Sarah Ferguson forced to sell late Queen’s £1.5m gift as it was unable to use it
The late Queen Elizabeth gifted her former daughter-in-law the generous gift when she was still married to Prince Andrew. Sarah Ferguson’s marriage to Prince Andrew ended in May 1996, but before this, the Duchess of York was gifted an extremely generous gift from the late Queen.
Despite breaking away from the Firm, Sarah remained close to her mother-in-law, and after the monarch’s heartbreaking death in September 2022, the Duchess shared a poignant tribute to her ‘second mother’, reports the Mirror.
In a heartfelt tribute to Queen Elizabeth, she wrote: “You were a wonderful friend, a mentor, a second mother to me and grandmother to my daughters who share so much of your courage and heart. You will always be loved and missed by our family and our nation.”
Despite Prince Andrew and Sarah’s divorce in 1996, Sarah’s bond with the Queen remained, with the monarch purchasing a £1.5 million home in Surrey for Sarah to live in with Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
However, despite the Queen’s generosity being an obvious support from her former mother-in-law, Sarah was never able to use the property and was forced to sell the stunning mansion.
The lavish seven-bedroom Surrey property – known as Birch Hall – was intended for Beatrice and Eugenie to live in with their mother, and for them to stay in when they were older.
However, Sarah reportedly refused to move into the home as she would be unable to keep up with the huge maintenance costs, meaning that the home stood empty for two years before it was finally sold in 1999 for £1.5 million.
Prince Andrew and Sarah have maintained a close relationship – still living together at Royal Lodge in Windsor.
Their setup may appear strange to some, but the pair have previously been dubbed as ‘the happiest divorced couple in the world’ having raised their children together, while still enjoying family holidays and days out.
Many royal experts have praised the former couple over the years, with Ingrid Seward, the Editor of Majesty Magazine, previously saying that Beatrice and Eugenie “love that their parents get on so well”.
In a rare interview with The Telegraph, Sarah opened up on their relationship and didn’t make any effort to squash rumors that the pair may remarry one day.
She told the paper: “All I can say is that we’re happy with the way we are right now.
“We always say we are the most contented divorced couple in the world. We’re divorced to each other, not from each other. We are co-parents who support each other and believe that family is everything.
“I’m proud of the job we have done together in bringing up our children and sustaining a strong family unit. Our bywords are communication, compromise, and compassion.”
And in a previous interview with the Daily Mail from 2018, she again gave details on her uniquely close relationship with the disgraced royal. She said: “July 23, 1986, was the happiest day of my life. Andrew is the best man I know. What he does for Britain is incredible; no one knows how hard he works for his country. My duty is to him. I am so proud of him. I stand by him and always will.
“The way we are is our fairy tale. Although we are not a couple, we really believe in each other. The Yorks are a united family. We’ve shown it. You saw it at the wedding [Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s wedding].
“We stand up for each other, fight for each other. We’re totally respectful of each other’s position and thoughts and we listen to each other. Our children listen to us, too. And we sit around the table and have afternoon tea together. It’s a very important part of our lives.