Sarah Ferguson’s secret hideout faces uncertain future

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has laid noticeably low in the months since a swirl of negative press and attention. But the former royal apparently found sanctuary in the Swiss Alps – in a multi-million-dollar villa owned by her late lover, the Formula 1 hospitality king Paddy McNally.

A High-Altitude Hideaway from Global Cameras Verbier is a low-key resort – The Duchess, who recently made her exit from Royal Lodge following a spell overseas, retreated to McNally’s £15 million chalet, christened “Les Gais Lutins” (which can translate to “the happy pixies”).

The spacious Alpine compound is ideal for avoiding the attention of the world’s press; McNally also owned several smaller buildings nearby and has been reported to cater a wide range of European businesses for decades.

“This is the perfect retreat at that time. It’s quiet and beautiful; it gives you privacy without being totally isolated. It’s an environment you can lie low in without being a hermit,” a source associated with the Alpine region told sources. “The area is remarkably quiet and beautiful- a perfect location for a high profile person to keep a low profile in times of heightened press focus.”

The Forties-Long Friendship It was a friendship in both times, from the 1980s to just recently The 88-year-old hospitality guru, whose Formula 1 operations alone are said to be worth around £600 million (through the organization of exclusive F1 hospitality programs for events through Allsport Management and Paddy McNally’s renowned Paddock Club events).

He dated Ferguson prior to her royal wedding, and throughout their relationship she spoke of the savvy businessman as “both friend, confidante, father figure and mentor combined.”

Now that McNally passed away in July of this year (2026) at age 88 in Switzerland, the fate of the Verbier estate – not to mention his many other European properties – rests with the executors of his vast real estate holdings.

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In the early stages of Ferguson’s marriage to Prince Andrew in 1986, her then brother in law, Prince Charles, and even current monarch King Charles III themselves are rumored to have given Ferguson a series of loans which enabled her to survive throughout much of her marital period.