Andrew’s Surprising Demand Leaves Sarah 'Lonely' During Their Last Days at Royal Lodge
The atmosphere inside Royal Lodge is tense. Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's departure from Royal Lodge is expected to happen sometime early next year, as the Palace continues distancing itself from the Epstein scandal. As the disgraced former Duke prepares for his forced exit from the Windsor estate he has called home for over two decades, insiders say he has issued an unexpected demand to the one person who has stood beside him through every crisis: Sarah Ferguson. 
The pair have long been known for their unusual post-divorce closeness. But now, according to the Express, a source claimed Ferguson is “so angry with Andrew that he’s demanded she be kept away from him, which is upsetting her even more.” Mountbatten Windsor has made it clear that he doesn’t want Fergie anywhere near him. For Ferguson, who has maintained a united front with Mountbatten Windsor, despite divorcing years ago, the sudden cold shoulder appears to have left her adrift and heartbroken.
The former Duchess has allegedly been feeling 'very lonely' inside the Estate, despite technically sharing it with her former husband. “She’s been isolating herself within the Lodge, begging staffers to stay longer because she’s so lonely,” the source explained. The staff, it seems, have become her emotional lifeline as her household becomes less of a sanctuary and more of a waiting room for an uncertain future.
More than one source has described similar accounts. In a recent interview with Sky News, royal commentator Kinsey Schofield’s co-host, Jonathan Sullivan, discussed Ferguson’s final stretch at Royal Lodge, suggesting that the atmosphere inside the Estate has taken on an almost theatrical level of melancholy. “We know that Andrew and Fergie are still in the house, and some of the details, you know, it’s a little bit Greek tragedy… especially when it comes to Fergie,” he said.
Sullivan also talked about how Ferguson’s sense of self has been tied to the life she built there. “I think that her identity was tied up in being Duchess of York… and the loss of it allegedly just devastated her,” he noted. He added that coping has taken a complicated turn as she increasingly leans on the people around her within the household. “She’s really been hitting the bar and she’s expecting the staff to kind of commiserate with her,” he said.
One insider also told The Sun, “Andrew and Sarah are leading separate lives – at different ends and on different wings.” Their encounters, when they do happen, revolve around shared meals where talk of the future hangs over the table." Even those conversations, the source said, have been tense and laden with anxiety. “They come together quite often for lunch and dinner, and this is where they talk about their futures. They have been heard having some pretty intense conversations about what is going on.” For Ferguson, the looming change appears even more destabilizing. “Sarah, in particular, is panicking about what comes next, and she is not in a good place,” the insider added.