Sarah Ferguson is ‘blaming herself’ and may quit the UK as she finally separates from her disgraced ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten Windsor 30 years after their divorce.
The former Duchess is said to be ‘more on edge’ than Andrew and is hunkering down in Royal Lodge ‘surrounded by Amazon deliveries’ amid the couple’s dramatic fall from grace.
Andrew was stripped of his Prince title on Thursday and has also agreed to surrender his lease on the 30-room Royal Lodge, where he has paid ‘peppercorn rent’ for decades.
The couple have been exposed in recent weeks after emails emerged showing contact with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, despite them publicly dissociating themselves from him.
A source told the Daily Mail: ‘Sarah is going around blaming herself. She keeps repeating “what if I hadn’t done this, or hadn’t done that”.’
Meanwhile, another source said that Fergie is now considering leaving the country.
They said: ‘She’s always rather lived on the hoof and aside from her children and grandchildren, there’s not a lot to keep her here.
‘Put it this way, the invitations have dried up overnight.’
For years, Sarah has been a staunch ally of her husband, supporting him in the aftermath of his disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019.
The couple, who officially divorced in 1996, have even continued to live together for most of the three decades since.
But Sarah has now said she will find her own place and ‘will move on with her life’ – as Andrew begins his new chapter as a private citizen at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
Nevertheless, it is expected to take weeks for Andrew to finally leave Royal Lodge – with the move not due to take place until the new year.
A source said: ‘The Amazon deliveries that go up to Royal lodge are unbelievable. There are rooms full of boxes that haven’t even been opened.
‘It will take weeks, if not months to shift all their s*** out.’
Another insider explained that while Sarah and Andrew once brought strength to one another, the opposite now appears to be the case.
‘There are many who have almost admired her dogged loyalty to her ex-husband and family,’ they said.
‘She has always found a way to bounce back from the many public scandals she has faced over the years, normally with a well-paid public mea culpa and a promise to change her ways.
‘[But] That’s unlikely to happen this time. It’s not just a question of her finances now, but her personal dealings with a serial sexual predator – and her willingness to lie about them.
‘The phone has stopped ringing overnight. Even those who were willing to defend her less than a month ago don’t want to have anything to do with her now.
‘It’s a disaster. Professionally and personally. Even she can’t see a way of bouncing back.’
It comes as the former Duchess of York, who is an author, is also facing publishing delays for her latest children’s book which was due to hit the shelves on October 9.
However, according to a press release in Bookseller, it is now showing as only available from November 28 on Amazon.
The challenges emerged after Waterstones bookstores told BBC News that the book’s publication date had moved.
Meanwhile Sarah’s publisher, New Frontier Publishing, did not responded to a request for comment when contacted by the BBC.
But one industry source told the BBC that it would be ‘an entirely sensible decision’ to delay publication.
Sarah’s previous publishers were reluctant to comment when asked whether they planned on severing links with the disgraced former Duchess.
Harper Collins, which published two of her titles, the most recent being A Most Intriguing Lady in 2023, declined to comment but said both of her books remained available.
Neill Denny, editor of the book trade news website Book Brunch, said amid speculation that Ms Ferguson could write a tell-all memoir: ‘I think the publishers would be wary of taking on the ex-Duchess of York’s story.’
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail about the behind-the-scenes drama of the past few days, insiders have also revealed that the former Duchess of York, now known simply as Sarah Ferguson, may quit the UK to live abroad because she has ‘nowhere else to turn’.
Sarah’s world came crashing down in the last few weeks as she was dropped by ITV after The Mail on Sunday uncovered an email the former duchess wrote to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, apologising profusely for disassociating from him publicly following his conviction in 2008 for procuring a girl under 18 for sex.
Her daughters – Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie – are said to be encouraging their mother to undertake a rebrand.
Sarah is working with a number of PR ‘fixers’ who work with some of the biggest brands, the Sun reported.
And she has apparently told her team of experts that she wants to be a leader in the ‘female positivity world’, seeking opportunities that sell her as a mother and philanthropist.
Despite the uncertainty over Sarah’s own future, that of her beloved corgis is at least secure.
Buckingham Palace confirmed this week that the care of the corgis of the late Queen Elizabeth II, which were adopted by Andrew and Sarah, would remain with them.
The couple had taken over the care of Muick and Sandy after the monarch’s death, housing them at Royal Lodge.
But with the couple’s departure from the Windsor address, speculation had arisen over who would keep the two dogs.
Now Buckingham Palace has revealed that the ‘corgis will remain with the family’.
However, it did not clarify if it would be Andrew, Sarah or Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice who would give them a home.
