Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s Scandals May Soon Land Them Behind Bars, Warns Royal Expert
Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of sexual abuse that some readers may find distressing.
The scandal surrounding Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson just won't blow over, and if royal biographer Andrew Lownie is correct, the next installment might be a whole lot more serious. Lownie, the author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of The House of York, thinks the disgraced former Duke and Duchess might end up behind bars someday, and that might not be far enough.
Lownie told TalkTV that there is a "very good chance" that Andrew and Fergie could go to prison, contending that the Royal Family will ultimately "throw him under the bus" to save what remains of its reputation. It comes after decades of allegations and cover-ups, which have tainted the House of Windsor. Lownie accused Andrew of misusing his entitlements under the eyes of late Queen Elizabeth II, flying his lovers with him on taxpayer-funded voyages, and flaunting 'brazenness' that would prove to be his undoing.
"He would go on an official visit to Thailand, paid for by the taxpayer, and he would bring his mistress with him to sit in the car at official functions. He would go through 40 prostitutes in four days," Lownie said. “Clearly there were a lot of people enabling him and protecting him and that included, I'm afraid, the Queen," he added.
And it’s the former Duke’s paper trail that has worked against his favor. Emails, testimonies, and documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein continue to surface, each one painting a more damning picture. The latest wave began after Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous book reignited public anger. Soon thereafter, it was reported that Andrew had also instructed his police bodyguard to investigate Giuffre's past in a bid to discredit her.
The Prince reportedly shared her date of birth and social security number, information the report alleged was derived from Epstein, and falsely implicated her in criminal convictions. Those accusations have been roundly denied by her family. Additional revelations indicate Andrew's alleged 'break' from Epstein in 2010 was bogus. Just three months after publicly announcing he'd cut ties, he is said to have emailed the fallen financier, saying, "We are in this together" and wishing to "play some more soon.”
The former Duchess of York has not escaped either. Old associations between Ferguson and Epstein had emerged, with emails to indicate his financial assistance might have been going far beyond what she previously admitted accepting. Epstein allegedly complained about her "scrounging ways," saying she remained in touch even after his conviction, celebrating his release from prison "with her two daughters in tow," allegedly. Further adding to the woes of the divorced couple, it was also revealed that in a 2011 email in which Ferguson called Epstein a "supreme friend," weeks after having gone public about apologizing and declaring she wanted "nothing to do with" him any longer.
Beatrice and Eugenie were also about the same age as most of Epstein's victims at the time, something that has not been lost on people. The emails form part of a collection of documents currently under scrutiny by the U.S. Congress, due to be published after victims' identities are redacted.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual abuse or exploitation, please call the National Child Abuse Hotline at 800.422.4453