The royal woes are far from over for Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson as a leading royal biographer has claimed there is a ‘very good chance’ the pair could end up behind bars.
Speaking on TalkTV last night, Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, said the Royal Family will ‘throw him under the bus’ due to the ‘reputation damage’ he has caused.
Mr Lownie told the programme: ‘I do think the authorities will want to pursue some of these investigations. They will bring charges. I think if they do so there is a very good chance that both he and Sarah Ferguson may well go to prison.’
He went on to allege that the Duke of York abused his position of responsibility granted to him by the late Queen Elizabeth II by bringing his mistress on official visits.
‘Just the brazenness, the sense that he could get away with this. He would go on an official visit to Thailand, paid for by the taxpayer, and he would bring his mistress with him to sit in the car at official functions. He would go through 40 prostitutes in four days,’ Mr Lownie said.
‘Clearly there were a lot of people enabling him and protecting him and that included, I’m afraid, the Queen. This problem should’ve been dealt with years ago. The Palace only have themselves to blame.’
The Prince’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein have once again dominated headlines, following renewed attention on his sex accuser Virginia Giuffre’s claims after her posthumous book was released.
Last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed that Andrew attempted to involve the Metropolitan Police and one of Queen Elizabeth’s most senior aides in a campaign to smear Ms Giuffre, who accused him of assaulting her as a teenager.
A bombshell email exposed how Andrew asked his taxpayer-funded police bodyguard to investigate the ‘lying’ young woman.
The prince allegedly passed on details of her date of birth and social security number – information believed to have been supplied by Epstein.
In the latest twist to the saga it has been suggested that the pair (pictured at Ascot in 2019) may finally go their separate ways, into a home each
Andrew is now said to be reconsidering his future, however, after weeks of renewed scandal over his relationship with Epstein and allegations from ‘beyond the grave’ by Virginia Giuffre (pictured, with a photo of herself as a teen)
He also alleged that Ms Giuffre, who tragically took her own life earlier this year, had criminal convictions – a claim that has not been supported by any evidence and has been strongly denied by her family.
Further revelations have shown that Andrew lied to Buckingham Palace and the British public when he claimed he had cut ties with Epstein in December 2010 following the financier’s release from prison.
Twelve weeks later, he emailed Epstein saying they were ‘in this together’ and expressed his wish to ‘play some more soon.’
Meanwhile, Sarah Ferguson, the Duke’s ex-wife, has also faced renewed scrutiny amid claims that Epstein secretly bankrolled her for 15 years.
The convicted paedophile allegedly complained to friends about the Duchess’s ‘scrounging ways’ in emails suggesting his financial support went far beyond the £15,000 she previously admitted to receiving from him.
In newly unearthed emails, Epstein claimed that Fergie was so eager to maintain ties with him that ‘she was the first to celebrate’ his release from jail ‘with her two daughters in tow’.
Princess Beatrice would have been 20 at the time and Princess Eugenie 19 – the same age as many of Epstein’s victims.
These claims are contained within a vast cache of documents currently being reviewed by the US Congress, expected to be released once redacted to protect the identities of Epstein’s victims.
Last month, the Mail on Sunday revealed how Fergie wrote to Epstein describing him as a ‘supreme friend’, just weeks after telling the Evening Standard that she would ‘never have anything to do with’ the sex offender again.
In her March 7, 2011 interview, the Duchess issued a ‘heartfelt apology’ for accepting the money from Epstein, calling it ‘a giant error of judgment’.
That comment infuriated Epstein, who emailed French modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel complaining: ‘The duchess that I have financially helped for 15 years said that she wants nothing to do with a paedophile and child sex abuser. It has caused quite a stir.’
Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson (pictured) are said to have finally agreed to leave Royal Lodge – but only if they get two alternative houses in return
Andrew has previously been offered a palace to retreat to by Abu Dhabi’s ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (pictured with the Prince in 2010)
ROYAL LODGE: The royal, 65, has allegedly requested Frogmore Cottage in Windsor is handed over to him in exchange for his departure from the 30-room mansion (pictured), which is just down the road
Brunel was later arrested on rape charges and took his own life in jail in 2022, three years after Epstein’s death. Epstein reportedly demanded that Fergie issue him a public apology, even threatening to sue her if she refused.
The scandal comes as Prince Andrew faces the humiliating prospect of MPs debating his lifestyle and living arrangements in the House of Commons, amid growing calls for accountability over his ties to Epstein.
It has been reported that King Charles has long wanted the former Duke and Duchess to vacate the Royal Lodge.
The disgraced couple, who divorced in May 1996 after a troubled ten-year marriage, have survived multiple scandals from the comfort of their 30-room Grade II listed mansion, where they have lived together since 2008.
Richard Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail: ‘This was the couple who, Sarah Ferguson boasted, were the “happiest divorced couple in the world”. It seems they now want to separate. The reason is clearly that what made them perfect for each other after divorce and subsequent scandals and debts, was that they were both greedy and entitled.
‘Now this cover is blown, they want to live apart in two homes. The world can clearly see that the previous arrangement was designed to maximise the benefit of Andrew’s public life for them privately.’
In another twist in the royal scandal, it emerged last week that Andrew has not paid rent on the Royal Lodge mansion for two decades, adding to mounting public outrage over his perceived perks.
Andrew has only paid ‘peppercorn’ rent for the last 20 years, and while he initially tried to dig his heels in by citing the terms of his ‘cast iron’ lease with the Crown Estate, it is understood he will finally move out.
The prince still has 50 years left on his 75-year lease, for which he paid £1 million in 2003, and it is not known exactly how much money he could receive in compensation for the £7.5million he has spent on Royal Lodge renovations.
