What a week. Where do we even begin?
Let’s start with the jaw-dropper.
Andrew Lownie, the biographer whose book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York is the undoubted royal book of the year, seems to have landed a fresh mega-scoop in the paperback edition.
The big allegation, which is making headlines around the world, is that Sarah Ferguson had a “friends with benefits” relationship with disgraced rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs.
According to Lownie’s sources, the pair first met in 2002 at a New York party thrown by none other than Ghislaine Maxwell. By 2004, they had embarked on what one associate of Combs described as a “secret friends with benefits” arrangement that lasted for years.
They reportedly met in hotel rooms costing $50,000 a night, and Combs allegedly bragged about “slamming” the former Duchess of York. He even claimed his perfume, “Unforgivable,” was inspired by Ferguson and how she liked a man to smell.
The book alleges that Ferguson took her daughter, Princess Eugenie, to one of Combs’ yacht parties when Eugenie was just 16. A royal staff member told Lownie, “Sean’s parties were wild. The fact that she brought Eugenie around was alarming.”
A former Bad Boy Records employee claims he heard Combs say he “could not wait until Fergie’s daughters come of age.” Just horrifying stuff.
A source close to the former Duchess of York has described the allegations as “blatantly untrue.”
Lownie stands by the claims.
Combs is currently serving a four-year sentence in federal prison following his 2025 conviction on charges of transporting individuals for prostitution.
If you want to know more about this story, then listen as Andrew Lownie talks to The Royalist podcast on Tuesday, May 12.
Lownie has been a friend and supporter of The Royalist Substack since the beginning, and we are thrilled that he’s agreed to appear on the podcast again.
We’ll be asking him all about the Fergie-Combs bombshell, the other extraordinary revelations in the paperback edition, and his take on the security scare involving Prince Andrew this week (more of which below).
The book paints a devastating portrait of a man drowning in self-pity, entitlement, and delusion.
There are extraordinary details: Andrew allegedly kicking a dog in the head; forcing employees to curtsy and barking “lower” at them when they didn’t go deep enough; and an incredible picture of his new life at Marsh Farm on the Sandringham estate, where he apparently plays Call of Duty all night while neglecting work, health, and hygiene.
Andrew is cited as having told a source, who relayed the conversation to Lownie: “I feel a deep-rooted sense of being alone in the world. I need to establish new routines and networks. Perhaps I’ll end up doing it somewhere else. Money isn’t an issue because I’ve made some shrewd business deals over the years. I’ve been completely misunderstood and I’m hopeful that one day the naked truth will finally come out.”
The self-pity is really something, isn’t it?
A question of security
So, to the security scare that has turbo-charged the entire discussion about Harry’s police protection. On Wednesday evening, a man in a ski mask leaped out of his car near the Sandringham estate and, screaming abuse, sprinted toward Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor while he was walking his dogs.
A crowbar was later found in his car. The man got within 50 yards of Andrew and his private, unarmed bodyguard, both of whom scrambled into their vehicle and sped away as the man chased after them.
The man has been named as Alex Jenkinson, 39, of Stowmarket, Suffolk. He has been charged with two counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior. He has pleaded not guilty.
Fascinatingly, Andrew is apparently going to give evidence against Jenkinson when the case comes to court, which could be in just a few weeks. This will put Andrew back in the public eye for the first time in ages.
I wrote earlier this week that I think both Harry and Andrew need proper security.
I’m not under any illusion about either of them. Andrew is despicable. Harry has made a series of poor decisions and alienated himself from his own family. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that security is being used as a lever of control over both of them.
The reason I think Harry should get security is nothing to do with being “on his side.”
It’s because if something were to happen to Harry in the United Kingdom, or to Andrew, it would reflect badly on the British state and on the monarchy.
People think well of the monarchy at the moment, especially after Charles’ triumphant visit to the United States. I just don’t think the institution can afford catastrophic reputational damage.
I’m not saying Harry should necessarily get full bells-and-whistles protection. Indeed, the current 28-day notice model, where he must give 28 days’ advance notice before visiting the U.K., seems like a perfectly good framework, although it clearly needs beefing up.
We will probably end up with some kind of hybrid model. Certainly, everybody I spoke to at the Truth Tellers summit, Tina Brown’s Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit in London this week, seemed to think that either Harry simply wouldn’t get the security, or else he would get an enhanced version of the 28-day arrangement.
I’ve asked Harry’s office how the Andrew scare affects the Sussexes’ summer plans. They’re pretty clear: there is absolutely no chance Meghan is coming back to the United Kingdom without a comprehensive security package in place, especially in light of this attempted attack on Andrew.
And honestly? I can see why.
Speaking of the Truth Tellers summit (I was there because of the connection with Tina Brown, who founded the Daily Beast, hired me to cover the royals, and is the author of The Palace Papers), one of the other hot topics of conversation and speculation was the timeline on the Prince Harry v. Associated Newspapers case.
The trial wrapped up in March after 10 grueling weeks, and initially the court signaled that no decision would come until around September.
But I’m increasingly hearing that a verdict could arrive much sooner than that—potentially as early as June, possibly even this month. Everything in the trial ran quicker than the projected timetable. Watch this space very closely.
Birthday bashes
In other York family news, Beatrice and Eugenie were both out at Poppy Delevingne’s 40th birthday party at the Hart pub in Marylebone on Thursday night. It was a star-studded affair: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, Lily James, Nicky Hilton Rothschild were there—and the York sisters turned up with their respective husbands.
Beatrice was there with Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, quite obviously pushing back against the rumors that there are difficulties in the marriage. Eugenie, who is pregnant with her third child, was there with Jack Brooksbank. Interesting to see them both out at a big, high-profile event where they knew the cameras would be outside. Make of that what you will.
And finally, Meghan. Because what would a week in royal news be without Meghan?
On Archie’s seventh birthday this week, Meghan posted a previously unseen photograph on Instagram of Harry with baby Archie on his chest, along with a snap of Archie and Lilibet holding hands on a beach. “7 years later… happy birthday to our sweet boy,” she captioned it.
Lovely stuff. Except that—and I find the timing impossible to ignore—the birthday post landed at the same moment as an email blast promoting her As Ever “Signature Candle No. 506,” a $64 candle allegedly inspired by “Prince Archie’s” birthdate of May 6, with notes of ginger, neroli, and cashmere, apparently a nod to his red hair. There’s a matching one for Lilibet, “Signature Candle No. 604,” pegged to her June 4 birthday. Both use the children’s full royal titles in the marketing materials.
The momfluencer era of Meghan Markle is well and truly here, people.
So, much to talk about and so much to come this week. Don’t forget: Andrew Lownie on The Royalist podcast, Tuesday. You really, truly do not want to miss it.
Want more royal gossip, scoops and scandal? Follow all Tom Sykes’ reporting at The Royalist on Substack or listen to The Royalist podcast on YouTube.
