The former Duchess of York reportedly retreated to a $25,000-a-day wellness clinic amid her ex-husband’s arrest and further damaging revelations about the couple’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of the ex-prince Andrew, has been nowhere to be seen as the crisis engulfs her family – and also threatens to consume wider royal family.
That’s despite the former couple famously remaining close in the decades since they divorced in 1996. So close were Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor that they attended family gatherings together and even shared his 30-room mansion at Windsor, Royal Lodge.
But that has reportedly all changed amid revelation after revelation about the long-term relationships of both with the convicted paedophile.
According to the latest reports, Ferguson spent January one of the world’s most expensive wellness clinics, the £13,000-a-day Paracelsus Recovery Clinic in Zurich, Switzerland – checking in shortly after Christmas.
“She always feels at home at Paracelsus, and knows she’ll get love and attention there, as well as expert health treatment when she’s feeling at her most vulnerable,” one source said.
Last year, Ferguson wrote about her experience at Paracelsus in an opinion piece for the Britain’s Telegraph, detailing her struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
“I’ve always known there were issues I needed to address, stemming from my childhood and my time in the public eye,” she wrote.
“I am not embarrassed to reveal the clinic offered me a sanctuary, renowned as it is for its bespoke, cutting-edge treatment for those grappling with mental health and addiction issues – particularly those whose struggles are often hidden behind the facade of a public role.”
British media reports that the former duchess is now hiding out somewhere in the UK, “laying low with friends” and “in constant tears”.
It comes as police searches of Royal Lodge were expected to continue into this week, following Mountbatten-Windsor’s bombshell arrest last Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
The former prince spent 11 hours in custody on his 66th birthday while officers also searched his new home on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. He was released but remains under investigation.
He is accused of sharing sensitive information with Epstein while working as UK’s special representative for international trade and investment.
No criminal allegations have been made against Ferguson.
The former couple’s daughters, princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, are said to be “horrified” at the latest developments and have apparently held “crisis talks”.
The sisters have previously remained loyal to their parents, even as Mountbatten-Windsor was accused of sexual offences. He denies all allegations to do with his relationship with Epstein.
This week, however, Britain’s The Mirror newspaper reported that Eugenie has recently decided to cut off her father.
“There is no contact at all, nothing,” an insider said last month.
“It’s Brooklyn Beckham-level – she has completely cut him off.”
Beatrice and her four-year-old daughter Sienna were spotted riding with her father in January. She also invited both her parents to the December christening for her youngest daughter, Athena, at the Chapel Royal in St James’s Palace.
However, royal expert Ingrid Seward said the princesses would have been “extremely upset” at their father’s arrest.
“I’m sure they weren’t expecting it,” she told the Daily Mail. “It’s really embarrassing and distressing for them both.”
Reportedly, no one in the royal family knew of the police plan to swoop in and arrest Mountbatten-Windsor at breakfast time. Even his brother the King was apparently given no notice.
The allegations about the former prince continue to mount, with retired civil servants claiming this week he used taxpayers’ money for massages and excessive travel costs while a trade envoy.
The BBC reported that one ex-civil servant refused to pay to cover the costs of a massage for the then duke but was overruled by senior staff.
“I thought it was wrong … I’d said we mustn’t pay it, but we ended up paying it anyway,” they told the broadcaster.
A former government official, who oversaw finances, separately told the BBC they had “absolutely no doubt” about the authenticity of the claim after having seen similar expenses for his overseas trips.
In a videotaped interview under oath in 2009, Epstein’s former Florida housekeeper Juan Alessi said Mountbatten-Windsor had “daily massages” when he visited.
A separate civil service official, who said Mountbatten-Windsor claimed for excessive flights, hotel rooms and charges for his entourage, told the BBC: “I couldn’t believe it… it was like it wasn’t real money, they weren’t spending any of their own money.”
Despite being stripped of his title in 2025, the former duke of York remains eighth in line to the throne
An act of parliament would be required to remove him. On Tuesday, Australian PM Anthony Albanese officially backed such a move – followed later in the day by New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
It is reported in Britain that Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government will consider introducing such legislation once the police investigation is finished.
On Sunday, the Prince and Princess of Wales made their first joint public appearance since the arrest, attending the BAFTA awards in London.
Prince William told officials on the night that he had yet to see Hamnet.
“I need to be in quite a calm state and I’m not at the moment,” he said.
-with AAP
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.indailysa.com.au ’
