Princess Beatrice has attended the funeral for her mother’s ex-boyfriend Paddy McNally – after the late Formula One mogul reportedly left Sarah Ferguson ‘an allowance’ in his passing.
The King’s niece, 38, appeared solemn and wore black as she arrived for the service at St James’ Church in Wiltshire this afternoon.
McNally, who died aged 88 last month, left a fortune estimated at around £600million, built on the 2006 sale of his hospitality business Allsport Management for £262million.
For years, despite them parting ways, the colourful tycoon had supported the ex-Duchess of York, who was last spotted in April, at a luxury ski resort in the Austrian alps.
However, Fergie was not pictured in attendance today, and it is not known if she was present, amid her recent step-away from the spotlight following criticisms over her friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr McNally died peacefully following a long illness – just two months after the sudden death of his son Sean, one of his two boys by his late wife Anne.
Princess Beatrice has attended the funeral for her mother’s ex-boyfriend Paddy McNally – after the late Formula One mogul reportedly left Sarah Ferguson ‘an allowance’ in his passing
For years, despite them parting ways, McNally – who did aged 88 last month – had supported the ex-Duchess of York, who was last spotted in April, at a luxury ski resort in the Austrian alps
Mr McNally died peacefully after a long illness – just two months the sudden death of his son Sean, one of his two boys by his late wife Anne
‘He was in a bad way for a while so this comes as good news,’ reflected one old friend to the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden after his passing.
His truly was a life lived in the fast lane, taking him from Gravesend, his Kent birthplace, to the Swiss ski resort of Verbier, where he owned no fewer than three chalets, one of which became mischievously known as ‘Cocaine Castle’, and also to Sevenhampton Place in Wiltshire, a property in St Tropez and a grouse moor in Scotland.
Fergie met Mr McNally, 22 years her senior, after she was recruited to look after Sean and his brother Rollo, following Anne’s death in 1980.
McNally, a charmer who’d been educated at £54,000-a-year Stonyhurst College, was well on his way to amassing a fortune, thanks to his work alongside Bernie Ecclestone, revolutionising F1 corporate entertainment with the Formula One Paddock Club.
It would be a business that ended up making him the 238th richest man in Britain, with a £600million fortune by the time of his death on July 22, 2026.
His wealth allowed him to indulge chums in all manner of adult entertainment – much to Fergie’s delight.
But their three-year affair ended in 1985. A year later, she became engaged to the then Prince Andrew.
Princess Beatrice has attended the funeral for her mother’s ex-boyfriend Paddy McNally – after the late Formula One mogul reportedly left Sarah Ferguson’an allowance’ in his passing
Beatrice wore all black as she attended the funeral this afternoon, in Wiltshire
The Princess appeared solemn as she was seen in attendance
When the sad news broke, it led many to speculate that McNally, a widower before he met Fergie and who never remarried, could solve the disgraced ex-duchess’s financial woes for good.
After all, they had stayed friends for over four decades, through Fergie’s marriage and divorce from Andrew and her years of profligate spending and debt.
McNally stood by her to the end, even in recent months when the shame of her 20-year friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was made public.
After she and Andrew were kicked out of Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park last February, she fled to an Austrian spa and then to McNally’s home in Switzerland.
Fergie reportedly stayed in his £25million chalet – nicknamed ‘Cocaine Castle’ for the parties he hosted – ‘because he always wanted to help her’.
One associate of Sarah’s told The Mail On Sunday’s Caroline Graham: ‘The first question everyone thought was, “Is Paddy going to bail her out for good?” He was fiercely loyal to her throughout her scandals, and there were many.
‘Even in recent months he’s let her stay in his chalet. If he’s left her life-changing money, wouldn’t that be something?’
Another man, who moved in the same circles as Fergie, added: ‘Paddy was shrewd. No one would be surprised if he’s left her a house and cash, but you can bet it’s in a private trust with a monthly income. He’d never give her a lump sum because he knows how easily she’d blow through it.’
Sarah Ferguson and her ex, Paddy McNally pictured together at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone
Fergie is said to be ‘devastated’ by the death of the man she once described as a ‘father figure’ and ‘mentor’, telling one interviewer: ‘He taught me so much about life. When I wanted advice I turned to him. He seemed to have seen and done everything.’
The last time Ferguson was seen in public was in December 2025, photographed ducking down in a car on her way to the christening of Beatrice’s second daughter, Athena.
Meanwhile, Beatrice was last spotted last month in Athens, Greece, as she joined her husband Edo Mapelli Mozzi for a holiday – amid rumours that their marriage is on the rocks.
No doubt still revelling in their sixth wedding anniversary celebrations, the pair met up with art curator Aliki Lampropoulos.
