Sarah Ferguson 'Will Find It Very Hard to Come Back' After Ex-Prince Andrew's Arrest: 'This Has Really Hit Her' (Exclusive)
Sarah Ferguson 'Will Find It Very Hard to Come Back' After Ex-Prince Andrew's Arrest: 'This Has Really Hit Her' (Exclusive)
Erin Hill, Simon Perry, Janine HenniWed, March 4, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
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Sarah FergusonCredit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty -
Sarah Ferguson is under renewed scrutiny for maintaining contact with Jeffrey Epstein after his 2009 prison release
Friends say the arrest of her ex-husband, the former Prince Andrew, has been a heavy blow
The royal connections that fueled Ferguson’s past reinventions may no longer offer a path back
Sarah Ferguson is under scrutiny following the arrest of her ex-husband, the former Prince Andrew, and renewed interest in the extent of her relationship with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The release of new Epstein-related material on Jan. 30 by the U.S. Department of Justice has refocused attention on Ferguson’s actions — including her efforts to maintain contact with Epstein after his 2009 release from prison for soliciting prostitution from a minor, as she grappled with mounting financial pressures.
Ferguson has navigated scandals before — and often managed to recover through media appearances, book tours and carefully framed interviews.
"This time, no one is going to give her the airspace," royal author Ingrid Seward tells PEOPLE in this week's exclusive cover story.
Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, adds that Ferguson, who has not been seen in public for months and is thought to be in hiding abroad, "will find it very hard to come back."
Sarah Ferguson and ex-Prince Andrew in April 2025Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage
A friend describes the moment as sobering for the former Duchess of York.
"She always thinks she can bounce back," the insider says. "But this isn’t something that can blow over."
Ferguson, 66, has been in retreat since Andrew's royal title was removed by King Charles in October 2025 amid revived spotlight on his Epstein ties, but her ex-husband's arrest might be the heaviest blow yet,
"This has really hit her," the friend adds of Ferguson, who reportedly spent time at luxury wellness retreats in Switzerland and Ireland in recent months.
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Speculation has also turned to whether Ferguson could be called in for questioning as the investigation into Andrew continues. The former Duke of York remains released under investigation following his Feb. 19 arrest.
Attorney George Kampanella, partner and head of business crime at Taylor Rose in the U.K., tells PEOPLE that would not be shielded from speaking to police if approached.
“English law does not provide a blanket ‘spousal privilege’ in the way some assume from TV legal dramas," Kampanella says. "There is no general protection that allows a spouse, or former spouse, to refuse even to be questioned by police. If approached, a former spouse may be asked to assist an investigation or provide evidence."
However, such a discussion is hypothetical, for now.
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“If she were approached by investigators, it would reflect process, not presumption," Kampanella says. "And as with Andrew himself, the legal system will proceed not by association, but by proof."
Ex-Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson join the royal family on Christmas morning in 2023Credit: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty
For years, Andrew's family occupied a peculiar space inside the British monarchy — prominent enough to trade on status, peripheral enough to avoid sustained scrutiny. Andrew’s sense of entitlement was not simply indulged; it was reinforced from childhood. Raised when Queen Elizabeth had settled into her reign and found time to be a more present parent, he grew up protected — and rarely corrected.
“He has been pampered all the way through his life, in this bubble,” Lownie says of the former Duke of York, 66. “Status is everything to him — it’s his only sense of identity.”
If Andrew embodied entitlement, Ferguson became its most adaptable beneficiary. Following their divorce in 1996, she emerged without a massive financial settlement that might have made it easier for her to quietly exit royal life. Unlike Princess Diana’s payout, a reported $22 million settlement and an annual allowance following her divorce from the future King Charles, Ferguson’s was estimated at roughly $475,000.
“She was introduced to this lifestyle and kept living it,” Robert Jobson, author of The Windsor Legacy, tells PEOPLE. “She was desperate for money.”
What followed next was a series of reinventions — spokeswoman, brand ambassador, author, television personality — each drawing on the currency of her royal title as she lived with Andrew at Royal Lodge, the contentious residence he was evicted from in the fall. From Weight Watchers to Wedgwood china, memoirs and children’s books, Ferguson's ventures varied, but the strategy remained the same: proximity for profit.
“She’s always been a fighter — that’s her trademark,” another friend tells PEOPLE of her ability to rebound from setbacks.
Sarah Ferguson and ex-Prince Andrew at Royal Ascot in 2019Credit: getty
When it came to palace life, the former Duchess of York was technically out yet repeatedly welcomed back into royal spaces — Ascot, Wimbledon, Sandringham and some holidays.
“They turned a blind eye,” Lownie says.
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That arrangement was tested in 2010, when Ferguson was filmed in a News of the World sting, appearing to offer access to Andrew in the form of meetings and introductions for cash. She withdrew from public view, only to resurface later, forgiven and treated as a stabilizing presence in her ex-husband's life. Now, the system that once allowed such recoveries has collapsed, and the former couple's daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, face an uncertain future in the royal fold.
The York family's trajectory fits a familiar royal pattern. With every advancement in the line of succession, spares are left to navigate lives shaped by status, but thin on purpose.
“They have all the privileges with none of the responsibilities," Seward says. "And that can lead them into all kinds of trouble."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
