Fergie’s Massive Lawsuit Against Rupert Murdoch Overshadows Princess Eugenie’s Engagement
Just as another royal engagement is announced, that of Princess Eugenie, daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson (Fergie), the Duchess of York, to her longtime boyfriend, Jack Brooksbank, Fergie has gone public with her lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch in the amount of $60 million. While it doesn’t seem as if Fergie planned to launch her lawsuit at the same time as her daughter’s engagement, the two events are fighting for attention in the media.
Fergie Is Back In The Royal Spotlight
While the royal family is focused on many positive things that are going on with many of its members, there are always challenging events too, sometimes from outsiders. For now, Kate Middleton is pregnant with her third child with Prince William, Meghan Markle, and Prince Harry are planning their wedding, and now Princess Eugenie, daughter of Fergie and Prince Andrew, is engaged, but there are other things going on in the background that are at the very least bothersome to Kensington Palace.
For example, while the royal family is happy that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are getting married, the topic of who will and who won’t be invited has made news recently. While Prince Harry has had a longterm friendship with President Obama, there is pressure on the prince not to invite the Obamas because it will disturb current president Donald Trump.
Fergie and Prince Andrew announce daughter Princess Eugenie is engaged to long-term boyfriend https://t.co/wffF1btXQm pic.twitter.com/nZ0To82FS6
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) January 22, 2018
As Plans Start For Another Royal Wedding, Fergie Sues Rupert Murdoch For Millions
But who will and who won’t be on the wedding guest list seems minor in comparison to dredging up the Fergie scandal from nearly a decade ago on the heels of Princess Eugenie’s royal engagement, says Daily Mail. Sarah Ferguson, or Fergie as she is called, was the subject of a sting back in 2010 after a journalist employed by Rupert Murdoch exposed what was called Fergie’s “pay for play” scheme involving access to her former husband, Prince Andrew.
Undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood, known in the press as the “Fake Sheikh,” posed to Fergie as someone who wanted to get access to Prince Andrew as a representative from the Saudi government. Mahmood was writing for the Murdoch-owned and now defunct News of the World, and Fergie says she was tricked and conned by the representative of Rupert Murdoch, which led to the dissolution of several business deals including book projects and product lines on QVC.
The current legal filing documents some of the projects which ended due to the embarrassment Fergie suffered as a result of the sting reportedly organized by Rupert Murdoch.
“The Duchess was working to assist… Graham King on raising funds for new projects of $125,000,000 [£90.2 million]. The commission that would have been payable on funds raised was… £4,373,250.”
Fergie claims that Mazher Mahmood’s recent legal problems prove that there was some sketchy business going on behind the sting to “expose” Fergie and the allegations she wanted $500k in order to make an introduction to Prince Andrew.
Fergie’s legal papers mention that Mahmood was recently in jail for journalistic corruption.
“Mahmood was jailed in 2016 for tampering with evidence in the collapsed drugs trial of pop star Tulisa Contostavlos, and he invaded the Duchess’s privacy and ‘used deceit’ to induce her to make ‘unguarded statements to her detriment’.”
Sarah Ferguson's Claimed Lost Millions And She Blames Murdoch's News Group https://t.co/cXPt12quAj
— ???? ???? ???????? (@AlsaramiNasser) January 22, 2018
Queen Elizabeth Won’t Be Able To Exclude Fergie From This Royal Wedding
Both the lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch and the fall wedding of Princess Eugenie are bringing Fergie back into the spotlight says the Rhyl Journal. As the ex-wife of Prince Andrew, Fergie was left off the guest list for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and will reportedly also be an oversight for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. For both royal weddings, Fergie was said to be saddened to be left out, as her daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice attended with their father, Prince Andrew. Fergie spoke to the press about her disappointment.
“It was so difficult. Because I wanted to be there with my girls … and to be getting them dressed and to go as a family. And it was also hard because the last bride up that aisle was me.”
The royal family will not be able to exclude Fergie from Princess Eugenie’s wedding obviously, and Fergie has already let the public know that she is involved as she has started tweeting.
“Total joy!! We love Jack and I am so excited to have a son, a brother and a best friend. Eugenie is one of the finest people I know and so together it will be pure harmony.”
Fergie is said to continue to have an amicable relationship with Prince Andrew, though she continues to have a rocky one with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
