Sarah Ferguson's extravagant spending habits back in focus with new book

Wales Online

11 hours ago

Sarah Ferguson's extravagant spending habits back in focus with new book
The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, lived a life of "opulent excess" during her marriage to Prince Andrew, spending wildly on staff, holidays, parties and flowers, and even saw the late Queen bail her out on several occasions
The book contains explosive allegations about the Duchess' financial and love life
(Image: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis, Corbis via Getty Images)
The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, known as Fergie, had her debts amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds cleared by the late Queen after living a lifestyle of "opulent excess", reveals a new explosive biography. Read here about a cancer update from King Charles
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It's alleged that during her marriage to Prince Andrew, Fergie spent extravagantly on staff, holidays, parties and flowers, with little consideration for paying bills. Ferguson, who was married to the now-disgraced Duke of York from 1986 to 1996, received financial assistance on "several occasions", says esteemed historian Andrew Lownie.
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This included a payment of £500,000 in April 1994 when Coutts bank "demanded £500,000 within 14 days". Read here to see what King Charles thinks of Harry and Meghan's latest move
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The book claims the Duchess would demand feasts "that would make Henry VIII proud" everyday, though there were just here two daughters at the dinner table
(Image: Karwai Tang, WireImagevia Getty Images)
The biography, 'Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the Yorks', provides a shocking glimpse into the Duke and Duchess' "hedonistic life, controversial friendships and secretive money-making endeavours." For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
Lownie's work, said to be based on four years of research and numerous interviews, suggests that Ferguson's time as a Royal was characterised by "marked by ambition and financial recklessness," reports the Mirror.
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The Duchess is said to have splurged hundreds of thousands of pounds on Royal staff, hiring foreign villas and insisting on security for her daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice.
Lownie notes: "The bubbly young redhead was initially seen as a breath of fresh air when she married him in 1986, but her exploitation of her royal status to make money has seen her join her ex-husband as a hugely diminished figure."
Despite numerous unsuccessful business endeavours, frequently capitalising on her Royal status, including lending her name to a retirement home chain that collapsed, Ferguson allegedly owed more than £3.7 million by 1994.
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Lownie reveals "she needed bank approval to pay even modest cheques. But even then, according to a member of her staff, she always believed there would be 'a deal around the corner' that would solve all her problems".
The author, who has penned several works about the royal family including Prince Philip's uncle Lord Mountbatten and King Edward VIII, who famously abdicated after less than a year in 1936, claims Fergie became notorious for accumulating enormous bills on credit at establishments like Harrods without settling them.
Lownie documents: "She also found 'ways and means of getting around her financial restrictions'. For example, Mohamed Al-Fayed, owner of Harrods, never pressed her to settle her account at the store, a practice she exploited elsewhere.
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"A former employee confided: 'These accounts just never get paid, somehow. The shops don't complain because of who she is, or they never used to.'"
One newspaper piece saw her former partner and financial adviser John Bryan disclose that Fergie's estimated £860,000 yearly spending encompassed £300,000 on staff, £150,000 on gifts, £50,000 on flowers, £50,000 on parties, £150,000 on travel and £100,000 on clothes - £25,000 of it during a single hour's shopping spree at Bloomingdales.
The bombshell book makes further claims about the Duchess's financial dealings, including how friends often lent her money without ever being fully repaid.
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It is alleged that one individual who had loaned her £100,000 for a holiday in the South of France considered taking legal action at the High Court "after she paid back only £5,000, claiming she understood the rest to be a gift".
The tome goes on to detail accusations of the Duchess's lavish expenditures, such as spending £14,000 in a single month with a London wine merchant and enjoying opulent getaways to destinations like "Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Poland and four trips to America", where she would typically stay at the plush Carlyle Hotel with rooms starting at £330 per night.
Author Andrew Lownie recounts additional tales of excess, including trips to New York during which she reportedly used one car for herself "and another for her ten suitcases".
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The narrative also includes an anecdote about her assistant, Christine Gallagher, who was once dispatched on the Concorde at a cost of £5,000 simply to deliver some documents to the Duchess.
In response to the financial controversies surrounding the Duchess post-divorce from the Duke of York, Buckingham Palace issued a statement in 1996 declaring: "The Duchess's financial affairs are no longer Her Majesty's concern but matters which the Duchess of York must discuss and resolve with her bankers and other financial advisers."
However, further financial missteps were uncovered, including thousands of unpaid bills to personal shoppers, the late Queen's personal mail service, and allegations of irregularities with charity funds from The Sarah Ferguson Foundation.
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Post-divorce, the Duchess embarked on a series of money-making endeavours, leveraging her Royal connections. This included accepting £100,000 in 1997 from Austrian construction tycoon, Richard Lugner, to inaugurate a shopping centre in Vienna, sign books, and accompany him to the Vienna Opera Ball.
That same year, she became the first Royal to endorse a product on television, promoting Ocean Spray cranberry drink for a fee of $500,000 (£376,000).
With an advance on her memoirs that year, coupled with substantial income from a £500,000 deal with WeightWatchers, Fergie attempted to settle debts despite reportedly owing £1.6 million in taxes.
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A dismissed staff member also disclosed to Lownie the "greed and wastefulness that contributed to the duchess's financial downfall".
The former courtier alleged: "Every night she demands a whole side of beef, a leg of lamb and a chicken, which are laid out on the dining room table like a medieval banquet. It's a feast that would make Henry VIII proud."
The insider went on to say: "But often there is just her and her girls, Bea and Eugenie, and most of it is wasted. There is no attempt to keep it to have cold the next day. It just sits there all night, and the next day it's thrown away."
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A source also alleged that Fergie frequently missed non-refundable flights, racking up thousands of pounds in unnecessary expenses.
The book further claims that the Duchess "thought nothing of arriving at an airport with 25 cases and paying between £800 and £4,000 in excess baggage. At least five of those cases were packed with toiletries and make-up. Another would be used solely for clothes hangers."
Despite living rent-free with her ex-husband in his Royal Lodge mansion in Windsor, Lownie suggests that the Duchess's lavish lifestyle persists.
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In May 2009, she signed a year-long lease on a house costing £8,000 per month, but chose to stay with Andrew at the Royal Lodge instead. This resulted in £50,000 being spent on a property she never occupied.
The controversial book, which Lownie maintains is the result of four years of investigation and countless interviews, alleges that Fergie actively pursued a notable array of potential romantic interests throughout the years.
The author suggests that during a visit to New York, the Duchess instructed her team to establish whether John F. Kennedy Jnr - the striking son of the murdered American president John F. Kennedy - was present in the city.
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Upon learning of his presence, she promptly extended an invitation for cocktails or supper at her accommodation, which he reportedly accepted.
When the Duchess purportedly learnt that Kennedy was romantically involved with actress Daryl Hannah, she allegedly responded: "That's not going to bother me!".
According to Lownie, Hannah was indeed troubled by this development, resulting in Kennedy withdrawing his acceptance and citing a previous commitment.
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Lownie alleges that Fergie subsequently instructed her staff "to spy on his apartment all night to check that he had told the truth".
The author also suggests the Duchess proclaimed she was "in love" with celebrated American golfer Tiger Woods.
It is alleged she travelled 1,500 miles to encounter him, before revealing to broadcaster Piers Morgan: "I'm in love."
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Morgan reportedly enquired: "Who's the lucky guy?" prompting Fergie to respond: "He doesn't know yet."
Fergie then indicated she intended to "follow him around the course for a bit and see how I get on".
Morgan reportedly concluded: "Poor old Tiger isn't going to know what's hit him."
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A representative for the Duchess of York was approached for comment by the Mirror.