1st June 2010

In an unprecedented move by the Royal household, details of the divorce financial settlement agreement between Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson, have been published in an attempt to refute widespread reporting that the she received nothing in the divorce.

The Duchess of York had been secretly filmed by a tabloid newspaper offering to give access to her former husband in return for £500,000 and twice claiming that her divorce settlement was "zero", so senior Royal officials decided to release details of the 1996 settlement.

The Sunday Telegraph was able to reveal that the Duchess of York's divorce financial settlement included:

• £500,000 to buy a new home for her and her children, from the Queen;
• £1.4 million to set up trust funds for the princesses, from the Queen;
• A cash sum of £350,000 from the Queen with no stipulated restrictions on its use;
• Agreement that the Duke of York would pay school and university fees for his daughters (Royal sources have estimated that this will amount to considerably more than £500,000); and
• A nominal monthly maintenance payment believed to have been calculated on the Duke of York's salary as a naval officer at the time of the divorce.

Even though the Duchess did finally admit on the tape to having received £15,000, the sources have denounced her claims as "outrageous" and wish to highlight the divorce financial settlement as worth nearer £3 million.