Author Andrew Lownie has defended his decision to disclose an allegation about a “friends with benefits” relationship between Sarah Ferguson and the disgraced mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.
“I stand by it,” Lownie, 64, asserted to London’s The Times on Saturday, May 9. “It’s fully sourced with former employees of P Diddy and Sarah Ferguson.”
The claim about Ferguson and Diddy’s alleged relationship is part of the expanded edition of Lownie’s book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York. This 2025 tell-all book has reignited controversies surrounding Ferguson and her former husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s connections to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In the new paperback edition of Entitled, Lownie alleges that Ferguson, 66, and Diddy, 58, first met at a 2002 party hosted by Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and began a sexual relationship two years later. (Epstein died by suicide at 66 in August 2019 after being arrested on federal sex crime charges. Maxwell, 64, is serving a 20-year prison sentence following her 2022 conviction on sex trafficking-related charges.)
In a serialized part of Entitled published in The Daily Mail, it is claimed that Diddy boasted to colleagues about his encounters with Ferguson, allegedly saying “he could not wait until Fergie’s daughters come of age.” Ferguson and Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, are parents to two daughters: Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 35.
The book also suggests that Ferguson introduced her daughters to Diddy during a yacht weekend in 2006 when Eugenie was 16. Lownie further states that Ferguson and Diddy met several times in hotels across Africa and Europe, once staying at a seven-star hotel costing £50,000 per night.
Us Weekly has reached out to representatives for Diddy and Ferguson for their comments.
Diddy is currently serving a 50-month sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Fort Dix in New Jersey following his 2025 conviction on two counts of transportation for prostitution. He was acquitted of more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy after an eight-week trial.
Sarah Ferguson; Diddy Getty Images (2); Julia Reinhart; Ethan Miller
Lownie’s hardcover edition of Entitled contains additional sensational claims about Ferguson, such as her “obsession” with Kevin Costner and crushes on George Clooney and Tiger Woods. However, there are no suggestions of any relationships with these individuals. The book also accuses Mountbatten-Windsor of being unfaithful, claiming he was with “more than a dozen women” before his first wedding anniversary with Ferguson in the 1980s.
The book further delves into the alleged issues in Ferguson and Mountbatten-Windsor’s marriage before their separation in 1992. According to Lownie, Ferguson allegedly confided in friends that the then-prince was “never there when I need him” and described him as “just not strong enough.”
Entitled’s revelations about the Duke and Duchess of York’s connections to Epstein have triggered a series of scandals, leading to Mountbatten-Windsor losing his royal titles by decree of King Charles III in late 2025. Ferguson has chosen not to use her royal titles in respect to her former husband.
Mountbatten-Windsor was apprehended in February for suspected misconduct in public office, accused of providing Epstein with confidential financial information during his tenure as a U.K. trade envoy from 2001 to 2011. He has yet to enter a plea.
If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
