scotland confirmed that an investigation into alleged activities at Balmoral Castle involving Andrew, Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell is at an early stage. The inquiry concerns allegations that women were trafficked to the royal residence.
The Democrats’ recapture of the House of Representatives in this week’s US midterm elections could also lead to renewed examination of the Epstein files. Many documents have yet to be released, and the party has pledged to revisit the case, potentially creating further discomfort for Andrew and Sarah.
A year after their dramatic and devastating fall from grace, it may come as little surprise that the former spouses—once dubbed the ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ of the Royal Family—continue to remain close.
