Just how CAN Fergie afford £7m Mayfair pad after string of money woes?
SHE is better known for her financial woes than investment acumen but things appear to have taken a surprising turn for the Duchess of York.
Sarah Ferguson has purchased a pair of flats costing up to £7million in the heart of Mayfair.
The pretty mews house which contains the properties is said to be a ‘long-term investment’ for her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
It is not known how much she paid the owner the Duke of Westminster – one of Britain’s wealthiest men and a close friend to the royals – for the house The property, part of the duke’s Grosvenor estate, had been split into two separate luxury apartments and put on the market separately earlier this year for a combined total of £6.75million.
The duchess is converting the two flats, which boast a bijou terrace, bar, two reception rooms and a parking garage, into one home.
But sources say she has no plans to leave the grace and favour 30-room Windsor mansion she shares with disgraced exhusband Prince Andrew – and instead plans to rent out the new property.
The pricey purchase will raise questions over how the duchess, who has spoken of her debts and bankruptcy fears, could afford to splash out.
Sources close to the 62-year-old claim her financial status improved after she launched a writing career that secured various book deals.
In 2010 she told US television she was ‘continually on the verge of financial bankruptcy’ and had ‘little understanding’ of money.
She lost more than £3.2million in the collapse of Hartmoor, her US ‘lifestyle and wellness’ company, and was later caught in a tabloid sting offering access to Prince Andrew for £500,000.
In 2011 she accepted £15,000 from Jeffrey Epstein, the paedophile financier who introduced Prince Andrew to Virginia Roberts, now Giuffre, to help her avoid bankruptcy.
A source told the Sun: ‘This is a beautiful home ... If the girls are going to inherit it at some stage they’re extremely lucky.
‘ But God knows where the money has come from – everyone thought they were totally skint.’
This year she published a romantic novel, Her Heart For A Compass, and recently signed a 22-book deal to write fiction for children and young adults.
A spokesman for Prince Andrew said he had no involvement in the purchasing of the property.
He is facing huge legal costs after reaching a settlement of up to £ 12million over allegations of sexual assault brought by Mrs Giuffre, which he denies.
The new Mayfair property is a stone’s throw from Ghislaine Maxwell’s house where he was pictured with his arm around the waist of the then Miss Roberts.
The house is nestled on a quiet cobbled street home to an eatery popular with The Beatles in the 1960s and more recently Prince Harry, Rihanna and stars of reality series Made In Chelsea.
Locals said the duchess had been spotted viewing the house earlier this year. One neighbour, who lives a few doors away from the new house, said: ‘I suppose the property values will go up with royalty here – unless Andrew moves in, of course.’
The Yorks have been involved in several property controversies. Their former marital home, Sunninghill in Ascot, Berkshire, was sold by Prince Andrew for £3million more than the asking price of £12million in 2007 to a Kazakh oligarch. It later emerged that Andrew had been acting as a fixer in business deals for the wealthy businessman.
The duke is also trying to sell his £18million ski chalet in Verbier, Switzerland. Bought in 2014, it was also described as a nest egg for the children. But the sale has been stalled by a couple who claim he also owes them a business debt of £1.6million.
The Duchess of York’s representatives last night confirmed the latest purchase.
But they refused to comment or disclose any details on the particulars of the sale.
‘Thought they were skint’