Sarah ‘Fergie’ Ferguson’s Friends Fear ‘She Might Harm Herself’ After Ex-Prince Andrew Arrest

First Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his titles. Then, the ex-prince was asked to leave his longtime home of Royal Lodge. Finally, on Thursday, February 19—his 66th birthday—he spent 11 hours in police custody after he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

So how have those closest to the disgraced royal been dealing with his downfall—which stems from his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein?

His ex-wife Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson, for one, is “in constant tears and very distressed,” according to a source who spoke to the Daily Mail. The 66-year-old former duchess, who married Andrew in 1986 and lived with him at Royal Lodge for decades following their divorce in 1996, has been “laying low with friends” since they were both made to vacate their royal residence recently. (Andrew moved to a home on Sandringham Estate.)

“People have been talking about [Ferguson] secretly getting out abroad but that would involve planning and money and stealth and she hasn’t got any of those things,” said the source, who noted that Ferguson “is not in a good place” and called her “a very delicate human.”

The source stressed the gravity of the situation: “We have all spent a lot of time with her and we all care for her. We are all worried that she might harm herself, it is that bad.”

The former Duke and Duchess of York are the parents of Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who a source told the Daily Mail are holding “crisis talks” about what to do next. Both Andrew and Ferguson have denied any wrongdoing, with the latter previously stating via a representative that she was “taken in” by Epstein’s “lies.”