In death, Paddy McNally, one of Sarah Ferguson's closest friends, may have delivered her the financial lifeline she so desperately needs. McNally and Ms Ferguson, despite a 22-year age gap, were romantically linked for three years before she married the then Prince Andrew in 1986. But they did not deny that Ms Ferguson had stayed at McNally's chalet in Verbier shortly after being made homeless. Ms Ferguson once called her former boyfriend her "father figure", and he continued to watch over her through her many ups and downs. The eight-bedroom Verbier chalet – called Les Gais Lutins – was known in the tabloid press as Cocaine Castle because of the wild parties held there.