Sarah Ferguson could be set for a potential windfall after her former partner Paddy McNally died on Wednesday.
The Kent-born motorsport magnate died earlier this week at the age of 88 following a prolonged illness.
The pair briefly dated before Ms Ferguson married Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, but a source has revealed that the multi-millionaire "never abandoned" the former royal.
According to The Sun, Mr McNally allowed Ms Ferguson to stay in his £15million Swiss chalet following her and Mr Mountbatten-Windsor's eviction from Royal Lodge this year.
"Paddy always looked after Sarah and at times over the past four decades she needed a lot of looking after," a source told the outlet.
"He never abandoned her in life and even in his final days allowed her safe sanctuary at his home in Verbier."
Mr McNally died peacefully on July 22 after suffering from an illness for some time.
His death comes just two months after his son Sean died unexpectedly on his Scottish estate, where he had been living in a remote setting.
A friend of Mr McNally's told the Daily Mail: "He was in a bad way for a while, so this comes as good news."
Ms Ferguson, who remained close to Mr McNally throughout their lives, is understood to be aware of his passing but has not issued any public statement.
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Mr McNally and Ms Ferguson first became acquainted in the early 1980s when a young Sarah was brought in to care for his two boys, Sean and Rollo, after the death of his wife Anne Downing, whom he had married in 1967.
What began as a professional arrangement soon developed into a romantic relationship that lasted from 1982 to 1985. Mr McNally was 22 years her senior.
The relationship ended the same year Ms Ferguson began seeing Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, whom she went on to marry in 1986.
Following her exile from Royal Lodge in January 2026, Ms Ferguson was discovered staying at a 2,000-a-night resort in Austria.
After she was tracked down, Mr McNally gave her the keys to his lavish eight-bedroom chalet, which is located near Mr Mountbatten-Windsor's former Swiss property.
Ms Ferguson is now said to be experiencing a "profound sense of loss" over her friend and former lover.
Mr McNally was born in Gravesend, Kent, in 1937, and forged a lucrative career in motorsport alongside Bernie Ecclestone.
He rose to become chief executive of the Swiss-based firm Allsports Management, which held control over advertising and hospitality rights within Formula One.
The business was eventually acquired by Mr Ecclestone in 2006 for £262.4million, affording Mr McNally an extensive property portfolio spanning multiple countries.
