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Sarah Ferguson Set to Return to the UK, Days After Harry and Meghan's Own Homecoming

2026-08-29
Two High-Profile Royal Returns, Days Apart

Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York, is reportedly returning to the United Kingdom after several months spent largely out of public view abroad, a homecoming that lands just days after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also relocated back to Britain with their children. The timing has made for striking parallel headlines: two of the most scrutinized figures connected to the royal family, both stepping back onto British soil within the same short window.

Ferguson, 66, has reportedly been keeping a low profile internationally amid the sustained fallout from her ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the collapse of her ex-husband Prince Andrew's royal standing. According to The Sun, which first reported the story, and PEOPLE, she'll be renting a six-bedroom gated property in the Home Counties surrounding London, at an estimated cost of around $8,000 a month. The property reportedly includes three bathrooms and a "granny annexe," and she could move in "imminently," according to reporting from LBC.

How Ferguson Ended Up Away From the UK

Ferguson's time abroad has traced a fairly winding path over recent months. She was last publicly pictured being driven out of Royal Lodge in Windsor on September 25, 2025, shortly before she and Andrew were formally required to vacate the property, their home of nearly 20 years despite their divorce. She made a brief public appearance at her granddaughter Athena's christening at St James's Palace in December, but largely stayed out of sight afterward.

Reporting has placed her at various points at the Paracelsus Recovery Clinic in Zurich, Switzerland (reportedly costing around £13,000 a day), later in the United Arab Emirates and Dubai, and more recently at wellness retreats in Ireland, including Powerscourt Estate in Wicklow and the Ballyliffin Lodge & Spa in Donegal. Separate reporting from RadarOnline had also floated the possibility she was weighing a move to Australia, where her sister, Jane Ferguson Luedecke, lives, though that appears not to have materialized given the current reports of a UK return instead.

Why She Left in the First Place

The root of Ferguson's extended absence traces back to the resurfacing and expanded release of the so-called Epstein files. In January, the U.S. Department of Justice released a large trove of documents connected to Epstein, including email exchanges in which Ferguson referred to him as a "spectacular and special friend" and "the brother I have always wished for," despite having previously stated publicly that she would "never have anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again." Other correspondence reportedly showed she had planned a 2009 visit to see Epstein in Miami shortly after his release from a 13-month prison sentence.

The fallout was swift and significant. King Charles stripped Andrew of his titles and honors in October 2025 over what was described as "serious lapses of judgment" tied to his Epstein connections. Ferguson lost her own courtesy royal divorcee title and reverted to her maiden surname, and York city councillors voted unanimously to strip her of the Freedom of the City of York specifically over her Epstein links. A charity she'd founded also shut down in the aftermath. Andrew, for his part, was arrested on February 19 in connection with a Thames Valley Police investigation examining whether he improperly shared confidential trade envoy reports with Epstein in 2010, allegations he denies; he has not been charged, and Ferguson has not been accused of any wrongdoing herself.

A Genuine Legal Risk Hanging Over Her Return

It's worth flagging that not all reporting on Ferguson's return has been straightforwardly optimistic about what awaits her. The National Enquirer, citing unnamed police sources, reported that Ferguson could face arrest if she returns to the UK, with one source describing it as "only a matter of time" before "the law intervenes." Other emails cited in that reporting suggested Ferguson had made additional personal remarks to Epstein about her daughter, Princess Eugenie, that have added to the scrutiny. It's worth treating this specific claim with some caution given its sourcing (unnamed police sources relayed through a tabloid), but it reflects a real, unresolved legal cloud hanging over her return that more mainstream outlets like PEOPLE and LBC haven't emphasized as heavily.

Where Andrew Stands Now

Andrew, who goes by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor since losing his royal title, has already relocated to Marsh Farm on the King's Sandringham estate in Norfolk after being forced out of Royal Lodge. He continues to deny any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and under UK law, the specific offense of misconduct in public office that investigators have examined in relation to his conduct as a trade envoy carries a potential life sentence, though again, he has not been charged.

What Comes Next

As of the most recent reporting, Ferguson's return appears to be proceeding, with a property secured and a move described as imminent, but the broader question of whether she faces any formal legal scrutiny herself upon returning remains unresolved and contested across different outlets' reporting. Her return, alongside Harry and Meghan's own homecoming with their children Archie and Lilibet (who are reportedly set to begin school in the UK next month), sets up a notably eventful autumn for a royal family already navigating the sustained reputational fallout from the Epstein revelations.

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