Sarah Ferguson's strange habit at temporary family home she left behind


Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's ex-wife revealed an unusual home storage habit during a 1996 interview with Ruby Wax


Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York attends day four of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 20, 2025 in Ascot, England.© Getty
Katie Daly
Katie DalyLifestyle Writer
Updated: June 15, 2026
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The whereabouts of Sarah Ferguson are still unknown following her eviction from Royal Lodge. 

Her ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, with whom she was living, was stripped of their royal titles and honours by King Charles in November and the former couple were forced to move out of their shared home on the Windsor Home Park estate in February. 

Sarah Ferguson in wimbledon box in green dress© Getty
Sarah Ferguson showed Ruby wax around her home - and revealed how she likes to label her drawers

Sarah, 66, who moved into Royal Lodge with her ex-husband (whom she split from in 1996) in 2008, has been without a fixed abode for months, reportedly sofa surfing with her famous friends and checking into her favourite wellness clinics.

In a 1996 interview with American actress and mental health campaigner Ruby Wax, Sarah famously shed some insight into her rather unusual home habit.

Sarah's unusual home habit

The mother of Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 35, appeared in a BAFTA-nominated episode of the star's BBC One show, When Ruby Wax Meets… where she took the host around her rented Surrey home following her divorce from Andrew. Ruby quickly discovered while touring Fergie's bedroom that she had labelled her drawers using a series of Post-it notes.

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 The home on the Wentworth Estate was a property Sarah leased near her marital home at Sunninghill Park in Ascot between 1994 and 1997. It featured a tennis court and a swimming pool.

Her drawers featured labels indicating her "smart pink" and "smart white" tops and when asked by Ruby if she was "too lazy" to check what was in each drawer, Sarah replied: "You're winding me up, Ruby. When you're getting dressed in the morning and you've got about five seconds to get the children breakfast before you burn the toast, I'm not going to open 50 million drawers to find my grey t-shirts. So I labelled them all up, I'm a practical person."

sarah ferguson on red carpet with beatrice and eugenie as children© Getty
The former Duchess of York offered a tour of her home in 1996 - and revealed why labelling helped on mornings with her daughters

Why does Fergie label her drawers?

Though labelling drawers with Post-it notes may not seem the most refined interior design move, it isn't without its benefits. "We may be hailing the likes of Stacey Solomon and Mrs Hinch as organisational queens, but it turns out Sarah Ferguson has been labelling her drawers for years," HELLO!'s Homes Editor, Rachel Avery, says. 

Sarah Ferguson told Ruby Wax why she labels her drawers© Aimee Rose McGhee/Dave Benett/Ge
Sarah Ferguson told Ruby Wax why she labels her drawers

"She admits it's a time-saving strategy, but it will also help with keeping everything visually tidy, and it will make clear outs so much easier, as clearly seeing what you have helps you condense. These days, we see people going crazy for labels everywhere, from their wardrobes and lofts through to their pantries. Organising at its finest!"

Where does Sarah Ferguson live now?

chest of drawers with hand clothes© Getty
Sarah liked to know where her clothes are

Sarah hasn't been seen in public since her granddaughter Athena's christening on December 12, lying low amid renewed scrunity surrounding her and Andrew's friendship with convicted sex offender financier, Jeffrey Epstein. 

It was previously reported that she had been left "effectively homeless" due to her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, refusing to let their mother live with them.

Hollywood icon Priscilla Presley was also reported to have offered Sarah a place to stay in Los Angeles amid the intense public scrutiny. However, the star's representatives later issued a statement insisting that the allegations were "totally false".

Royal Lodge aerial view© Shutterstock
Andrew and Sarah were evicted from Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park

The mystery of Sarah's whereabouts is ongoing, six months into 2026. "The thing with Sarah is if she wanted to be seen, she would be," The Sun's Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson said on  HELLO!'s A Right Royal podcast.

Andrew Lownie, author of the bestselling book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, also shed some light on where Sarah might take up residency in another episode of our podcast.

He suggested that Sarah might move to Switzerland, where she and Andrew owned a chalet in Verbier until 2020. "They've had this chalet, they have got money - they just sold the houses in Belgravia, so they've certainly got various options," he previously said.

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