'On her own for the first time in nearly two decades': What's next for Sarah Ferguson now Andrew is leaving Royal Lodge

It was 2008 when Sarah Ferguson moved in to Royal Lodge with her ex-husband, the former Prince Andrew.

They had separated in 1992, after six years of marriage, and in 1996 divorced.

Andrew and Fergie had remained close despite the end of their marriage and she moved into Royal Lodge after a fire caused damage to the home she was living in nearby.

Their unusual (for most) living arrangement continued until recently when Buckingham Palace announced Andrew would be leaving the 30-bedroom property, along with the loss of his remaining royal titles.

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, as he is now known, will move out of the Crown Estate property in January.

Ferguson, the palace said, would be making her own arrangements.

The King's younger brother is to relocate to a property on the Sandringham estate, in Norfolk, but it's unknown where Fergie will end up.

Palace aides have made it clear: the King does not have a responsibility for his former sister-in-law, even though they are said to be close.

In December, she told The Sunday Times of King Charles: "I absolutely adore him. He's kind and I love that he still calls me Fergie.

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"Queen Camilla was close friends with mum, which is why we're so close now. Diana was my best friend from the age of 15. Queen Elizabeth was much more my mother than my mother was. I called her Mumma."

Whether or not she wants to continue to live with Andrew, or find separate accommodation, is not known.

According to The Telegraph UK, Andrew and Fergie have been given the green light to live together in the undisclosed property that he'll move into on the Sandringham estate.

However, that is unlikely.

She and Andrew were given the late monarch's two corgis, Muick and Sandy, when she died in 2022. The palace said "the corgis will remain with the family" but did not state whether it would be Andrew or Fergie who would take them.

Andrew once said of living with Fergie years after their marriage ended: "Why can't you be friends with your ex-wife?"

She said of the arrangement: "We dare to be different".

The so-called Andrew problem has been one facing the royal family for at least 15 years now, while Fergie's fall from grace hasn't been as clear cut.

The former duchess has had her fair share of ups and very embarrassing downs during her time in the spotlight, but she's somehow managed to come back from most of them.

This time it's widely believed that Fergie's nine lives are finally over.

She's been reliant on the royal family since her divorce settlement, which included £350,000 in cash, £1.4 million in trust for her daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie and £500,000 towards buying a house.

It was the late Queen Elizabeth II who bought Fergie a house in Surrey to live in after the divorce.

Ferguson was plagued with money troubles of her own making and she often found herself in debt.

In 2011, during the filming of a US reality show, Finding Sarah: From Royalty to the Real World, for which she was paid a reported $300,000 she said: "I am continually on the verge of bankruptcy".

Fergie found money through book deals, commercial agreements with Weight Watchers and Wedgewood, and various other ill-fated schemes.

But it was her involvement in the so-called Fake Sheikh scandal that saw her reputation take one of its biggest hits. An undercover News of the World reporter posed as a businessman during a meeting with Ferguson, who offered access to her former husband, who at the time was Britain's trade ambassador, in exchange for £500,000, saying she did not have a "pot to piss in".

Years later, she turned to Jeffrey Epstein for financial salvation.

In 2010 she asked him in an email: "Is there any chance I could borrow $50 or $100,000 to help get through the small bills that are pushing me over? Had to ask."

She had also accepted £15,000 from Epstein to help pay off a former PA.

Although she said publicly that associating with Epstein had been a "gigantic error of judgment", Ferguson later wrote an email to him "a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family".

That email was the beginning of the end for Ferguson and in September, soon after it was made public, she was dropped from all of her charities and patronages.

Television shows where Fergie once was a guest host have now ended their arrangement with her and it's unlikely her career as a children's author will ever recover.

Two years ago, it appeared King Charles had given Fergie a second change by inviting her to spend Christmas with the royals at Sandringham for the first time since 1992.

In July, she had a seat in the coveted Royal Box at Wimbledon and was with the royals across several days at Royal Ascot.

Now that Andrew has been formally stripped of his royal titles and will soon be vacating Royal Lodge, Fergie is out on her own – without a title and back to her maiden name and also without a home.

Royal Lodge has been the York's family home since Andrew moved there in 2004.

Last year Fergie told The Times: "When I'm in the UK, I'm lucky enough to stay at Royal Lodge. I wouldn't call it my home as that would be presumptuous."

Her ex-husband's banishment from royal duties in 2019 didn't affect Ferguson, rather she found herself welcomed at more family events than she had in years.

Although she has always publicly backed him, it now appears she is firmly distancing herself from Andrew.

His new accommodation will be funded by the King; where Fergie will find the money for her own move is not clear.

Ferguson has a sister, Jane, who lives in Australia but she is unlikely to move Down Under due to the distance from her two daughters and grandchildren, who live in the UK and Portugal.

She has already penned a memoir, in 2011, titled Finding Sarah: A Duchess's Journey to Find Herself.

Perhaps now, with her extensive contacts in the publishing industry and being in need of money to fund a new home, Fergie might find herself a lifeline by writing another.

In December, she said of Andrew: "I would do it all over again, 100 per cent. He's the best, a great man with a great heart, and kind."

She added: "Love conquers all. It's still with us today. I won't let him down. He supports me as much as I support him. He's supported me through thick and thin, not just marriage or divorce."

This time, however, she may not be bound by the same loyalty she once had for Andrew.

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