Sarah Ferguson has sold a Belgravia townhouse originally bought as an investment for her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
The Duchess of York, who shares Royal Lodge in Windsor with her former husband, Prince Andrew, purchased the mews property in 2022 for £4.25million. It was let to a tenant who recently chose to buy it.
Fergie’s spokesman, James Henderson, told the Times: “[She] wasn’t looking to sell it. She was asked by the tenant to buy it, and it seemed like a good time to sell.
“It’s an investment property for her girls, and so the monies will be reinvested accordingly.”
Sarah Ferguson sells £4.25million Belgravia home with Eugenie and Beatrice’s approval
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Land Registry paperwork shows that both princesses had to give written approval before the sale could proceed.
Although the exact price has not yet been published, the deal was completed within the past two months, and the updated documents are still being processed.
The townhouse had previously been part of the Grosvenor Estate owned by the Duke of Westminster, one of Britain’s wealthiest landowners.
The Yorks have been under pressure from the King to vacate their £30million Windsor residence, Royal Lodge.
That tension eased late last year when it emerged that funds had been secured to meet the financial conditions of their long-term lease, which runs until 2078 and requires the property to be properly maintained.
They had previously been urged to downsize to Frogmore Cottage, the former home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Exactly how Prince Andrew sourced the money to hold on to Royal Lodge has never been explained. He has not carried out public duties since 2019, when a BBC Newsnight interview about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein drew heavy criticism for his lack of contrition.
The property sale follows fresh scrutiny of the Duchess’s past connection to Epstein. Last week, it emerged that in 2011 she emailed the financier, calling him a “steadfast, generous and supreme friend”, adding that she “humbly apologised” for public remarks and knew “you feel hellaciously let down by me”.
Eugenie and Beatrice are not working royals
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Mr Henderson said she wrote the message after Epstein threatened to “destroy her” in what he described as a “Hannibal Lecter-style” phone call.
Several organisations have since cut ties with the Duchess, including the British Heart Foundation, The Children’s Literacy Charity and The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation. Julia’s House, a children’s hospice in Dorset and Wiltshire, was the first to act, ending six years of her patronage.
Relatives of Virginia Giuffre, who alleged she was trafficked by Epstein to Prince Andrew, have also urged charities in the United States to distance themselves from the Duchess.