Though it’s not certain when the image was taken, Aliki, who served as a host committee member alongside the royal at The Charge charity gala in London in 2014, took to Instagram to share a selfie with the couple, who were seen beaming from ear to ear, yesterday.
While the Greek art expert forwent a written caption, she added a bee emoji, perhaps indicating her nickname for Beatrice.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson‘s eldest daughter and her husband have scarcely been spotted out together in recent times, setting rumours of marital struggles alight.
Beatrice tied the knot with property developer Edo, 42, during a ceremony at the Chapel of All Saints on the Windsor estate, after the Covid pandemic forced the couple to cancel a larger wedding.
However, the nuptials were somewhat overshadowed by Beatrice’s disgraced father, Andrew, after the Epstein scandal forced him to step down from public life in November 2019.
Six years later, the couple’s anniversary on July 17 faced a similar eclipse after new revelations about Andrew’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein allegedly forced a ‘distance’ between Edo and Beatrice in recent months.
It comes as, on the latest episode of the Daily Mail’s Palace Confidential, senior Editor-at-Large Richard Kay revealed one of the hideaways where disgraced former Duchess Sarah Ferguson has been spending her summer.
It comes as, on the latest episode of the Daily Mail’s Palace Confidential , senior Editor-at-Large Richard Kay revealed one of the hideaways where disgraced former Duchess Sarah Ferguson has been spending her summer
Kay was joined by Diary Editor Richard Eden to discuss McNally’s passing – and said he believes Ferguson has been staying at McNally’s ‘luxuriously appointed’ Verbier villa this summer.
‘That makes sense because these places have a completely different vibe during the summer. They’re not packed with Brits out there for skiing,’ he explained.
‘You get a few middle-aged people who like walking in the hills, but it’s much more laid-back and low-key. A perfect place to hide up.’
‘People like Paddy would have had all sorts of trusts and things in place to take care of inheritance tax and other requirements. I have always been led to believe that he wanted to leave a sizeable amount of his money to various charities.
‘I also hear that he took the view that he had provided for her a great deal throughout her life.’
Elsewhere, among recent reports that Fergie may get cash – or a nest egg – from McNally, royal author Phil Dampier recently warned that ‘you can never write her off’.
He believes that she may well soon try and tell ‘her side of the story’ – and ‘try and get back in with the King for the sake of her daughters’.
‘It’s quite extraordinary how Sarah Ferguson bounces back time and time again,’ he told the Daily Mail.
‘She has had more comebacks than Frank Sinatra and it looks like she may pull off her most incredible yet.
‘She seemed down and out after the Jeffrey Epstein scandal which ruined her and ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and she disappeared for months on end until she was tracked down to an Austrian spa resort.
‘But now it seems she spent some time recently living with her first serious boyfriend Paddy McNally, and with his death she stands to solve her financial problems.
‘He was said to be worth £600million and I’m sure he would have left her a substantial sum as they always remained close and were best friends.
‘His wife died some years ago and one of his sons sadly died earlier this year so he only had one son left.
‘So I’m sure he would have made provision for Fergie.’
He added, however, that Paddy knew Sarah ‘spends money like water as soon as she gets it’ – and it’s likely he would ‘be more likely to give her an annual regular allowance rather than a lump sum, as she would fritter it away’.
‘That makes sense to me as she is a notorious spendthrift,’ Phil continued. ‘Indeed, it was her need for money which led into the orbit of Epstein in the first place and led to a trail of destruction for the former Duke and Duchess of York.
‘My first assignment as a royal journalist was exactly forty years ago in 1986 when I covered her wedding to Prince Andrew.
‘So it’s unbelievable to have seen how things have turned out.
‘She had only just split up with McNally a year or two earlier and very much married Andrew on the rebound, as he did from his relationship with the American actress Koo Stark.
‘But Fergie always carried a torch for Paddy and remained in touch.
‘She would always go back to him or stay with him in times of trouble and he always baled her out.
‘So what now?’
Phil believes Sarah’s future may find her back in the UK soon.
‘Up until this turn of events I would have said Fergie might have moved abroad, possibly to Portugal where her daughter Eugenie lives much of the time, or Australia, where her sister lives,’ he explained.
But now I think it’s likely she will stay in the UK and there have been reports she is house hunting in the Windsor area.
‘She has had a lot of time to think in the months she has been keeping a low profile and she may have plans already to launch a new business, re-invent herself yet again as a media personality, and she will definitely want at some stage to try and tell her side of the story.
‘She will want to salvage her reputation and portray herself as a victim of Epstein’s lies and circumstances.
‘Whether that is possible is another matter, but with financial security it will enable her to take her time and hire some good PR people.
‘I think it’s less likely she will write yet another autobiography and spill the beans on the royals.
‘And she will want to try and get back in with the King for the sake of her daughters, or at least not upset Charles.
‘Fergie still has her fans, and you can never write her off.’
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