A French millionaire has bitterly attacked the Duchess of York after learning she had splashed out £5m to buy a house in Mayfair.
Isabelle de Rouvre has been involved in a long running financial dispute over a Swiss chalet with Fergie and ex husband Prince Andrew.
De Rouvre said the news that the duchess had purchased a property for £5m was "incredible and unbelievable" because she believed she "didn't have a penny".
Speaking to the Sunday Times she described the whole episode as a “dirty story.”
Back in 2014 the Yorks bought De Rouvre's chalet in the plush ski resort of Verbier for £18 million.
They hammered out a deal in which they paid her £5 million of the sale in cash instalments, with agreed interest payments.
But when the Yorks failed to settle the bill De Rouvre, 74, was forced to take legal action.
In this latest interview she revealed that she was actually owed £6.8million.
But she decided to accept a lower payment of £3.4 million, partly because she believed the Yorks, both 62, were struggling for cash.
She said: "I was forced to get lawyers involved and I settled for about half the amount.”
De Rouvre said one reason she had not pursued the full payment was because of Prince Andrew's American legal case brought by Virginia Guiffre, who alleged that he had sex with her when she was 17. Andrew has always denied the allegations.
She added: "I understood they didn't have the money and believed he would be going to prison in America so I thought it best to get what I could.
"I am outraged that I am now told she has spent millions on another property. It is just incredible and the whole story unbelievable. It is a dirty story as far as I am concerned."
De Rouvre's friendship with the Yorks started when they rented her chalet, where she employed six full-time staff and charged more than £22,000 a week for its use. It sleeps seven, with an indoor swimming pool, sauna, sun terrace and bar.
It’s understood that Fergie has bought the new house as a long-term investment for her daughters Princess Beatrice and Eugenie.
