Sarah Ferguson is ready to flee Britain over the Epstein scandal, say friends. They claim a guest suite is being prepared for her at a £3.6 million luxury oceanfront villa in Portugal owned by her daughter Princess Eugenie and her businessman husband, Jack Brooksbank.
One wealthy neighbour of the gated Costa Terra Golf and Ocean Club in Melides, 82 miles south of Lisbon, said: “The word here is that Fergie will be arriving sometime in January.
“How long she’ll stay is anyone’s guess but if it’s a long-term move, I can guarantee she’ll fit well into the social scene. Scores of celebrities and Hollywood stars have been snapping up properties in the area.”
These include Madonna, Scarlett Johansson and Oscar winner Alicia Vikander, her actor husband Michael Fassbender and their two young children. Nicole Kidman recently applied for Portuguese residency following her split from country star Keith Urban.
The former Duchess of York is facing the bleak prospect of being made homeless when she and Andrew part ways early in the New Year after being forced to leave their current Royal Lodge home in Windsor.
Andrew will be moving alone to a property on the Royal Family’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk but no such provision is being made for Fergie, who has lived with her ex-husband at Royal Lodge for 17 years despite their divorce in 1996.
Like her former spouse, she has been stripped of all royal titles and – following a leaked email in which she referred to late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein as a “supreme friend” – has lost all her prestige charity roles, including ambassador for the British Heart Foundation.
Sarah, 66, has also been axed from ITV daytime show Loose Women and has reportedly held extensive talks with a “brand rescue team” in an effort to salvage some sort of future livelihood.
Both her and Andrew’s daughters – Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 35 – are said to be encouraging her to do this and now the younger royal sibling is offering her mother a European refuge to at least temporarily escape the scandal.
Eugenie and her husband, 39-year-old marketing executive Jack Brooksbank, bought their luxury property at the Costa Terra resort where he works in May 2022 and, since then, the area has developed into a celebrity hotspot.
One resident, former NBC network boss Ted Harbert has described the picturesque Atlantic coast region as being “like the Hamptons of Europe,” adding: “The people here are so friendly and it’s so beautiful.”
Local property taxes are way lower than those in the US and American property mogul Michael Meldman, whose Discovery Land Company owns the Costa Terra residential resort, has announced plans for even further developments.
Eugenie and Jack, along with their two sons, August and Ernest, currently split their time between Ivy Cottage, in the grounds of Kensington Palace, and their Portuguese home, which includes access to a championship golf course and spa.
Buckingham Palace has denied reports that Eugenie pays only a “peppercorn” rent for three-bedroom Ivy Cottage but declined to comment on whether she pays the “full market rate.”
A US-based source who is a regular visitor to the Costa Terra resort said: “It’s a perfect place for Fergie to hide out while the Epstein affair continues to rumble on in Congress. She will be among family and friends and well away from the hostile atmosphere she’s facing in England.”
A spokesman for Sarah Ferguson was contacted for comment.