Related News
Duchess of York apologizes over newspaper sting
Source: Agencies |
May 24, 2010, Monday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
BRITAIN'S Duchess of York, caught on camera apparently offering to sell access to her ex-husband, UK trade envoy Prince Andrew, said yesterday she was sorry for her "serious lapse in judgment."
According to footage on the News of the World newspaper's website', Sarah Ferguson appears to ask for US$40,000 in cash and 500,000 pounds (US$718,500) by wire transfer, claiming she could introduce the undercover reporter to the prince.
Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth and fourth in line to the throne "categorically" denied any knowledge of the meeting that took place between the Duchess of York and the News of the World, Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
The Duchess, known as "Fergie," who is no stranger to controversy, said she deeply regretted the sting and admitted her financial situation was "under stress," British media reported.
"I very deeply regret the situation and the embarrassment caused," Ferguson said in a statement.
"It is true that my financial situation is under stress however, that is no excuse for a serious lapse in judgement and I am very sorry that this has happened," she added.
In the tape filmed Tuesday, flame-haired Ferguson, over a glass of red wine and a cigarette, makes it clear that her former husband "never does accept a penny for anything."
The sting is nonetheless likely to cause embarrassment for Andrew, who divorced Ferguson amicably in 1996 after a decade-long marriage, and Britain's austere royal family.
The 50-year-old prince, also known as the Duke of York, acts as Britain's special representative for international trade and investment, augmenting work by the business ministry.
"Five hundred thousand pounds when you can, to me ... open doors," she said in the film the newspaper said was shot at a plush London apartment, before shaking hands with the reporter who had posed as a wealthy businessman.
"Then you open up all the channels whatever you need, whatever you want ... We can do so much."
The newspaper reported Ferguson, whose New York-based promotional company Hartmoor folded last year, saying she was a "complete aristocrat" and that she and Andrew were the "happiest divorced couple in the world."
In an earlier meeting, the newspaper quoted her saying she did not have "a pot to piss in."
ROYAL PROTOCOL
"Fergie" arrived like a breath of fresh air on the sedate royal scene in 1986 as a confident career-minded woman determined to live life to the full.
But she ruffled feathers by refusing to let royal protocol get in the way of a good time and had to get used to unrelenting ribbing at the hands of Britain's royal-obsessed media who never warmed to the jet-setting princess.
She said on the eve of the wedding she was "not the sort of woman who is going to meekly trot along beside her husband."
The couple have two daughters, 21-year-old Beatrice and Eugenie, 20.
A remote descendant of King Charles II, "Fergie" was one of Andrew's childhood playmates and her father Major Ronald Ferguson was polo manager to Prince Charles, heir to the throne. She was herself the child of a broken marriage.
Romance bloomed after Princess Diana, the late wife of heir to the throne Prince Charles, suggested Sarah as an escort for Andrew at the Queen's annual house party.
While Ferguson, 50, never matched Diana's worldwide adoration or fame, she found some consolation in the United States through a variety of television appearances, penning weight loss books and charity work.
The Duchess flew into Los Angeles on Sunday to attend an awards ceremony organized by children's charity Variety and pick up an award for her work with underprivileged children.
But she did not walk the red carpet and entered through a back door, avoiding about a dozen cameras and reporters.
According to footage on the News of the World newspaper's website', Sarah Ferguson appears to ask for US$40,000 in cash and 500,000 pounds (US$718,500) by wire transfer, claiming she could introduce the undercover reporter to the prince.
Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth and fourth in line to the throne "categorically" denied any knowledge of the meeting that took place between the Duchess of York and the News of the World, Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
The Duchess, known as "Fergie," who is no stranger to controversy, said she deeply regretted the sting and admitted her financial situation was "under stress," British media reported.
"I very deeply regret the situation and the embarrassment caused," Ferguson said in a statement.
"It is true that my financial situation is under stress however, that is no excuse for a serious lapse in judgement and I am very sorry that this has happened," she added.
In the tape filmed Tuesday, flame-haired Ferguson, over a glass of red wine and a cigarette, makes it clear that her former husband "never does accept a penny for anything."
The sting is nonetheless likely to cause embarrassment for Andrew, who divorced Ferguson amicably in 1996 after a decade-long marriage, and Britain's austere royal family.
The 50-year-old prince, also known as the Duke of York, acts as Britain's special representative for international trade and investment, augmenting work by the business ministry.
"Five hundred thousand pounds when you can, to me ... open doors," she said in the film the newspaper said was shot at a plush London apartment, before shaking hands with the reporter who had posed as a wealthy businessman.
"Then you open up all the channels whatever you need, whatever you want ... We can do so much."
The newspaper reported Ferguson, whose New York-based promotional company Hartmoor folded last year, saying she was a "complete aristocrat" and that she and Andrew were the "happiest divorced couple in the world."
In an earlier meeting, the newspaper quoted her saying she did not have "a pot to piss in."
ROYAL PROTOCOL
"Fergie" arrived like a breath of fresh air on the sedate royal scene in 1986 as a confident career-minded woman determined to live life to the full.
But she ruffled feathers by refusing to let royal protocol get in the way of a good time and had to get used to unrelenting ribbing at the hands of Britain's royal-obsessed media who never warmed to the jet-setting princess.
She said on the eve of the wedding she was "not the sort of woman who is going to meekly trot along beside her husband."
The couple have two daughters, 21-year-old Beatrice and Eugenie, 20.
A remote descendant of King Charles II, "Fergie" was one of Andrew's childhood playmates and her father Major Ronald Ferguson was polo manager to Prince Charles, heir to the throne. She was herself the child of a broken marriage.
Romance bloomed after Princess Diana, the late wife of heir to the throne Prince Charles, suggested Sarah as an escort for Andrew at the Queen's annual house party.
While Ferguson, 50, never matched Diana's worldwide adoration or fame, she found some consolation in the United States through a variety of television appearances, penning weight loss books and charity work.
The Duchess flew into Los Angeles on Sunday to attend an awards ceremony organized by children's charity Variety and pick up an award for her work with underprivileged children.
But she did not walk the red carpet and entered through a back door, avoiding about a dozen cameras and reporters.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
