It’s now been over two months since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest in February; the same month his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson was further dragged into The Epstein Files following the release of new emails between her and the convicted child sex offender.
And with Sarah, 66, remaining in hiding in Austria and Andrew, 66, lying low at Marsh Farm on the Sandringham Estate, everything appeared to have gone quiet.
Until now, that is, as we’re told that Sarah is set to forge ahead with her explosive tell-all, as a source warns it will be ‘extremely savage’ in a bid to clear the shadow of scandal that has followed her in recent months.
Our insider says ‘It’s becoming abundantly clear that her tell-all will be extremely savage when it comes to Andrew and what she feels he put her through. She will probably be quite loath to go too hard on the royals, but in her view Andrew’s fair game because he’s already been completely cut off and excommunicated so there won’t be any backlash.
‘Sarah feels totally justified in writing this tell-all and throwing Andrew under the bus. She says the more she reflects on everything that’s happened, the more she believes that she was put in difficult and often damaging situations by Andrew and left to deal with it all on her own.’
Meanwhile, Andrew also appears to be hitting back, with reports last week revealing how the Home Office had feared that the former Prince, who has denied any wrongdoing, could sue them if he were forced to help the FBI with their enquiries over Epstein.
Estranged from the Royal Family and living in semi-isolation in Norfolk as he remains under investigation for suspicion of misconduct in public office, we’re now told that Andrew could be set to deliver a set of demands to Sarah, as the source says the disgraced former Duke is adamant that he wants both ‘control’ over her book, and a healthy cash injection from the sales, too.
The insider says, ‘Andrew has been threatening to sue everyone lately, Sarah included. He’s saying if she goes ahead with this and doesn’t give him final approval over what’s included, he’ll stick his lawyers on her and the publishers and get an injunction.
‘He doesn’t just want control over what goes in the book either, he wants a huge chunk of whatever she gets paid. If she doesn’t agree it could get very difficult for her to actually sign any deal if legal get involved and scare off the publishers.’
In happier times. Sarah and Andrew share daughters Princess Beatrice [right] and Princess Eugenie [left] ©Getty Images
However, with so much on the line when it comes to how his future will pan out; with the King still said to be at pains to tend to his brother’s needs from afar and Prince William reportedly wanting nothing to do with his uncle, we’re told Andrew still fears that Sarah could cause yet more damage to his already heavily tarnished public reputation.
The insider says, ‘Beneath all his bluster there’s a real panic about what she might actually say, because if anyone knows his secrets it’s Sarah and her whole narrative thus far has been that she’s just another victim, that he’s completely to blame.
‘The last thing he needs is more damage to his reputation, it’s no wonder he’s beside himself over this.’
Seven months after being sensationally stripped of her Duchess title alongside Andrew and being unceremoniously booted out of Royal Lodge, Sarah emerged from hiding earlier this month as it was revealed she’s been licking her wounds at a wellness resort in the Austrian mountains, costing £2000 a night.
But it’s clear from her latest sojourn that continuing to live her life in the lap of luxury doesn’t come cheaply, and earlier this year it was claimed that Sarah had told friends that she ‘needs money’.
Obsessed with celeb outfits, lifestyle tips and the latest showbiz news? Click here to keep Closer Online at the top of your Google feed.
Friends are said to be ‘shocked’ that the once happy couple have ‘turned on each other’ ©Getty Images
Last month she had reportedly attempted to sell the rights to her book to US publishers for a cool £2 million, with further reports claiming that she had even been considering working on a TV show in which she helps scientists clone the late Queen’s corgis – a claim a spokesperson for Sarah has denied.
Now we’re told that despite reported initial rejections from US publishers, Sarah is determined to bag a deal either in the UK or elsewhere, and the source says the former Duchess is ‘not in the least bit afraid’ of any pushback from Andrew.
The insider says, ‘Sarah doesn’t seem to be the least bit concerned about him suing her, she says anything he tries to do legally to stop her will only drive more interest towards her side of the story so her attitude towards him right now is very much ‘bring it on,’ she’s totally defiant.
‘She insists she will be telling the truth so there’s no way for him to win any sort of libel case and she never signed any sort of NDA so she really can’t see any real legal option that he has. From her point of view, he’s doing nothing but making empty threats. She says she’s not the least bit afraid of him and will welcome any chance to see him in court.’
This animosity is a far cry from just three years ago when Sarah described Andrew – with whom she shares daughters Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 35 – as a ‘wonderful, very kind, and a very good man’. The former couple also lived together for almost two decades at Windsor’s Royal Lodge.
And while it was widely reported that Sarah would be set to find her own home following their eviction in September, the source says this current alleged bitterness between them is a twist that even their inner circle hadn’t expected.
‘It’s shocking for people that have known them for years to see how badly they’ve now turned on each other. There was a point not that long ago where they were talking about sticking together and even sitting down and doing some sort of tell-all together,’ the insider says.
‘But Andrew is now all about saving his own skin, he’s got to think about protecting what little stability he has left, especially when it comes to his living situation and staying in Charles’ good graces and Sarah is fighting for survival. Unless something drastically changes this is going to be the ugliest battle the royals have seen in many, many years.’
WATCH: EXCLUSIVE: Leanne Amaning and Scott van-der-Sluis chat with Closer about their All Stars experience