LONDON — Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson said Sunday she was “very sorry” for her lapse of judgment after she was recorded apparently offering to sell access to her ex-husband Prince Andrew in return for 500,000 pounds ($724,000).
The duchess said in a statement she had financial problems, but “that is no excuse for a serious lapse in judgment, and I am very sorry that this has happened.”
The tabloid News of the World posted video on its website in which Ferguson is heard to say “500,000 pounds when you can, to me, open doors.” Asked if she was referring to the prince, she said, “Yeah.” The newspaper said Ferguson, 50, spoke to an undercover reporter posing as a businessman.
Andrew is an international British trade ambassador. The newspaper and the duchess said he had no knowledge of the meeting.
Ferguson married Andrew, fourth in line to the throne, in 1986. They had two children, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, before divorcing in 1996.
