Sarah Ferguson could quit the UK permanently and “sofa surf” with super-rich friends abroad indefinitely, The i Paper has been told.
The “nomadic” former duchess of York has supposedly been flitting between Switzerland, Ireland and the Middle East, as the mystery around her whereabouts continues.
Ferguson has been largely ostracised from British high society after the extent of her close ties to Jeffrey Epstein emerged in emails released by the US Department of Justice.
While her circle may be significantly smaller now, she still appears to have loyal friends protecting her whereabouts.
And discreet members of the super-rich overseas may enjoy the “drama” of sheltering a former member of the Royal Family, say friends and royal observers.
One person thinks Ferguson may try to revive her charity work in other countries, since nobody is likely to “take a chance on her” again in the UK.
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Ferguson has not been seen in public since her granddaughter’s christening at St James’s Palace at the end of last year.
Reports suggest that she has moved between various places in recent months, including Dubai, the US, and luxury retreats in Ireland and Switzerland – but nothing has been confirmed. It has even been reported that she may be using “burner” phones to help keep her location a secret.
‘I’m not saying where Fergie is’
“I know where she is but I’m not saying,” said one friend. Another still calls her on her mobile phone, but has stopped asking where she is so there is no danger of giving a location away.
It was reported that Ferguson could have stayed with former boyfriend Paddy McNally, the ex-racing driver believed to have properties in Wiltshire, the south of France and the Swiss resort of Verbier.
A friend of Ferguson recently told the Daily Mail that an Italian count has put her up in a “place which is like a castle”.
It sparked speculation that it could be Count Gaddo della Gherardesca, who she was once romantically linked to and who is thought to have property in both Verbier and Italy’s Tuscany region.
Liz Brewer, a friend of Ferguson who worked on charity fundraising events with her over several decades, said the ex-royal’s social circle in the UK had been greatly reduced.
The party planner and expert on modern-day etiquette does not think anyone in Britain would want the attention of putting her up in spare room.
“There are people abroad who will stick by her,” said Brewer. “She had a lot of friends in Verbier in Switzerland.”
She thinks that super-rich people overseas “don’t follow scandals in our press too much”, and would be less worried about scrutiny over their ties to Ferguson.
“She needs to get a job somehow,” Brewer added. “She could work for a charity abroad. Nobody would take a chance on her in this country.”
Sarah Ferguson is said to have friends in Verbier in Switzerland (Photo: Lionel Flusin/Gamma-Rapho/Getty)
Rich friends may enjoy being ‘part of the drama’
Ferguson had spent several years living at the 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor at opposite ends of the mansion from her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
She indicated she was not interested in moving to a small cottage at Sandringham with Andrew as he left their old home in February.
Andrew Lownie, the author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, said there is no shortage of “rich friends” around the world. He thinks support will come from “mainly business types” since she has “always gravitated to rich people”.
Ferguson apologised in 2011 after it emerged that she had accepted £15,000 from Epstein, saying she “deeply” regretted the connection.
While Lownie believes Ferguson is “so discredited now” that any future business ventures are off the table, he added: “But she can make people feel like they’re important. They become part of the drama. It doesn’t cost much to put her up.
“She could go to the Middle East, she could go to Switzerland, she could go to Australia [where her sister Jane Ferguson Luedecke lives],” he added.
“I don’t think she would feel the pull to come back to the UK. She’s always been very nomadic, so she might be able to keep going, and moving around. It could possibly go on for years and years.”
Richard Fitzwilliams, a royal commentator, agrees that Ferguson could stay abroad indefinitely. “I don’t think it’s inevitable she returns to live the UK. There’s no time limit on her moving around. She’s so entitled that she is used to relying on others.”
Ingrid Seward, the royal biographer, listed a number of potential hiding places, including the Gulf states – if she was there before the Iran war began – or a country house in France or Italy.
“She has far-flung friends,” said Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine. “And those people would love to hide Fergie, as for them it would be a game.”
Dubai may be another option for Ferguson. Pictured at the Artists for Peace and Justice & Bovet 1822 Gala in 2018 in the UAE city (Photo: David M. Benett/Getty)
Dependency on super-rich could become ‘PR problem’
Lauren Beeching, a crisis communications specialist, said that if Ferguson is staying with super-rich friends and is found “living that kind of lifestyle abroad”, then it could become “its own PR problem”.
It would make it harder for her to regain any sympathy, said Beeching. “Part of the story of how she ended up entangled with Epstein is about financial dependency on wealthy, powerful people.”
Not everyone thinks it is sustainable for Fergie to remain on a so-called “sofa surfing world tour”, and that ties to her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie could pull her back to the UK.
One former acquaintance said there were still loyal friends from before she met Andrew, and that several have large estates in rural England where she could stay hidden from public view.
Ferguson’s companies are in the process of being wound down. Her charity, Sarah’s Trust, has closed. And her latest children’s book was pulled by New Frontier Publishing in November.
But some publishers may still be interested in a “tell-all” memoir, said Lownie.
Writing such a book or doing a TV interview would be “a nightmare from a pure PR standpoint”, said Beeching.
Avoiding any further embarrassment for her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie “feels like a significant factor in why she’s staying quiet”, she added.
But it may not be possible to avoid the public gaze forever. “She’s going to have to come out in the open and say something soon,” said one ex-acquaintance said.
Ferguson’s representative declined to comment.
A spokesperson said last year that the former duchess had made clear “her regret about her association with Epstein many years ago” and that “her first thoughts are with his victims”. They added: “Like many people, she was taken in by his lies.”
