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Sarah Ferguson is emerging as a formidable ally of her ex-husband, Prince Andrew, as they battle to remain in their home, Royal Lodge, a vast 40-roomed castle on the Windsor estate in which he and Fergie live in separate wings.
This week, Ferguson, who is herself recovering from major surgery for breast cancer, strode out to bat on behalf of her husband once again, saying in a podcast that Andrew felt “lonely” after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, and that he was “human like everybody else.”
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Ferguson’s new podcast, Tea Talks with the Duchess and Sarah (it is co-hosted with a friend, Sarah Thomson), has proved a valuable new outlet for Ferguson, now a bestselling author of romance fiction, to promote herself and her causes.
Six episodes in, she appears to be testing the possibility of using it as a forum to shift the image of her ex-husband away from sleazy sexual predator to an altogether more hapless and innocent figure.
Whether or not it works on the wider population is one issue, but the podcast, which is gaining traction (unlike Meghan Markle’s podcast which seemed to become less compelling with each passing week), might give royal aides to King Charles cause to ponder how it would play if she were to use such a forum to week in, week out describe the trauma of moving home and setting up afresh as she recovers from a mastectomy.
It is being widely rumored in royal circles that the king’s plan to move Andrew and Sarah out of Royal Lodge, which used to be the home of the famously extravagant Queen Mother, are “on pause” following a single mastectomy that Sarah recently underwent as treatment for breast cancer.
Friends of Prince Andrew have told The Daily Beast that Sarah’s illness had made the couple “more determined than ever” not to move, saying, “Sarah just wants to be at home, and that means Royal Lodge. Any talk of Andrew leaving Royal Lodge is on pause for now.”
The remarks mesh with comments made by an anonymous source to the Mail on Sunday that plans to move the couple out of Royal Lodge have been “quietly shelved” while Sarah convalesces.
The king, who has long had a fractious relationship with his younger brother and has expended much energy on sidelining him over the years, was understood to have felt it was inappropriate for Andrew to continue living in royal splendor after he was forced to resign as a working royal, having been accused of sexual assault by Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre. He was fired from the ranks of the working royal family by the queen and subsequently paid a multi-million-dollar settlement to Giuffre.
Charles began to pile pressure on Andrew to move out of Royal Lodge earlier this year, after Harry and Meghan were evicted from Frogmore Cottage and the king’s camp briefed that the monarchy was “not a housing association” for royal relatives.
Andrew is said to have had his £250,000 ($328,000) per annum allowance cut after the death of Elizabeth and it was widely reported that he would not be able to afford the maintenance on the historic house. A friend of the king’s told The Daily Beast that Andrew would not be able to stay there without his brother’s support.
Sarah Ferguson, left, and Prince Andrew at Royal Ascot, 2015.
Reuters/Toby Melville/LivepicHowever Andrew’s camp have responded by pointing out that he does not live in the house by virtue of the grace and favor of the monarch, but because he signed a 75-year lease agreement for it in 2003.
An insider in Andrew’s team previously told the London Times: “The lease is in the duke’s name so no one can take that away from him. It has never been suggested that it could be taken away from him. It’s a long lease with 80 to 90 years left on it. This is a lease between him and the Crown Estate. That’s not a matter for the king. It’s a matter for the chancellor of the exchequer. The only way you could get him to move out would be through an arrangement—he would have to agree.”
Andrew is said to have spent £7.5 million ($10 million) of his own money refurbishing and repairing the property.
Some reports suggesting that Andrew has a better relationship with his brother than rumored have said that he still gets meals sent to the house from the Windsor Castle kitchens, and that palace staff are still sent to work on the garden and carry out minor maintenance work.
Charles, a well-known architecture and historic house buff, is thought to be unlikely to wish to stand accused of neglecting a historic house which, although leased to Andrew, is an iconic part of, and owned by, the royal estate.
A friend of the king’s, who has reportedly told aides he will not leave his brother “homeless or penniless,” told The Daily Beast that while they believed that ultimately it would not be sustainable for Andrew to stay in the property, there was “no question” of Andrew being imminently forced out.
Asked if the change of heart was related to Sarah’s convalescence, the source said that Charles would “of course” be “sensitive” to his former sister-in-law’s situation but said they did not know if timelines were being discussed.
Ferguson made the new remarks about Andrew feeling lonely while she was discussing caring for and exercising her seven dogs, which include the late queen’s corgis Sandy and Muick.
She said she and Andrew had taken the dogs recently to a woodland walk “made specially for the queen” and said, “At one stage we both, Andrew and I, just sat quietly under some really beautiful trees and I asked him if he was alright without his mum and dad. He said it’s lonely. He thinks about it a lot.” She said people processed grief in different ways and her husband was “human like everybody else.”
Last month, Sarah revealed that she had undergone surgery after breast cancer was found during a routine screening. She said in her podcast that she had an eight-hour procedure to rebuild her breast.
Andrew’s representative did not respond to a request for comment.
