A rift has developed between the former Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, as the fallout from their long-running friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein continues to widen.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as he is now known, and Ferguson divorced in 1996 but famously remained so close that that she once described them as “the happiest divorced couple in the world”.

Ferguson remained a staunch supporter of the former prince, with whom she shares adult daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. She had often described him as a “kind and good man” and “the best man I know”.

The former Duke and Duchess of York even reportedly shared Mountbatten-Windsor’s home, Royal Lodge, for years after they officially split.

But it is no more, with Ferguson banned from 66-year-old Mountbatten-Windsor’s new home on the King’s Sandringham estate – and even given an unflattering nickname.

“The red setter, as she’s known, is not welcome at Marsh Farm. She’s persona non grata as far as Andrew is concerned,” a source told Britain’s Times newspaper this week.

It comes as it emerges that British police were concerned that Mountbatten-Windsor would block searches at his properties by claiming officers must obtain permission from the King.

Thames Valley Police has acknowledged the search warrants used to raid Marsh Farm and Royal Lodge in February were unlawful.

Mountbatten-Windsor had challenged the warrants, and documents from the ensuing High Court proceedings revealed police feared evidence could be lost if they first had to seek permission from Buckingham Palace to search the premises.

Detectives were searching for “paperwork, diaries, business records or other documentary evidence of AMW’s time as Special Representative for Trade and Investment”, documents show.

“AMW or his legal team may seek to advance that the property belongs to someone else (the King) and that separate legal permission should be sought,” police told the Old Bailey judge, according to Mountbatten-Windsor’s lawyers.

“Obtaining such consent may not be expeditious and seeking to do so in advance may frustrate the nature and purpose of the search.”

According to the same documents, police considered Mountbatten-Windsor a suspect “in a number of serious offences”, including forwarding official reports Epstein “within minutes of receiving them”.

The reports related to the then prince’s official trips as a British trade envoy to Singapore, Vietnam, China and Hong Kong in October 2010.

The documents also contained a statement from the detective chief inspector who led the raids at the embattled royal’s properties.

“My investigative objectives are to secure relevant evidence in a timely and secure fashion,” the DCI, whose identity was not disclosed, told the judge.

“Failure to do so risks loss of evidence and a consequent loss of public trust and confidence in the investigation.

“AMW and or his representatives may or may not be in a position to grant access to the premises, either way I cannot risk not have an appropriate legal power to achieve my objectives.”

Police also argued it was a “matter of public record” that Mountbatten-Windsor had “previously not engaged with other investigative strands relating to his alleged involvement with Jeffrey Epstein”.

Mountbatten-Windsor’s lawyers denied the allegation, adding that police never contacted him or his legal team to ask whether they would grant access to the residences “or any relevant evidence”.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral in late 2025. Photo: AAP

The former Duke of York was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on February 19, his 66th birthday, following allegations he shared sensitive information with Epstein during his time as the UK’s trade envoy.

He was interviewed under caution before being released. He denies any wrongdoing, while the police investigation continues.

Last week, Justice Nicholas Hilliard said while the King’s brother and Thames Valley Police had reached an “agreement” that the warrants were unlawful. Police have since launched a bid to retain evidence gathered during their searches in February.

Hilliard said Mountbatten-Windsor opposed that bid.

A private hearing in the case is scheduled for 2027, meaning the former prince may not learn for several more months if he will be charged with an offence.

Elsewhere, Hello magazine reported on Friday that Ferguson had received visits from her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie since returning to Britain after months overseas as the Epstein scandal deepened.

“Friends tell me they have both been to see her at her new house in the past couple of weeks,” royal commentator Phil Dampier told the publication.

“I don’t think they want to be seen with her in public at the moment, and she probably realises it’s not a good idea either. But behind the scenes they are talking and trying to be supportive.”

He said the “very embarrassed” Beatrice and Eugenie were “reevaluating their own lives and their own contacts and the things they get involved with because they don’t want to be tainted by scandal”.

“I don’t think the relationship is quite as close as it used to be, certainly,” he said.

“I think the days of them being the tripod and inseparable have been fragmented. They have grown up and gone their own ways a bit, and they’ve got their separate lives and separate families.”

Both princesses are married and have their own young families.

-with AAP