While King Charles is hosting his ‘biggest ever’ family Christmas in Sandringham, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson are set for a very lonely day 130 miles away in Windsor.
The beleaguered duke has agreed to skip the annual Christmas festivities at the Norfolk estate and the King’s pre-Christmas lunch in London following counselling from his loyal ex-wife as controversy rages over his links to a ‘Chinese spy’.
Last week it was revealed that a ‘close confidant’ of the Duke, 64, Yang Tengbo, was an alleged Chinese spy – who had been banned from entering the UK after an investigation by MI5, with King Charles said to be ‘furious’.
Last year marked Fergie’s first Christmas with the royals in 30 years – but this year she’s given up the honour in order to stay with her ex-husband.
And as their daughters Princess Beatrice, 36, and Princess Eugenie, 34, are set to spend the day with their in-laws, Fergie and Andrew are certainly set for a quieter Christmas than they’d expected.
It is understood that the couple will be spending the day in their Grade II-listed home, the increasingly crumbling Royal Lodge, in Windsor where they live together despite divorcing almost 20 years ago.
With the rest of the family up in Sandringham, and Beatrice and Eugenie elsewhere, the ex-couple may only have the company of their dogs, which include the late Queen’s corgis.
‘Sarah is tremendously loyal and I think it unlikely she will want to leave his side, especially now he is so down,’ a family friend previously told the Mail.
It means that they will skip royal family Christmas traditions, such as the annual walk to St Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas Day and the gift exchange on Christmas Eve in the White Room. They will also miss parlour games, charades and the Boxing Day shoot.
By contrast, Fergie and Andrew could be home alone at the crumbling Lodge, where Andrew has a legal right to remain until 2078.
There, they could walk the corgis and take part in a considerably smaller gift exchange, while Beatrice spends time with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and Eugenie does the same with Jack Brooksbank.
However, Royal Biographer Ingrid Seward hinted that Fergie is unlikely to spend the day alone, telling The Telegraph: ‘I cannot possibly see Fergie sitting alone at Royal Lodge.
‘She has lots of friends and family and would want to be with them. Andrew possibly wouldn’t mind. He would sit there in front of the TV, but Sarah would organise something with Beatrice.’
The £30million 30-room estate sitting on a whopping 90 acres of land will likely feel very lonely.
Prince Andrew’s mansion has fallen into disrepair, with cracks and mould appearing on the outside walls.
Crumbling paintwork, cracks, and black mould can be seen on the outside walls where inside his beloved mother once roamed with her sister Margaret as a young Princess Elizabeth.
Andrew, who remains an outcast from public life amid the fallout from his relationship with peadophile Jeffrey Epstein, has spent nearly £7million carrying out extensive renovations and repairs to the property.
Meanwhile in Sandringham, Charles is set to host his biggest ever family Christmas, with Prince William having already revealed he will be spending December 25 with 45 people at Sandringham.
The big day kicks off with the monarch dining on a personal breakfast, before the whole family gets together to head over to St Mary Magdalene Church for the 11am service.
After that, the royal family’s Christmas Day looks a lot like other families’ December 25 – filled with food at every turn.
The royals will dine on delicacies such as ox tongue and stuffed boar’s head; but the classic Christmas dinner is also observed as the royals eat roast turkey with all the trimmings.
Later on there’s much fun to be had during the unboxing of a royal Fortnum and Mason Christmas hamper containing organic jams, chutneys and other tasty treats.
After lunch and a spot of more fun, it’s time for the family to watch the monarch’s Christmas message on television, followed by a supper of roasted hams and boar’s head.
Ending the day is a Christmas boogie as the palace’s staff will meet for an evening of disco and drinks for the rest of the night.
Prince Andrew and Fergie have been living together for 16 years as the ‘happiest divorced couple’.
Andrew moved into the royal lodge in 2004, with Fergie also using it as her base in the UK since 2008, later saying they have ‘afternoon tea’ together almost every day.
In an interview with the Mail in 2018, she said: ‘We sit round the table and have afternoon tea together. It’s a very important part of our lives.
Andrew has already been stripped of holding any public role or patronage over his links with disgraced paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and accusations – strongly denied – of sexual assault.
In 2011 he was also forced to quit his role as an international trade ambassador over concerns about his links to controversial figures, riling of diplomats and lavish trips.
The one thing other than his home (and unusable HRH title) that remains as a vestige of his former life is Andrew’s membership of the historic Order of the Garter, founded by Edward III in 1348 and inspired by the legendary knights of the round table.
In an interview at the weekend, Sarah likened herself to being a ‘carer for a sad man’, and also spoke of her love for the King and his kindness towards her.
Fergie was radiant as she joined the royals for their annual Christmas walkabout last December for the first time in 30 years – following the couple’s high profile divorce in 1996.
Following her infamous toe-sucking scandal in 1992, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugene’s mother was banned from the attending the royal occasion by Prince Philip.
But King Charles softened that approach last year and invited her to join the family at Sandringham for the first time in decades, though she didn’t join them for church.
She was, however, among the stars of last year’s walkabout – as the Duchess accepted bouquets of flowers from well-wishers lining the road outside the St Mary Magdalene Church.
Fergie, who was dressed in a gorgeous emerald green coat, appeared in high spirits as she laughed and joked with onlookers during last year’s walkabout – seen as a sign of Andrew and Sarah’s gradual rehabilitation within the monarchy.
Prince Andrew’s latest controversy – following the intense scrutiny over his tied to Epstein – has thrown a spanner in the works, as Fergie finds herself out in the cold again.
It is a sacrifice she seems willing to make for the greater good of the Royal Family, with Fergie recently admitting she wishes she could ‘do more’ for Queen Camilla in an interview with The Sunday Times.
Speaking about her relationship with the Queen, Fergie said: ‘Queen Camilla was close friends with Mum, which is why we’re so close now. That’s why it’s so big that the Queen and I get on now.
‘It’s rather nice, and she reminds me of Mum. I admire the extraordinary support she’s giving this country. I want to do as much for the Queen as possible. I wish they’d ask me to do more.’
Sarah also vowed not to ‘let Andrew down’ in the interview that was conducted before the disgraced royal’s ties to Mr Tengbo surfaced.
Tengbo – who denies being a spy or doing anything illegal – was so close to Andrew that he visited Buckingham Palace twice, and entered St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle.
He was even authorised to act on Andrew’s behalf to seek investors in China.
Speaking prior to the latest allegations against Andrew, Sarah professed her undying support for her ex-husband, revealing that she is currently looking after him and ‘won’t let him down’.
In the joint interview given with her sister Jane, she confessed: ‘When Jane left for , I became a carer for Dad. I was left to look after a sad man, which is sort of what I’m doing now.’
Reflecting on their wedding day at Westminster Abbey in 1986, Sarah said the love that was between them then is ‘still with us today’, adding: ‘I won’t let him down.
‘He supports me as much as I support him. He’s supported me through thick and thin, not just marriage or divorce. We agree on the three Cs – communication, compromise, compassion.’