Sarah Ferguson is staying out of the public eye to protect her children and grandchildren, a family member has said. The former Duchess of York was spotted in public for the first time in several months last week. Her cousin-by-marriage, Martin Barrantes, spoke to the Daily Mail about her decision.
Barrantes said he spoke with Ferguson around three months ago to lend moral support. He is the nephew of Ferguson’s late stepfather, the Argentinian polo player Hector Barrantes. “I have spoken to her [and] can tell you that she just wants to protect her children and her grandchildren,” he said.
He noted Ferguson’s concern for her daughters, Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 36, and their young children. Eugenie shares two sons, August, 5, and Ernest, 2, with her husband, Jack Brooksbank. Beatrice is mom to daughters Sienna, 4, and Athena, 1, with her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
Beatrice is also a stepmom to 10-year-old Christopher “Wolfie” Woolf, his son from a previous relationship. Barrantes said he hasn’t seen his cousin in person in several years. He said she seemed to be in “good spirits” despite the scandal.
“Sarah is going through a difficult moment, and I wanted to send her our support; she is a valued member of our family,” he noted. The fallout stems from Ferguson’s appearances in the Jeffrey Epstein files. Barrantes is the first member of her family to speak publicly about how she is handling it.
“What people need to remember is that the real villain in all this is Epstein,” Barrantes continued. The former Duchess of York, 66, was seen spending time at a mountain hideaway in the Austrian Alps. This was her first public sighting in months.
