‘Phew, I’ve had a heavy day’: Fergie tries to put on a brave face over £500,000 cash-for-access scandal at star-studded charity dinner
Sarah Ferguson attempted to put on a brave face over the £500,000 cash-for-access scandal last night, telling a charity awards dinner: ‘Phew… I’ve had a heavy day.’
The ‘penniless’ duchess was at a black tie reception in Los Angeles having flown in from the South of France where she had been a guest at Naomi Campbell’s 40th birthday party.
She was at the top table alongside Simon Cowell, who was receiving an award for his humanitarian work, and his fiancée Mezhgan Hussainy.
Meanwhile Prince Andrew was today preparing to hold crisis talks with the Queen after his ex-wife was exposed offering access to him for £500,000.
The duchess, said to be ‘devastated and regretful’ at being secretly filmed by an undercover reporter posing as a businessman, looked pale and tearful as she arrived at Los Angeles airport.
But she had changed and looked refreshed for last night’s dinner. She avoided the red carpet and was ushered in through a back door by security men to pick up an award from the Variety charity for her work with underprivileged children.
Once she was inside an official photographer for the event was only allowed to take pictures of the Duchess while she was on stage.
She told the audience: ‘Thank you all so very much. When I got on that flight today I thought “Phew, I’ve had a heavy day”.’
And to roars of laughter, she added: ‘I learned today about making a difference. Most importantly I learned I hate grown-ups and I love children.’
The reception was held at LA’s five star Renaissance Hollywood Hotel. She had been expected to stay there but cancelled her reservation after the scandal broke and decided to stay with friends instead.
The duchess received the Catherine Variety Sheridan Award, which is given each year by the charity to someone for their philanthropic work with underprivileged and disabled children.
And the master of ceremonies for the event paid tribute to her for attending given the crisis unfolding around her.
He announced to the audience, which included four former Miss Worlds, that she had told him earlier: ‘Whatever else, I will not let down the children.’
But several people involved with Variety said she should use the event to apologise publicly.
Andrew Buskard, director of events for a youth section of the charity in Vancouver, Canada, said before the speech: ‘Yes, I think that would be fitting. The timing, it’s unfortunate. But we are just glad she’s here. I hope all the attention brought to this event isn’t negative. She’s here for a good cause.
‘I hope people realise she is here for the charity. Maybe she could make a light joke, maybe it’s too early to joke.
‘But definitely a comment would be appreciated because it will be the elephant in the room.’
The duchess had been filmed by the News Of The World pocketing $40,000 (£27,600) in cash as a down payment for her grubby scheme to give access to her former husband Prince Andrew.
She was apparently unaware that she had been the victim of a sting until the story broke at around 1am on Sunday as she partied with A-list stars at the Cannes film festival.
She and elder daughter Beatrice, 21, had joined guests including Jennifer Lopez, Grace Jones and Eva Herzigova for Naomi Campbell’s birthday.
An insider at the exclusive Eden Roc hotel in Cap D’Antibes told the Daily Mirror: ‘They were dancing along to the Black Eyed Peas, who were performing live.
‘They were waving their arms and singing “Tonight’s gonna be a good night” and looked like they were having a brilliant time. Fergie went over to wish Naomi a happy birthday, but then she and Bea suddenly disappeared around 1am. Nobody knew why.’
It appears this was when an aide broke the news to her that she had been exposed in the News Of The World.
The revelations appeared to be taking their toll on the duchess as she flew in to Los Angeles. On the flight a fellow passenger said she appeared ‘very, very upset’.
She looked red-eyed and stunned as she arrived in the U.S. city on an American Airlines flight from Heathrow to attend an awards ceremony where she was honoured for her work with disadvantaged children.
With her face bare of make-up and her hair scraped back in a bun she was barely recognisable as she walked through arrivals to be met by an American woman who attempted to shield her from the waiting press.
The 50-year-old, who wore a cream coloured trench with long green scarf, did not respond to questions about the scandal and was escorted from Terminal Four at Los Angeles International Airport around 2.15pm (10.15pm UK time).
