Re: Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York Pt II

[grandduchessella]

Sarah appeared on the 23rd at a charity event honoring her for her work with children. She said "When I got on that plane from London tonight, I thought, phew, what a heavy day,"...."But when the children's choir came out tonight and I saw their little faces, I turned round to my friend and said, 'You know what, I'm glad I did because it is about the children'," she added. "I learned today about making a difference. Most importantly I learned I hate grown-ups and I love children..."



I keep hearing the press make disparaging remarks about her 'miserly' divorce settlement from Andrew--which is $20,000 year--and how she got screwed over by the RF, unlike Diana. Maybe it was because a) Diana was well-loved b) Diana was the mother to the heir & spare and c) Diana wasn't caught in a sex scandal right during the time the divorce settlement would've been being negotiated!

[Constantinople]

I would correct that quote slightly and say she thinks like a child and loves money

[Kalafrana]

 'The Queen has legal immunity and I think as head of state she has the right to quash a case against her son but that would not look good but she has the right to grant a pardon in a crime and I think if the police understood this, they would be loathe to prosecute Andrew.'

We are talking here about prerogative powers which are exercised by ministers rather than the monarch - formerly the Home Secretary, in recent years the Secretary of State for Justice.

Ann

[Constantinople]

No those are powers retained by the Queen and by most heads of state.

[grandduchessella]

And in the sting video she talks openly about her divorce settlement & her financial troubles: 'I absolutely have not a pot to piss in,' she says during the videotaped sting.

Ingrid Seward is making her 'poor Fergie' case:

"She will make it through this, unless she does something really stupid," Majesty magazine's Ingrid Seward told "Good Morning America." She's got her children. It's just that when you start thinking maybe your children are better off without you," she said, trailing off. "I'm just suggesting that Fergie is a very emotional, fragile girl."

Except she's not a girl! Maybe if somebody really sat her down & gave it to her straight instead of making excuses for her, she'd be better off. I don't think she's a bad person--I actually have a soft spot as she helped trigger my interest in royalty with her wedding--but she makes HORRIBLE decisions and her wounds seem to be almost always self-inflicted.

Seward added "It's just unbelievable that someone of Fergie's intelligence could even consider getting involved in taking money from somebody."



Fergie in NYC today

[Constantinople]

in fact legal cases are brought in the name of the Queen as in Regina versus ....  So the queen must remain above the law or her ability to bring a case against someone would be impared.  Furthermore it is unlikely that she could be induced to bring a case against one of her children so the prospect of Regina versus Prince Andrew is very unlikely but that doesnt mean that he couldnt be investigated and his name blackened.

[CHRISinUSA]

You are both right.  

Yes, the Queen holds those powers, but no, she does not exercise them without the advice of ministers.

Regardless, this particular monarch would not attempt to use her position to shield her son against a potential criminal act he may have committed.  That's the kind of thing a politician would do - but not Elizabeth II.  And THAT is the reason why Britain is so lucky to have her as their Queen.

I just pray that Andrew is as lily white as his mother - and as Sarah claimed that he was in that tape.

[grandduchessella]

From the Daily Mail:

The most high profile is an appearance on Wednesday at the BookExpo America Literary fair to publicise a new series of Helping Hands books for children coping with personal and social issues. After that she plans to fly back to the UK for a face-to-face 'showdown' with her ex-husband.
The couple still live under the same roof at his official residence Royal Lodge, in Windsor Great Park, and could meet as early as Thursday as Andrew has no official engagements scheduled that day.

The Duchess plans to offer to move out as 'penance' for the humiliation she has heaped on him, although sources close to the Prince say he is not minded to make a hasty decision. He is said to be 'apoplectic' over the shadow his former wife's antics have cast over his work as the UK's Special Representative for Trade and Investment, but is understood 'to want to let the dust settle first'. 'He doesn't feel he can make any decisions until he speaks to her himself,' a source said.

'He had the day off on Monday and discussed the issue with those closest to him but wants to have it out with Sarah face to face.' Today he was visiting Cambridge Business Park but would not be drawn on commenting on his reaction to the latest scandal surrounding his wife.

Sarah & Andrew in April when Beatrice ran the marathon

[grandduchessella]

From the Daily Mail--I'm sure this doesn't help her case when pleading poverty to cash-strapped Britons:

"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.

[grandduchessella]

The 50-year-old duchess is also facing a tax investigation after being caught accepting a large cash gift. I hadn't heard about this.

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 the trust funds of her daughters which were funded by the late Queen Mother - the last Duchess of York.

....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.'

[grandduchessella]

Transcript courtesy of the Daily Mail:

FERGIE: I never talk about money ever, but since we've got business hats on I'm going to...
MAZHER MAHMOOD: Sure.
FERGIE: So I said to Andrew, well what do I do because really I think you two could really do some good business together and I think, I think what would happen is that you would. He never makes money because he's ambassador for trade.
MM: Of course, sure.
 FERGIE: So he wouldn't want to.
MM: No of course, no, no.
FERGIE: But I can. So he would ... introduce you to whoever, but it wouldn't be about HIM it would be about ME ... I could bring you great business. I'd like to think that if I, for example, if I introduced you to...
MM: Andrew for example?
FERGIE: Andrew for example... and he opened up doors for you which you would never possibly do. Then, depending if it was a very big deal with I don't know, I can't imagine, then each deal you and I discuss the percentage of it ... Andrew said to me, 'Tell him £500,000'. He knows that he's had to underwrite me up to now because I've got no money. So if you want to meet him in your business, look after me and he'll look after you ... you'll get it back tenfold.
Told the fake sheik has the $40,000 in $20 bills at his nearby flat, the duchess then promises him a kiss upon payment. As conversation wanders, she tells the undercover man how her daughter Princess Beatrice recently completed the London marathon. Mahmood says he regrets not sponsoring her...
FERGIE: 'No, you're sponsoring the mother!'
After the News of the World man pays the dinner bill of £223.25 plus £50 tip, the pair travel in a limousine to what he claims is his flat in Mayfair.
FERGIE: I'm a complete aristocrat. Love that don't you? I love it. It's tremendously fabulous. But I've never admitted that to anyone by the way!
Sitting on the sofa sipping wine, she asks that one per cent of profits from any deals resulting from their arrangement should go to her charity for new schools in Asia. But then she returns to her favourite subject - her own kickback ...
FERGIE: ...Next! On to the next thing, £500,000, when you can, to me ... open doors.
MM: It would be Prince Andrew?
FERGIE: Yeah.

