Motorsport tycoon and Sarah Ferguson’s ex Paddy McNally dies aged 88

Paddy McNally has died aged 88, after a ‘long illness’, just two months after the sudden death of his son, Sean.

The ex-racing driver was a close friend and former romantic partner of Sarah Ferguson, who used his chalet as a home after leaving Royal Lodge.

The pair had dated between 1982 and 1985, meeting when Fergie was hired to look after his two sons, Sean and Rollo, in the wake of his wife’s death.

They had split the same year that she began her relationship with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who she married in 1986.

He died ‘peacefully’ after a ‘long illness’, the Daily Mail reported, adding that Fergie did not have a public statement to give over the ‘profound loss’.

A friend told the publication: ‘He was in a bad way for a while, so this comes as good news.’

McNally was born in Gravesend, Kent, and went to £54,000 per year Stoneyhurst College before working alongside F1 icon Bernie Ecclestone.

His property portfolio included Sevenhampton Place in Wiltshire, a property in St Tropez and a grouse moor in Scotland.

It’s thought this might be the Scottish estate where just two months ago, McNally’s son Sean died suddenly.

He owned several chalets in Swiss ski resort Verbier, one of which was reportedly known as ‘Cocaine Castle’.

Fergie sought solace in that resort after the Jeffrey Epstein scandal when she was told to make her own living arrangements and leave the Royal Lodge.

McNally had apparently once asked her to marry him prior to her relationship with the former Prince, and they remained close throughout their lives.

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