Holiday's Over! Fergie Sent Packing

Amid a Sex Scandal, Prince Philip Lays Down the Law

- Judy Kean

It hasn’t happened overnight, but bit by bit, Sarah, Duchess of York, has been welcomed back into the royal fold by the Queen.

So it was a shock when, just days after arriving at the royal residence at Balmoral for a holiday, she suddenly left.

There’s been speculation her hasty exit was related to the release of legal papers linked to the sex trafficking case against disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein, which named her ex, Prince Andrew. Shortly after Andrew and Fergie arrived at Balmoral, the documents were unsealed, claiming Andrew had sexual encounters with a young woman. The next day, Epstein was found dead in his cell.

The palace continues to deny “any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors”. Indeed, insiders say that as disturbing as the news from the US was for Andrew and the family, it wasn’t responsible for Fergie’s abrupt retreat. Instead, that was down to her former father-in-law Prince Philip unexpectedly turning up at the Scottish estate.

Philip (98) has refused to have anything to do with Fergie since she and Andrew divorced, because he’s still furious with her for the embarrassment she brought to the family after being photographed having her toes sucked by her financial advisor John Bryan back in 1992.

The Queen (93), however, doesn’t hold a grudge and has gradually welcomed her former daughter-in-law back over recent years, including inviting Fergie to Balmoral as her guest every summer since 2013.