MM: Is that a deal?
FERGIE: Yeah (shakes hands firmly with the fake sheik, staring straight into his eyes).
MM: But I've got to give you $40,000.
FERGIE: Yeah.
MM: Which I've got now as a deposit. Which is in my safe. But how am I going to give it to you? I haven't got a bag.
Duchess makes 'gimme' gesture with her left hand, opening and closing her fist as she beckons with her fingers to show she wants the cash ...
As the fake sheik produces the wads of cash from a safe, she gasps: 'Oh my God, you're a genius!', then sits staring at the pile of notes on a table in front of her, rubbing her eyes in apparent joyous disbelief.
FERGIE: Yeah OK but then if you want to go and do a big deal with Andrew, then that's the big one.
MM: I do. Of course. OK, no, of course. So you need 500,000 in pounds...
FERGIE: But that's in wire transfer.

MM: That has to be in wire transfer, I mean obviously.
FERGIE: (smoking cigarette) That's a wire transfer that's completely above board. And that goes straight to wire transfer.
MM: Who do we send that to?
 FERGIE: You send it to the bank account that I tell you to send it to.
MM: If you give me the bank account details I'll arrange that, no problem at all.
FERGIE: (waving hands expansively) Then that, is then like, then you open up all the channels whatever you need, whatever you want, and then that's what and then you meet Andrew and that's fine. And that's, that's when you really open up whatever you want (her bank account, she adds, is with HSBC). And as Andrew said, 'Listen, if he's going to be kind enough to want to play, then Andrew will play'.
MM: Let's play!
FERGIE: And he (Andrew) says, 'Let's play, we'll play' as long as it's nothing to do with him... But you will be his friend. I will listen to the friendship talk between you two. And then I do it.
FERGIE: You two talk.
FERGIE:Then I activate... he meets the most amazing people. And he just throws them my way.
MM: He throws them your way, fantastic. Well, and you throw them my way.
MM: OK.
MM: Right.
FERGIE: I listen.

MM: OK.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1280744/Sarah-Fergusons-500k-cash-access-scandal-Fergie-tries-brave-face.html#ixzz0oyfwyPtZ

[Constantinople]

The more I examine his connections to Kazakstan and the ruling family who have basically pillaged their own country, I fear the likelihhood that Prince Andrew is lily white is becoming more and more remote.  

And i would suggest it would not be beyond the Queen to use her powers to save her children from criminal prosecution although she would probably defer to moral suasion first and I am sure that some form of legal immunity might extend to the immediate members of the royal family.

[mcdnab]

Firstly I am no great fan of Sarah,Duchess of York BUT this story is nothing more than entrapment pure and simple and had a police officer behaved in this manner it would never get to court. The paper involved is hardly known for its hard hitting journalism and whilst in the past its "fake sheik" has exposed some dodgy deals this is very different. He held out a fistful of cash to a woman known to have serious financial problems after treating her to a nice meal and a bucket of wine. Poor judgement yes but certainly nothing criminal with no evidence that she's done anything before to even warrant this kind of sting operation.
Had the Palace wanted to avoid this sort of thing and Sarah's continual financial problems then they should have ensured that in her divorce she was provided with enough income even if she couldn't be trusted with any hard cash. The trouble is you can't cast someone adrift and no matter how sensible or not the individual after occupying the position in life she held as Andrew's wife it is exceptionally difficult to go and get a proper job.
Of course it would be much simpler if we started to limit the HRH and the Royal roles of those not in direct succession making it clear that in those circumstances those individuals would not receive any civil list allowances, would not be able to occupy official Royal residences and in return would be able to pursue their own careers and would not undertake royal duties

[Douglas]

I tend to concur with Mcdnab on some well stated points.  I would expect that the  authorities will drag their feet on this case as long as possible in the hopes that this will blow over.  I agree with Kalafrana that the police would be extremely loathe to investigate, let alone charge Prince Andrew or his former wife with any wrong doing.  The danger of this backfiring on them is too great.

As I said before, The Queen would stop at nothing to keep the RF out of any Law Court.  After all, with the cases I cite in my previous post,  she has a long history of doing just that.  The idea of a member of the RF entering a Law Court under any circumstance is so repugnant to everything she stands for, that she'd rather die than have them or her make any such appearance.

The newspaper should allow Sarah to keep the money.  After all the grief and embarrassment this has caused her, she's earned it.

Hi there Eddie, how ya doin?

Grand Duchess Ella....thanks for the transcripts.   Aren't the royals entertaining?  

[Douglas]

I would think that if she is  to keep the money contained in the computer satchel, she might give a percentage of it to one or more of her charities.   That seemed to be one of her motives for obtaining money anyway.

I think that stings are a very snarky and nasty way for newspapers or even the police to entrap people into committing a crime or other so-called wrongs.  I wonder if the reporter is proud of what he did.