Hitting the slopes: Sarah Ferguson, left, Prince Andrew and daughter Beatrice, right, are in the exclusive resort of Verbier
Her face a picture of glee as she strolls in the mountain sun, this is Sarah Ferguson on her second luxurious jaunt in less than a week.
After flashing wads of cash in the Caribbean with a knowing wink, the Duchess of York today jetted 4,500 miles to a Swiss ski village where she was once a lowly chalet girl – and wasted no time before indulging herself.
The 51-year-old is still not out of debts that once totalled nearly £5million.
Like mother: There was no mistaking that Princess Eugenie was her mother's daughter
But that did not stop her travelling by first-class train from Geneva before being chauffeur-driven to the resort of Verbier, where she forsook the pistes in favour of a two-hour lunch at its most exclusive five-star hotel.
Her former husband Prince Andrew and daughters Beatrice and Eugenie came down from the slopes to join Sarah for an al fresco feast at the Chalet d’Adrien, on a terrace with stunning views stretching over the picturesque village and snow-covered Alps.
Its traditional Swiss menu features delicacies such as fondue with truffles and venison cutlets with juniper berries, costing around £35.
Lunchtime: The family dined at a five-star al fresco restaurant
On holiday: Stony-faced Prince Andrew didn't seem to be having fun with the ladies in his life
The royals and their taxpayer-funded bodyguards, all wearing dark sunglasses, then ambled over to the eight-bedroom mountainside chalet that they are understood to be enjoying free-of-charge thanks to Irish millionaire racing driver Paddy McNally, 72.
Mr McNally, whose fortune is estimated at £570million, dated Sarah in the early 80s when she worked as a chalet girl at the resort and before she married Andrew in 1986. They divorced a decade later.
Sources close to the Duchess last night described how she ‘feels like a new woman’ now she has all but cleared her multi-million-pound debts in under six months.
And for onlookers in any doubt over her growing self-confidence, she coupled her black outfit with a black and white rubber wristband bearing the word ‘believe’.
Grins: However, Sarah and her daughters were all smiles on the slopes
One friend claimed: ‘She is heading in the right direction now. She feels she can and will conquer the American market thanks to a series of projects in the pipeline.’
But others shed doubt on how her bank balance – which is still £100,000 in the red - will cope with her love of extravagant shopping, sumptuous food and foreign holidays.
One source said: ‘She had promised she would buckle down and just work, work, work. Of course she wants to see her daughters for the first time in over a month, but normal parents can manage that without the added luxuries of ski trips and extortionate meals.’
The Duchess is understood to be celebrating a friend’s 50th birthday in Verbier.
Retail therapy: Just days ago, Sarah was seen hitting designer boutiques in St Barts in the Caribbean with new friend, Robbie Williams's wife Ayda Field
She flew to Geneva from the island of St Barts in the Caribbean yesterday morning, before taking first-class seats on an express train to the town of Martigny, where she was then met by a friends and a driver, and taken by Audi to the scenic resort.
The Duke of York, 50, was clearly delighted to be donning his skis and putting the Wikileaks scandal behind him, as he and his daughters took to the slopes of Savoleyres yesterday morning.
A trim-looking Beatrice, 22, grinned broadly despite being without her boyfriend of over four years, Dave Clark.
Eugenie’s love, part-time barman Jack Brooksbank, was also absent. But the 20-year-old looked vibrant in striking fluorescent green salopettes.
A Buckingham Palace aide said the Duke, who also visited Switzerland last week for a the World Economic Forum in his role as the UK’s trade envoy, was on a private holiday.
Source:Dailymail
