The late Prince Philip once told Sarah Ferguson that she had “let down” the Royal Family following her ‘toe-sucking scandal’. Just five months after her separation from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Sarah was involved in arguably one of the Royal family’s biggest scandals when compromising photographs with her financial advisor were released, which were taken at her holiday villa in St Tropez.
The pictures, which were released by the Mirror at the time, showed them lazing by the pool, with Texan millionaire John Bryan kissing and sucking Sarah’s toes and the arch of her foot. The images were captured with a telephoto lens.
In an extract from the second volume of his memoir released in 2014, royal diarist and historian Kenneth Rose recalled something that Sarah told him about letters that she had received, in particular one that she had got from Philip.
In extracts shared by the Daily Mail, he wrote: “Motor down to see the Duchess of York. I am greeted with shouts of ‘Ken, Ken’ from Beatrice and Eugenie. There is the biggest, richest chocolate cake I have ever seen, and crumpets, sausages, sardines and fish fingers.
“Fergie has both sides of her correspondence with Andrew: when he was away, she wrote to him every day. She also has the letters written to her by the Queen.”
He then shared: “She goes on: ‘I also have Prince Philip’s letters, telling me that I have let down The Firm.
“In one of them, he wrote that he had been reading a book about Edwina Mountbatten [Lord Mountbatten’s wife, notorious for having had many lovers including, allegedly, Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India], and that my conduct reminded him of hers’.”
Sarah previously spoke of her late father-in-law during an episode of the Life’s a Beach podcast in 2023.
She said: “It’s quite interesting. The Duke of Edinburgh used to say, ‘Remember Sarah, you’ve got to be electable but never elected.’ Resonates, right?
“He came across as a very wise man. Very wise. You had to be on your best. If you asked a silly comment, you were certainly told it was a silly comment.” Laughing, she also referred that life with him as her father-in-law was “terrifying”.
