Sarah Ferguson forced to sell late Queen's £1.5m gift as it was unable to use it

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Sarah Ferguson's marriage to Prince Andrew ended in May 1996, but before this, the Duchess of York was gifted an extremely generous gift from the late Queen.

Despite breaking away from the Firm, Sarah remained close to her mother-in-law and after the monarch's heartbreaking death in September 2022, the Duchess shared a poignant tribute to her 'second mother', reports the Mirror.In a heartfelt tribute to Queen Elizabeth, she wrote: "You were a wonderful friend, a mentor, a second mother to me and grandmother to my daughters who share so much of your courage and heart.

You will always be loved and missed by our family and our nation."Despite Prince Andrew and Sarah's divorce finalising in 1996, Sarah's bond with the Queen remained, with the monarch purchasing a £1.5 million home in Surrey for Sarah to live in with Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.However, despite the Queen's generosity being an obvious support from her former mother-in-law, Sarah was never able to use the property and was forced to sell the stunning mansion.

The lavish seven-bedroom Surrey property - known as Birch Hall - was intended for Beatrice and Eugenie to live in with their mother, and for them to stay in when they were older.However, Sarah reportedly refused to move into the home as she would be unable to keep up with the huge maintenance costs, meaning that the home stood empty for two years before it was finally sold in 1999 for £1.5 million.Prince Andrew and Sarah have maintained a close relationship - still living together at Royal Lodge in Windsor.