Sarah Ferguson buys £5m home in London’s high-end Mayfair… despite frequent gripes about her financial woes
- Fergie, 62, is said to have bought luxury home from the Duke of Westminster, 31
- In 2010 Fergie told US TV she was ‘continually on verge of financial bankruptcy’
- She and ex-husband Prince Andrew live in the Queen’s Royal Lodge in Windsor
The Duchess of York has reportedly splashed £5million on a luxury property in the upmarket borough of Mayfair in central London – despite frequent gripes about her financial woes.
Sarah Ferguson, 62, is said to have purchased the home from her friend the Duke of Westminster, 31, who became one of the wealthiest men in the country when he inherited his father’s £10billion fortune in 2016.
It comes despite the red-headed royal complaining of financial difficulties in recent years, describing herself as ‘continually on the verge of financial bankruptcy’ in a 2010 TV interview in the US.
A spokesperson for Fergie’s ex-husband Prince Andrew said he had not been personally involved in the purchase. MailOnline has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
Fergie and Andrew currently reside in the Royal Lodge in Windsor, owned by the Queen, 96.
Sources told the Sun the new Mayfair property is thought to be ‘a long-term investment for daughters Princess Beatrice and Eugenie’, describing it as ‘picturesque’ and in ‘one of the very smartest areas of London.’
They added: ‘It had previously been a couple of flats but has been converted to a single property.
Sarah Ferguson (pictured with ex-husband Prince Andrew in 2019), 62, is said to have purchased the home from her friend the Duke of Westminster, 31, who became one of the wealthiest men in the country when he inherited his father’s £10billion fortune in 2016
The Duke of Westminster (pictured), 31, is believed to have sold a £5million Mayfair property to Sarah Ferguson, reports the Sun
One source told the Sun the new Mayfair home is ‘picturesque’ and in ‘one of the very smartest areas of London’ (Stock image of Mayfair in central London)
‘If the girls are going to inherit it at some stage they’re extremely lucky.
‘It’s a short walk from the best bars and restaurants in the city, beautiful parks and other hot spots. But God knows where the money has come from — everyone thought they were totally skint.’
Fergie’s representatives confirmed the purchase to the Sun but were unable to provide any more specifics of the sale – which has yet to be published by Land Registry officials.
It is not the first time the couple’s property deals have come under scrutiny.
In January MPs called for a ‘dirty money’ probe into the £15million sale of Prince Andrew’s Sunninghill estate to a Kazakh oligarch who became the centre of corruption claims.
The Duke, 61, sold the home in Ascot, Berkshire, to Timur Kulibayev, 55, the son-in-law of Kazakhstan’s autocratic former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, in 2007.
But questions had been raised ever since over the sale of the property, originally gifted by the Queen to Andrew when he married Sarah Ferguson, after it went for £15million – £3million over its asking price.
That is despite the property, which was mockingly called ‘SouthYork’ due to its supposed similarity to the garish ranch of SouthFork in the US series Dallas, languishing on the property market for 5 years at an asking price of £12million.
Andrew, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, was once a special trade envoy for the UK.
And he had been accused of acting as a fixer in Kulibayev’s business deals and is a close friend of the tycoon’s Nazarbayev.
Andrew is also struggling to sell his £18m ski chalet in Verbier, Switzerland, due to an alleged £1.6m debt to a Swiss couple.
According to reports in the Swiss media, the debt to the mystery couple is preventing the Duke of York from completing the sale of his much-loved Chalet Helora.
It has been claimed that the disgraced royal was intending to use money from the sale of the property to help finance his £10million sex assault lawsuit settlement with accuser Virginia Giuffre.
In February of this year it was reported that Andrew had found a buyer for the chalet, after settling a separate £6.6million debt to French socialite Isabelle de Rouvre, 74, who he purchased the property from in 2014.
But the process appears to have stalled because the chalet is ‘under sequestration’ as a result of the alleged debt. The chalet was frozen as an asset by Swiss authorities on December 15, 2020 according to Le Temps newspaper.
The chalet in Verbier has an indoor pool, sauna, boot room and terrace with spectacular views
Sources close to Prince Andrew previously told MailOnline that the dispute will not prevent the property’s sale, and that while the Duke ‘did not deny owing the money’ to the couple he was ‘questioning the amount’.
The source said: ‘This has nothing to do with the original purchase of the chalet, it’s a completely separate business transaction between the couple and the Duke.
‘It shouldn’t affect the sale of the property despite what the Swiss media says and is expected to go through as planned.
‘Talks are underway to resolve the matter, which are expected to be concluded satisfactorily for all parties.’
Prince Andrew has not been to the chalet in Verbier for several years, but his ex-wife Sarah and two daughters Beatrice and Eugenie spent the New Year in the luxury property with their families.
He stepped back as a senior royal in May 2020 after allegations emerged over his relationship with the disgraced sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein.
A high profile court case in which Virginia Guiffre, a victim of Epstein’s, accused the Duke of York of rape and other sexual crimes was settled out of court in March of this year.
The total settlement is believed to be around £12 million, and includes Ms Guiffre’s legal bills and an unspecified amount to a charity of Ms Guiffre’s choice.
He did not accept any liability when he made the settlement and vehemently denies the claims.
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