Instead she was quickly ushered into the back of a black Mercedes town car where she looked close to tears and was seen nervously picking at her fingernails
Prince Andrew arrived back from a visit to Singapore last night as his ex-wife offered to quit his royal residence in the wake of the scandal.
The duchess’ offer to move out of the royal residence presents her ex-husband with a dilemma. If he accepts Sarah’s offer to move out, he has no idea where she will go or who will pay for her accommodation.
There is also the risk that, outside the royal fold, she could be a loose cannon causing further mayhem.
If she stays, he faces the humiliation of being under the same roof as a woman who has, not for the first time, brought shame on the Royal Family.A Palace spokesman said Andrew ‘categorically denies any knowledge of any meeting’ between the duchess and a reporter from the News of the World.He was said to have spoken briefly on the phone to his ex-wife.And in a statement, Fergie apologised for a ‘serious lapse of judgment’ and admitted her financial situation is ‘under stress’. The Queen was dismayed by the conduct of her former daughter-in-law and the embarrassment it has heaped on her grandchildren Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. The first item on the agenda of the talks with Andrew is whether the duchess’s offer to quit Royal Lodge in Windsor should be accepted.’We have been here so many times before with the duchess,’ said one senior royal insider. ‘She’s offered to leave before but she never goes.’
The 50-year-old duchess is also facing a tax investigation after being caught accepting a large cash gift.Prince Charles, long a critic of the former Sarah Ferguson, is appalled by her latest errors of judgment. And, highly unusually, a government minister has publicly criticised the duchess, breaking the convention that controversies relating to the Royal Household should be above party politics.Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone, a Liberal Democrat, said Fergie’s actions appeared ‘shoddy and grubby’. She said: ‘There she is saying “Give me money and I will give you access to Andrew”. It’s really depressing. Lord knows what the Queen thinks.’In her taped indiscretions, the duchess claimed to be living off the trust funds of her daughters which were funded by the late Queen Mother – the last Duchess of York.
Friends of the duchess, who is in LA to receive the Catherine Variety Sheridan Award – presented annually to a person in recognition of his or her philanthropic achievements, primarily with underprivileged and disabled children – admitted she had been ‘stupid and naive’ because of the continuing ‘perilous’ nature of her finances. During the undercover operation, she made a series of outrageous – and potentially damaging –boasts about her influence over Andrew and her relationship with the Royal Family.’It is an appalling breach of trust,’ said a source close to Prince Andrew. ‘His reputation is being put at risk by a woman he still loves and has stood by for many years both emotionally and financially.’The sting was set up by the News of the World’s Mazher Mahmood – the notorious ‘fake sheik’ whose previous victims have included the Countess of Wessex and Princess Michael of Kent – posing as an international businessman.The duchess offered to introduce him to the prince, who works as a UK trade envoy, and boasted that Andrew could help with his international business deals.She was filmed accepting a briefcase containing the $40,000 and boasting: ‘Look after me and he (Andrew) will look after you…….you’ll get it back tenfold. I can open any door you want.’
Last night it was claimed that the duchess had offered to repay the money to the newspaper. But the Labour MP Ian Davidson said: ‘The Inland Revenue should investigate her affairs. Her conduct is absolutely astonishing.’A friend of Fergie said: ‘There are no excuses and she knows it. She was suspicious about the set up but her desperation took over. Andrew will be apoplectic and she knows she will now have to extricate herself from the house and move elsewhere –although God knows where she will go. She hasn’t a penny to her name.’There is no evidence to suggest that Andrew was aware of his ex-wife’s shameless attempts to cash in on his name and reputation or that he would ever have abused his position as the UK’s Special Representative for Trade and Investment.Despite the parlous state of her finances, Fergie has refused to scale back her lavish lifestyle. On Friday, she was pictured drinking wine in the South of France before attending supermodel Naomi Campbell’s 40th birthday party the following day on a yacht.
The Daily Mail
