It has been revealed that Sarah Ferguson has started house hunting as she awaits her and ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsoreviction from Royal Lodge amid ongoing scandal
Sarah Ferguson is reportedly preparing for her next move as the clock ticks down on her and ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor being evicted from their Royal Lodge home. The disgraced former prince was forced to surrender the lease on the 30-room mansion that he shared with Fergie after being stripped of his titles at the end of October, following revelations about his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew is expected to move into a smaller property on the Sandringham estate in the New Year, but Fergie will not be joining him. Speculation continues over where the former Duchess of York will relocate, after reports that she has been offered a ‘granny annexe’ in a converted cattle shed on a Cotswolds property owned by her eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice, were shot down.
Similarly, claims that she plans to relocate to Portugal to live in a home owned by her youngest daughter, Princess Eugenie, have been denied. Reports now suggest that she has been searching for a property of her own and intends to stay living in the Windsor area.
Speaking to The Times, a source close to Fergie revealed: “She wants to stay in the UK, ideally in the Windsor area, and she wants to have her own base so that she can live independently and continue to pursue many things as Sarah Ferguson.”
News of Fergie’s potential new home comes after it was revealed that Andrew could be forced to leave Royal Lodge without compensation because of the extensive repairs required to the property, the Mirror reports.
The disgraced former royal is set to lose £500,000 after giving up the lease on the property. The announcement came alongside news that an investigation will be launched into the Crown Estate and the leases it has granted for properties held by other members of the Royal Family, following MPs’ calls for clarity over Andrew’s highly favourable rent agreement for the Windsor mansion.
Reports revealed that, over the past two decades, Andrew only paid a peppercorn of rent for the property when requested.
The situation prompted the Public Accounts Committee – known as the ‘queen of select committees’ – to demand answers from both the Treasury and Crown Estate, asking them to explain Andrew’s lucrative lease.
Profits from the Crown Estate go to the Treasury for public spending and concerns have grown over whether taxpayers have been losing out because of the arrangement.
On Tuesday, the committee, which looks into whether taxpayers’ money is being wisely spent, published details of the property arrangements provided by Crown Estate chief executive Dan Labbad.
Records indicate that Andrew provided the required 12 months’ notice to vacate Royal Lodge on October 30, allowing him to remain in the property until the October next year.
It also reveals that, if no end-of-tenancy repairs were needed, Andrew would have been eligible for £488,342.21 upon ending his lease on October 30, 2026. However, the Crown Estate stated that after an inspection on November 12, it is now considered unlikely that any compensation will be paid.
It said: “Our initial assessment is that while the extent of end of tenancy dilapidations and repairs required is not out of keeping with a tenancy of this duration, they will mean, in all likelihood, that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will not be owed any compensation for early surrender of the lease… once dilapidations are taken into account,” the Crown Estate said.
But “before this position can be fully validated, however, a full and thorough assessment must be undertaken post-occupation by an expert in dilapidation”.
