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Sarah Ferguson was criticised for her "extravagant" lifestyle by an insider who got to spend time with her before the Jeffrey Epstein scandal blew up. The former Duchess of York's extravagant spending has been previously discussed by various royal watchers.

The latest tranche of Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice brought Fergie's spending habits back into the spotlight after it emerged that she had asked the convicted paedophile for money on several occasions. Now royal author Ingrid Seward, who met the former duchess more than 40 years ago, has shared a glimpse into what her spending habits were like and said that she was not surprised at the latest revelations, due to her "massively endearing type of hersponality". She branded Fergie "almost like a shopaholic" and spoke about her "extravagant lifestyle".

Ms Seward told the Mirror: "She has a massively endearing type of personality.

"It's a tragedy that her bad side has got the stronger hold over her than her good side.

"So the bad side is the greed, the stupidity and obsessively wanting things. It's almost like a shopaholic."

She further explained: "Royal Lodge was always absolutely full of the most beautiful flower arrangements, and we all know what that costs.

"During Covid, we saw a lot of Royal Lodge and I thought, 'good heavens, every room has got massive flower arrangements'. So her lifestyle was just so extravagant."

In 2011, the former duchess spoke to the Evening Standard and apologised for borrowing money from Epstein, calling it a "gigantic error of judgement on my behalf".

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And according to the royal author, Fergie's financial situation could be down to her own "insecurities".

She said: "She's so insecure, which is probably at the root of many of her behaviours.

"Often when you read about people who can't stop spending money, it's usually fuelled by insecurity and an inability to connect with reality.

"She's not really the girl I knew, but that girl is still there underneath."

Fergie has not commented on the latest revelations in the Epstein files.