Alert – Sarah Ferguson sends her critics a message with her footwear after bombshell book that Royals tried to ban accused both her and Andrew of cheating

Sarah Ferguson has sent a message to critics amid infidelity rumours by wearing shoes bearing the Royal Family’s unofficial motto: ‘Never complain, never explain.’

The Duchess of York chose to wear the custom blue velvet loafers with ‘Never Complain’ on one foot and ‘Never Explain’ on the other for an event in London.

Fergie was meeting a group of content creators at the exclusive Mayfair hotel Claridge’s where she signed copies of her 2021 novel, Her Heart for a Compass.

The group were from the Amazon Influencer Programme, which gives social media influencers a storefront to earn commission on items they recommend to followers.

The event happened on July 30, two days before the Mail began serialising Andrew Lownie’s bombshell new book ‘Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York’.

The ex-wife of Prince Andrew posted about the event on Instagram yesterday with a series of photographs of her posing with the group – in which the shoes are visible.

She wrote in a caption: ‘Her Heart for a Compass was always meant to be a bridge between hearts, stories and generations. Being able to sign copies and speak with these incredible creators brought me right back to why I wrote it in the first place.’

The post was uploaded just hours after an extraordinary extract from Mr Lownie’s book about Fergie was published in which she was dubbed the ‘Duchess of Greed’. 

Sarah Ferguson arrives at Claridge’s hotel in London for the event with influencers on July 30

She wore shoes bearing the Royal Family’s unofficial motto: ‘Never complain, never explain’

Sarah was meeting a group from the Amazon Influencer Programme at Claridge’s in London

The 65-year-old has worn the Del Toro X Rotten Roach shoes at least once before, during a night out at Oswald’s private members’ club in Mayfair in April 2022.

Fergie is known for bold fashion statements and is often noted for her distinctive style in the Eighties including shoulder pads, puffball skirts and polka dot outfits. 

It comes as Mr Lownie’s new book claimed Fergie had extramarital affairs with American Steve Wyatt and his friend John Bryan.

There were also allegations that Andrew slept with ‘more than a dozen women’ during the first year of their marriage.

The author wrote: ‘Friends say Andrew accepted his wife’s infidelities and that his marriage was over. 

‘He would dine alone off a tray in his study while Sarah and one of her lovers ate together elsewhere in the house.’

‘Sarah, however, was jealous of any of Andrew’s girlfriends. 

‘She wanted to remain ‘The One,’ with all the perks that brought, and girlfriends were invariably despatched through a mixture of charm and ruthlessness.’

The book also looked at Fergie’s alleged exploitation of royal status to make money, claims over her dubious ‘charity work’ and huge debts.

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson arriving at St George’s Chapel in Windsor in February 2024

Among the revelations are that she used to demand a whole side of beef, a leg of lamb and a roast chicken every night; her butler got up at 4.30am to put her watercress on ice; and she spent £25,000 in just one hour in Bloomingdales.

Mr Lownie has claimed the royals tried to ban his book, saying he received letters ‘threatening to sue me, before a word of the manuscript had been seen’. 

Andrew and Fergie divorced in 1996 but still live together at Royal Lodge in Windsor.

Fergie previously said her Mills & Boon novel’ Her Heart for a Compass’ was a ‘sweeping, fabulous, historical novel’ set in the 1870s and that her heroine Lady Margaret is ‘a very rebellious lady’.

The book, which draws on Fergie’s own life journey and incorporates research into her ancestry, is a fictional account of the life of the duchess’s great-great-aunt Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas-Scott.

Sarah co-wrote the book with Marguerite Kaye, who has written more than 50 novels for Mills & Boon set in a variety of historical eras.

Mr Lownie’s new book will be published by William Collins on August 14 for £22.

To order a copy for £18.70 (offer valid to 16/08/25; UK P&P free on orders over £25) go to www.mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937.