ON THE RUN!
ANDREW & FERGIE
It was supposed to be a relaxing summer holiday in which Prince Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson was officially welcomed back into the royal fold at Balmoral Castle. Instead, Andrew and Fergie, both 59, – who are widely rumoured to have reconciled – were forced to flee when a new twist emerged to sordid allegations the prince slept with a teenager in 2001.
Just as the couple were settling into their quarters at the stunning Scottish estate, it was revealed that convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew’s former friend, had died by suicide in his New
York jail cell. His passing came 24 hours after 2000 pages of documents were made public by a judge.
Andrew’s own accuser, Virginia Roberts, who claims
she was 17 when she was procured by Jeffrey and bedded by Andrew in 2001, featured prominently in the papers. Buckingham Palace has denied Virginia’s claims in strongly worded statements.
Soon after Epstein’s death, Andrew was seen boarding a private jet at nearby Aberdeen airport – two days after Fergie made an early departure from the Queen’s
summer palace on a British Airways flight.
Late last week, British tabloid The Sun revealed Fergie had taken a “panicked” Andrew to their favourite Spanish hideaway in Malaga, with the pair arriving via private jet and without their daughters Princess Beatrice, 31, and Princess Eugenie, 29.
“The duke has been fairly relaxed up to now, he’s starting to sh*t himself,” a source revealed at the time. “It’s become the biggest story in the world and he’s at the heart of the coverage.”
“Ironically, this whole awful mess could be what brings Andrew and Fergie publicly back together,” our source adds.
“She really is a rock for him. She believes him 100 per cent, as do his girls. They’re devastated about these claims, but they hope the positive that comes out of it is that it brings their parents closer together.”
It seems Fergie, too, may have had reason to flee last week, with reports surfacing that the Duchess of York may have been bankrolled by a Hong Kong businessman.
According to the British media, Fergie was paid $535,000 as well as a $128,000 retainer by a company chaired by Dr Johnny Hon.
In April 2017, before taking up her post as director of media investment firm Gate Ventures – formerly chaired by Dr Hon – she received $357,000 from an offshore account, according to The Sun, for “marketing and promotion”.
Even ordinarily squeaky clean Zara Phillips, 38, found herself caught up in the scandal after it was found she was paid $178,000 last year for advising Dr Hon on horse racing, while her brother Peter Phillips, 41, signed a deal with Dr Hon in which he’ll receive a salary for his figurehead role at a new horse racing members’ club.