Homecoming seems to have become a trend among members of the British royal family. Following the unexpected return of Harry and Meghan, it is now Sarah Ferguson who appears to take up the Sussexes’ mantle and return to British soil. The former Duchess of York left the country ruled by Charles III in February, when she was forced to leave Royal Lodge, the residence she shared with her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The Sun has been responsible for conveying this information, stating that Ferguson will settle in a private estate on the outskirts of London with rent costing around £10,000 per month, the equivalent of about €11,700. As for when the move will take place, there are no exact dates yet, though the outlet claims it could happen next week, taking advantage of the media buzz triggered by the realm’s youngest child to pass unnoticed.
To understand the significance of her return, we need to know why she left. For this, we must go back to October 2025, when Charles III announced that he stripped his brother Andrew, Sarah’s ex-husband, of all royal duties due to his ties to Jeffrey Epstein and the accusations surrounding him. This decision obliged Andrew to vacate his residence, owned by the Royal Household, and with him Sarah Ferguson also had to leave, even though they were no longer married they continued living in the same house.
However, Andrew was not the only one touched by Epstein’s scandal. In addition to the tragedy of losing her home, Sarah became entangled in another uproar, this time triggered by emails between her and Epstein that surfaced and evidenced the close relationship that existed between the criminal and the former duchess. This sequence of events ruined Sarah Ferguson’s image to the point of also sinking her finances, forcing her to close several companies she owned in her name. To complicate things further, in February 2026 Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested at his Sandringham residence on suspicion of misconduct in the exercise of a public office.
Sarah Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, in a stock photo
With all this going on, Sarah Ferguson decided to leave the United Kingdom, although it has been difficult to determine her exact location in the last six months. According to Daily Mail and HELLO!, her first stop was the French Alps, where she spent a few days skiing, before heading to the United Arab Emirates, where a secret reunion with her daughter Eugenie is said to have taken place. Other outlets, however, placed her in Switzerland, at a wellness clinic with an average price of €15,000 per night, and later at a wellness retreat near Donegal.
Nevertheless, this idea of a luxury itinerant life stands in stark contrast to accounts claiming that Sarah Ferguson has been living virtually in ruin since her exile. The only thing we can conclude is that she has managed to successfully stay out of the spotlight, as no one can say with certainty where she has been in recent months.
What does Sarah Ferguson’s return have to do with Harry and Meghan
It is inevitable to compare both stories, and it is, at the very least, striking that in the same month two of the most controversial royal returns are announced. However, the Sussex situation has little to do with Ferguson’s, for Harry and Meghan voluntarily renounced their royal duties in 2020, something they seem to maintain in their return, as they do so as private citizens. The former Duchess of York, for her part, did not freely decide to renounce her title; rather, it was something imposed on her, and she has no choice but to maintain in this new phase of her life.
What does seem to be common to both moves is the same underlying motivation: the need to reconfigure the British royal family. That said, while Harry is expected to seek possible reconciliation with his brother and a closer relationship with his father, Sarah, in practical terms, is no longer a member of the royal family, so her role in this situation remains undefined and we will have to wait for the course of events to see where Sarah positions herself in this new situation.
So far, neither Buckingham Palace nor Sarah Ferguson themselves have issued statements about this imminent transfer. Although all eyes are on the Sussexes, this potential imminent return promises not to stay off the radar of upcoming information, and we will need to stay tuned to learn when the move will occur and, especially, what is the motivation behind this decision.
