It's A Happy Divorce

Sarah Ferguson, 50, allegedly asked an undercover reporter posing as a wealthy businessman for a $40,000 cash down payment in return for an introduction to the Prince, as well as a $724,000 fee wired directly into her bank account.

Ferguson also insisted on a one percent commission from any deals the businessman worked out as a result of her royal connections.

The duchess claimed to have discussed the terms with her former husband, saying, "Andrew said to me, 'tell him £500,000.'"

She also suggested Prince Andrew, who works as an unpaid special representative for the government agency U.K. Trade & Investment, would be a willing business partner. “Look after me and he’ll look after you ... you’ll get it back tenfold. I can open any door you want,” she was recorded as saying.

There is no suggestion that the prince was ever aware of the meetings or the claims reportedly made by the duchess.

According to the News of the World, its reporter met the duchess twice -- in New York on May 13 and in London last week.

The newspaper also said the duchess sent representatives to the undercover reporter with a confidentiality agreement ahead of the London meeting. But when the alleged businessman refused to sign the gagging order, Ferguson went ahead with talks.

Accompanied by two assistants, she told the fake businessman that her former husband, who she divorced in 1996 and has two children with, called her “five times a day” and said: “We’re the happiest divorced couple in the world.”