In a move that has left royal circles reeling, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, has reportedly told close friends she is permanently quitting the United Kingdom and will spend the rest of her life abroad, declaring: “I’ve given this country everything and it’s given me nothing but pain. I’m done.”

The 66-year-old mother of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie is said to have made the bombshell decision in the past fortnight after yet another brutal wave of public criticism, frozen-out invitations, and what insiders describe as “deliberate humiliation” from certain quarters of the royal establishment.

Sources claim the final straw came two weeks ago when Fergie was conspicuously excluded from a high-profile charity gala she had personally helped organise for the past five years. “She turned up in the car park, invitation in hand, only to be told at the door that ‘the list had changed’,” a friend revealed. “She drove home in tears and told the girls that night: ‘I can’t keep doing this to myself. I’m leaving for good.’”

Since then, the Duchess has allegedly begun quietly offloading belongings from Royal Lodge (where she still shares the mansion with ex-husband Prince Andrew) and has instructed estate agents to find her a permanent home “anywhere but Britain”.

Top of her wish list? A sun-drenched villa in the South of France or a sprawling estate in Vermont, USA, close to her longtime friend Oprah Winfrey. One property already under serious consideration is a €12 million Provençal mas near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence with 12 bedrooms, an olive grove, and total privacy, no paparazzi in sight.

“She wants somewhere she can walk to the bakery without being photographed looking ‘frumpy’,” a source said. “Somewhere her grandchildren can visit without security briefings. Somewhere she’s Sarah again, not ‘that embarrassing ex-royal’.”

The decision has reportedly devastated Beatrice and Eugenie, who begged their mother to stay. “They told her they need her close, especially now with babies and everything going on with Papa,” one family friend said. “But Sarah just hugged them and said: ‘Darlings, I’ve spent thirty years being the royal punchbag. I’m finally choosing me.’”

Even Prince Andrew is said to be “in bits”, telling pals he fears losing Fergie permanently from Royal Lodge would be the final blow after years of scandal. “She’s the only person who still makes him laugh,” a York insider claimed. “He’s terrified she’ll meet someone new abroad and never come back.”

Royal watchers point to a string of recent slights that finally broke the Duchess:

Being banned from the Royal Ascot carriage procession for the third year running
Her name mysteriously vanishing from the Buckingham Palace balcony list every Trooping the Colour
Tabloids resurrecting 30-year-old toe-sucking photos the very week her new novel hit number one
And most painfully, whispers that certain senior royals vetoed her attending Christmas at Sandringham “to avoid awkwardness”

Yet those who know Sarah best say the real reason runs deeper.

For decades she has fought to rehabilitate her image: cancer survivor, bestselling author, tireless charity campaigner, yet still treated as the embarrassing ginger stepchild of the monarchy. “She’s realised Britain will never forgive her for being human,” one confidante said. “Abroad, people admire her warmth and resilience. Here, they just remember 1980s scandals.”

Last night Sarah was spotted dining alone at a quiet Mayfair restaurant, reportedly telling the waiter when asked if she wanted the table for more: “No, darling. From now on it’s just me.”

Friends say she plans to make the move official in the new year, slipping away quietly after one final British Christmas with her daughters and grandchildren.

As one longtime supporter put it: “Sarah Ferguson spent her whole life trying to prove she was worthy of this country. Now she’s finally accepted that the country was never worthy of her.”

Somewhere in the Provence countryside, estate agents are already preparing the paperwork.

And somewhere in Windsor, three little royal grandchildren are about to learn that even fairy tales sometimes have sad endings.

Safe travels, Fergie. The South of France is waiting with open arms, and no red-top newspapers in sight.