Aug. 5, 2026
Sarah Ferguson’s Stunning Comeback and the Fortune That Could Save Her
A royal commentator claims Sarah Ferguson may inherit enough money from former boyfriend Paddy McNally to rebuild her life and reputation. Plus: troubling claims about Princess Beatrice’s marriage, newly revealed Epstein pressure tactics, and reports King Charles was furious over an alleged royal snub to Camilla.
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Palace Intrigue is a daily British royal family podcast covering King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and the House of Windsor. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network.
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Ah Calorougus Shark Media that low and welcome through palace intrigue.
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I'm your host, Mark Francis. Sarah Ferguson has made a
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career out of surprising people, and now Royal commentator Phil
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Dampia believes the Duchess of York could be preparing it
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another comeback. Speaking to The Daily Mail, it's quite extraordinary
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how Sarah Ferguson bounces back time and time again. She
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has had more comebacks than Frank Sinatra and it looks
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like she may pull off her most incredible yet. She
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seemed down and out after the Jeffrey Epstein scandal which
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ruined her and ex husband Andrew Malbatan Windsor, and she
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disappeared for months on end until she was tracked down
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to an Austrian spa resort. But now it seems she
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spent some time recently living with her first serious boyfriend,
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Patty McNally, and with his death she stands to solve
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her financial problems. According to mcnelly's wealth could provide Ferguson
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with long term stability. He was said to be worth
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six hundred million pounds and I'm sure he would have
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left her a substantial sum, as they always remained close
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and were best friends. His wife died some years ago
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and one of his sons sadly died earlier this year,
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so he only had one son left. I'm sure he
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would have made provisions for Fergie, he added. McNeely knew
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Ferguson spends money like water as soon as she gets it,
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and would be more likely to give her an annual
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regular allowance than a lump sum, as she would fritter
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it away. That makes sense to me, as she is
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a notorious spendthrift. According to Dampia, McNally remained an important
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figure in Ferguson's life long after their romance ended, but
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Fergie always carried a torch for Paddy and remained in touch.
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She would always go back to him or stayed with
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him in times of trouble, and he always bailed her out.
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What's next for Fergie, Dampier thinks. Up until this turn
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of events, I would have said Fergie might have moved abroad,
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possibly to Portugal, where her daughter Eugenie lives much of
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the time, or Australia, where its sister lives. But now
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I think it's likely she will stay in the UK
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and there have been reports she is house hunting in
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the Windsor area. She has had a lot of time
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to think in the months she has been keeping a
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low profile, and she may have plans or ready to
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launch a new business, reinvent herself yet again as a
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media personality, and she will definitely want at some stage
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to try and tell her side of the story. She
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will want to salvage her reputation and portray herself as
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a victim of Epstein's lives and circumstances. Whether that is
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possible is another matter, but with financial security it will
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enable her to take her time and hire some good
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pr people. I think it's less likely she will write
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yet another autobiography and spill the beans on the royals,
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and she will want to try and get back in
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with the King for the sake of her daughters, or
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at least not upset Charles. Fergie still has her fans
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and you can never write her off. Princess Beatrice turns
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at thirty eight on August eighth. Lowney said much has
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changed for the York family since Beatrice's last birthday. Her
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father remains under in effect house arrest in Norfolk, with
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the possibility of being charged with sharing confidential information. Her
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mother probably still in hiding abroad. Lowney believes the uncertainty
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surrounding Beatrices likely to overshadow the celebration. He pointed to
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the state of her title, her marriage, and her business activities,
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which may be resolved by the time she celebrates her
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birthday next year. The Daily Mail reported that Beatrice's husband,
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Edo's work trip to Florida earlier this year attracted attention
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because it came during another period of intense scrutiny for
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the York family. One unnamed source told the paper things
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haven't been great for a while between them, but Beatrice
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has been determined to soldier on and forge JAPA through.
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Beatrice is quite different from her system. She really wants
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to almost naively see the good in people and will
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turn a blind eye to uncomfortable truths. That is why
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she was blind to her father's behavior, and the same
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as true of her belief in Edo. She wants to
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stay together, but he seems more and more distracted by
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work and travel. Just when she needs him most, he's
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been pulling away. Those claims have not been confirmed by
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the couple, and neither Beatrice nor Ido has publicly announced
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any separation or marital crisis. A report in The Eyepaper
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infers that newly released emails suggest Jeffrey Epstein considered using
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Sarah Ferguson's private correspondence to pressure her after she publicly
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distanced herself from him following his conviction. According to an
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investigation by the Eyepaper, Epstein assembled emails and other material
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in twenty eleven after Ferguson gave an interview condemning him.
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According to the Eyepaper, Epstein responded by collecting private emails
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and sending them to members of his legal and public
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relations team. Among the material was correspondents that reportedly showed
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Ferguson attempting to arrange a visit to Epstein's Palm Beach
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home with Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie shortly after his
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release from prison in Florida in twenty ten. The paper
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reports at Epstein's legal team then wrote to Ferguson's lawyer
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urging her to change her public position. The letter stated
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that she should reconsider her current stance went on to
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warn that if she did not, they would undermine the
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credibility of those comments by pointing out that your client
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and her daughters were among the first to enjoy my
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client's hospitality upon his release from prison, and continued to
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do so until very recently. Ferguson's representative objected strongly to
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the letter, describing its tone as somewhat alarming and adding
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that it could be construed as attempted blackmail. The emails
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also showed discussions among Epstein's advisers about increasing the pressure.
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One media adviser wrote, one of your good friends, a
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member of the royal family, is calling you a pedophile.
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If gentle persuasion doesn't work, it is my view that
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we need to turn up the heat, even to the
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point of sending her a draft defamation lawsuit. Royal historian
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Andrew Lowney told the eyepaper he was not surprised by
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the allegations. It doesn't supper me one little bit. Epstein
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was very angry. He had given her lots of money
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and they were very close. He wanted loyalty from people,
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and he thought he could buy that. According to the report,
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Epstein also wrote directly to Ferguson during the dispute, more
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palasin just a moment. There are more reports of furious Royals,
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but this time it's not William who is reportedly furious,
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but the King himself. Speaking to the Daily Express, UK,
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royal broadcaster Ian Pallam Turner claimed that Charles was unhappy
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after William and Catherine allegedly failed to bow or curtsey
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to Queen Camilla during a recent public appearance. Palam Turner said,
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I have heard there does not seem to be much
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family love between Camilla and William and Kate. They recently
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walked past the Queen without curtseying, which many interpreted as
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a public gesture of defiance. Palam Turner argued that Charles
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has focused on protecting the institution above family disagreements. He said,
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for the people, the Royal family must be seen as
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a strong rather than a real life version of the
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Netflix drama The Crown. One quick point of context on
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that story because royal etiquette is often more complicated than
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the headlines suggest. Under royal protocol, King Charles's sovereign is
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traditionally greeted with a bow or curtsy in formal settings.
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Queen Camilla as Queen, is also entitled to that same courtesy,
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but within the Royal family, especially among close relatives, things
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are often much less formal than people imagine about Curtsey
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is generally made at the first formal greeting of the
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day or during ceremonial occasions. It is not expected every
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single time family members pass one another. In fact, many
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greetings happen before cameras arrive. By the time photographers see
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members of the family together, they've often already exchanged their
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greetings in private and there if you'd like to email
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or so addresses the Palace intriguet gmail dot com. Please
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By Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is
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balanced intrigue and continue him h
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