NEED TO KNOW
- Sarah Ferguson is reportedly seeking financial support from King Charles.
- Insiders claim Fergie is hoping for a royal ‘pension’ in exchange for staying silent.
- The Duchess of York is allegedly under mounting financial pressure.
- Sources say she could pursue a tell-all memoir or interview if no deal is reached.
- Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are reportedly trying to help their mother behind the scenes.
She’s gone to ground amid her ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s fall from grace, as well as her own. But as Sarah Ferguson’s financial pressures escalate, public speculation is rife that the former Duchess of York will try to negotiate a royal pension – in return for her silence.
“So far, Fergie is being discreet because she has few options left – one of which includes being given a basic stipend or ‘pension’ from King Charles,” an insider tells New Idea exclusively.
The other option is to write a lucrative memoir or do a worldwide, televised tell-all interview.
“Fergie knows Charles has always had a soft spot for her, so she is hoping he’ll agree to compensate her for years of what she considers to be unpaid royal service,” continues our source. “However, if a pension doesn’t eventuate, she’ll have to consider the other options.”
“For now, she’s been diligently sticking to Charles’ request that she lie low. While there is difficulty, because she doesn’t have a direct line to him, she’s pulled together a pension pitch she hopes he’ll consider. Fergie is willing to toe the line and not cause any more controversies if there’s a pension to keep her afloat.”
Fergie, 66, was banished from the inner royal circle, along with Andrew, also 66, last October, due to their connection to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Documents relating to the disgraced financier damningly revealed Fergie had remained friends with Epstein after he was first sentenced.
After losing her title, Fergie fled the UK. In April, she was found to be staying at a luxury ski resort in the Austrian Alps. But our source shares that high-end accommodation won’t be coming cheap, adding further strain to her finances.
According to a new report in RadarOnline, Fergie is allegedly struggling to curb her spending after being accustomed to the high life for so many years.
“The last thing she should be doing right now is pouring money down the drain, but she still feels entitled to luxuries,” a source told RadarOnline.
If that’s the case, “It won’t help her to secure a pension from the King, even if he still has any sympathy for her plight,” our own source adds.
“Fergie needs to demonstrate humility right now. She’s already walking a fine line in trying to persuade the King to grant her a pension. If it’s true that she’s living it up at a ski resort, that’s not going to help her case.”
Fergie’s daughters Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 36, are having “constant discussions” about how to help their mother, our source adds. “But with young families of their own, they can’t afford to bankroll her indefinitely.”
If Charles, 77, doesn’t sign off on a financial arrangement for Fergie – as he has for his brother – she will be left with no choice other than to tell her side of the story.
“But that would be burning her very last royal bridge,” our source says.
Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, believes Fergie wants to do the right thing by the royals and is holding out for a payoff. He told The Mirror, “That may be what Fergie’s negotiating at the moment.”
Unfortunately for Charles, time is ticking, and Fergie will likely be forced to go rogue if no ‘hush money’ is forthcoming, sooner rather than later.
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