The Duchess of York has issued an apology for a "serious lapse in judgment" after she was secretly filmed offering to secure access to her former husband, Prince Andrew, in return for £500,000. The footage, obtained by the News of the World, shows Sarah Ferguson meeting an undercover reporter posing as a foreign businessman at a Mayfair apartment.
During the meeting, the duchess is heard promising that payment would "open every door" and said she could arrange a meeting with the prince, who acts as a UK trade envoy. She told the reporter: "Look after me and he'll look after you." The Duke of York has categorically denied any knowledge of the meeting, and the duchess later insisted he was not involved.
In a statement, the duchess said she was "devastated by the situation" and that while her financial difficulties were under stress, that was "no excuse". She added: "I very deeply regret the situation and the embarrassment caused." Her public relations adviser said she had not been informed of the meeting and was horrified at her employer's naivety.
The apology comes amid a long history of misjudgments for the duchess, who has faced financial problems since her divorce from Prince Andrew in 1996. She has previously cleared debts through television commercials and children's books, but her recent US ventures failed, leaving her owing money to American tax authorities.
The undercover reporter, Mazher Mahmood, known as the "fake sheik", has previously exposed other figures, including Sophie, Countess of Wessex, who was caught in a similar sting in 2001. The duchess told the reporter that she and Prince Andrew remained "the happiest divorced couple in the world", and she has been living at his home, Royal Lodge, in Windsor.
