'A real unit': How Sarah Ferguson dealt with ex Prince Andrew's drama while STILL living with him
London, UK: Sarah Ferguson has stood by Prince Andrew's side through the public fallout from the civil sexual abuse case brought against him. The pair are still living together decades after their divorce and will soon be joined by the late Queen Elizabeth II's beloved corgis.
The Duke and Duchess of York gifted the late monarch two of her favorite breed of dogs after her husband, Prince Philip, died in April last year. However, what's intriguing is that the ex-couple still lives together despite Ferguson -- endearingly known as Fergie -- having had to deal with the shame and disgrace stemming from Andrew's notorious friendship with late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, whose "sex slave" Virginia Giuffre accused the royal of sexually abusing her in the early 2000s after being trafficked to him when she was between 16 and 17 years old.
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"They still live together at Royal Lodge and she [Fergie] speaks glowingly about him," Shannon Felton Spence, a former British public affairs officer and royal expert, told Fox News of Andrew and Ferguson, "And they have now been joined by the queen’s corgis. She constantly talks about how she got the best-looking prince. They have maintained an extremely close relationship."
The outlet reported that Fergie's apparent fondness for her ex may have something to do with the fact that the couple continued to focus on co-parenting their two daughters together -- Princesses Eugenie, 32, and Beatrice, 34 -- after divorcing in 1996.
Fergie and Andrew, both 62, were married from 1986 to 1996. "By all accounts, the Yorks are a very tight-knit family," Spence explained. "A real unit. The Epstein scandal will have been very difficult, particularly for his daughters, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, and at a time when they were starting their own families. I imagine the duchess’s primary concerns were of her daughters and grandchildren through it all."
Giuffre sued Andrew in 2021, accusing him of sexually abusing her on three occasions when she was under 18 after being trafficked by Epstein and disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. In February this year, both sides announced an out-of-court settlement agreement -- just a month before the royal was to be deposed in the case. In March, they signed an agreement to officially dismiss the civil sexual abuse case brought against the royal after he allegedly paid more than $16 million to settle the lawsuit. The exact settlement amount was not disclosed in court papers, but the Daily Telegraph reported it as $16.3 million. It's important to note that Andrew has vehemently denied the allegations, which forced him to give up his royal titles and patronages.
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MEAWW previously reported how a protester was arrested on Monday, September 12, after he heckled Andrew during the Queen's funeral procession held at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland. The man was later identified as Rory, per Holyrood Magazine. He reportedly shouted, “Andrew, you are a sick old man," before he was quickly taken to the ground by surrounding mourners. The young Scottish man then shouted “disgusting” and later told a cop, “Oy, I’ve done nothing wrong.” The crowd continued to shout, “God Save the King” as the officer took the man away from the scene. Police later revealed that the heckler had been arrested “in connection with a breach of the peace on the Royal Mile.”