Last week, the Daily Mail finally got a tip about Sarah Ferguson’s whereabouts. Sarah has been in the wind for more than a month. She was apparently in Switzerland throughout January, then she popped back up in England for a day or two (I think), then she disappeared. Reportedly, she was in the UAE for a little while, possibly begging for money. But no one knew where she went after that. Well, she’s possibly staying at a resort in Ireland?
Sarah Ferguson has been staying in a remote Irish wellness retreat in her ongoing attempt to stay out of the public gaze after being booted out of Royal Lodge amid the fallout from her friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The former Duchess of York, 66, fled the UK as she and her ex-husband became increasingly embroiled in the growing scandal which culminated in his arrest last week. While in the run-up to his visit from police Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was photographed repeatedly in Windsor and then on the Sandringham estate, Fergie has not been seen in public since her fleeting appearance at her granddaughter Athena’s Christening at St James’s Palace on December 12.
This has prompted global speculation about where the former royal has been staying – and the Daily Mail revealed last week that, for much of the time, she has been sheltering in a famous Swiss clinic. She is further believed to have taken refuge in the UAE where she has close contacts and prospective benefactors.
Now we have learned that she also apparently visited a second similar retreat, the Ballyliffin Lodge & Spa in Donegal – where she was spotted at the local airport earlier this month.
The life of a former duchess embroiled in Jeffrey Epstein-associated scandal – just hopping from wellness retreat to spa to resort. I’m actually not sure if I believe that Sarah is staying in Ireland for any length of time, if she was even there in the first place. I believe she probably wants to get a great deal of physical distance from everything. Someone said Argentina, which is where her mother lived for many years. I think that’s more likely – somewhere in South America, or maybe Asia. Speaking of, there’s some talk about whether Sarah could somehow be forced to go back to the UK to “testify” against… her ex-husband? From People Magazine’s cover story this week:
Ferguson has navigated scandals before — and often managed to recover through media appearances, book tours and carefully framed interviews. “This time, no one is going to give her the airspace,” royal author Ingrid Seward tells PEOPLE in this week’s exclusive cover story.
A friend describes the moment as sobering for the former Duchess of York. “She always thinks she can bounce back,” the insider says. “But this isn’t something that can blow over.”
Speculation has also turned to whether Ferguson could be called in for questioning as the investigation into Andrew continues. The former Duke of York remains released under investigation following his Feb. 19 arrest. Attorney George Kampanella, partner and head of business crime at Taylor Rose in the U.K., tells PEOPLE that would not be shielded from speaking to police if approached.
“English law does not provide a blanket ‘spousal privilege’ in the way some assume from TV legal dramas,” Kampanella says. “There is no general protection that allows a spouse, or former spouse, to refuse even to be questioned by police. If approached, a former spouse may be asked to assist an investigation or provide evidence.”
However, such a discussion is hypothetical, for now. “If she were approached by investigators, it would reflect process, not presumption,” Kampanella says. “And as with Andrew himself, the legal system will proceed not by association, but by proof.”
Yeah, here’s the thing – I think Sarah is trash and she’s never going to have another “comeback” now that we’ve seen her gross emails to Jeffrey Epstein. But I also think Sarah is being scapegoated by a lot of powerful people, and those people are making a choice to put an outsized emphasis on “Sarah needs to testify/she’s in legal trouble.” Let’s keep more focus on Andrew and the monarchy, you know?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid. Cover courtesy of People.
