Sarah Ferguson has been spotted at a ski resort in Austria, as pressure mounts on the former Duchess of York to explain the full extent of her ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Her stay at a luxurious retreat in Europe creates a major optics problem, according to royal commentators, who said it feeds into the idea of “entitlement”.
Ferguson may move elsewhere with the help of super-rich benefactors, they added – but she will have to “stop wandering” and answer questions about Epstein at some stage.
The ex-duchess has been staying at a “luxury Alpine ski resort”, according to The Sun, which published photos of Ferguson outside the lodge in an unnamed Austrian village.
While most Austrian resort villages will be fairly expensive, the report claims that Ferguson was staying at a top-tier chalet worth £2,000-a-night.
Ferguson’s ‘sofa surfing’ tour in recent months
She has been largely ostracised from British high society after the extent of her connection to Epstein emerged in emails released by the US Department of Justice in September.
The ex-royal has been urged by Democrat Suhas Subramanyam to provide information on her “close personal and business ties” to a US Congress committee investigating the late paedophile.
Emails show Ferguson calling Epstein her “supreme friend” and contacting him while he was in jail for soliciting prostitution from a minor. They also reveal how she pleaded with the financier for his help in paying off her £6m debts.
Ferguson apologised in a 2011 interview after it emerged that she had accepted £15,000 from Epstein, saying she “deeply” regretted the connection. She later apologised to her “dear friend” Epstein in an email for publicly disowning him.
The former royal, who lost her titles last year, has not been seen in public since her granddaughter’s christening at St James’s Palace in December.
Reports suggest that she has been “sofa surfing” around the world in recent months, including stays in Dubai, the US and Ireland. It was reported that she may be using “burner” phones to help keep her location a secret.
Friends and commentators had speculated that she could be at a skiing resort such as Verbier in Switzerland.
They suggested Fergie had wealthy friends who would stick by her. Ingrid Seward, the royal biographer, previously said: “She has far-flung friends. And those people would love to hide Fergie, as for them it would be a game.”
Skiing appears to be a favourite pastime for Ferguson, pictured with Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie in 2004 (Photo: Tim Graham/Getty)‘At some stage she will have to stop wandering’
“It’s not a good look to be in Austria, when there are questions [about her ties to Epstein],” said Robert Jobson, author of The Windsor Legacy: A Royal Dynasty of Secrets, Scandal and Survival.
“She may just want to be left alone. She may want to keep schtum and keep her head down.
“If she wants to have some form of public profile, she probably has to give evidence and tell the truth, possibly to Congress.”
The royal correspondent said it was not clear how long she could keep moving around.
“It depends how much money she has and how many friends she has got prepared to fund such an existence,” he said. “At some stage, she will have to stop wandering.”
Lauren Beeching, a crisis communications specialist, said the sighting in Austria was “absolutely a PR problem” for Ferguson, since it would cement the idea of “entitlement”.
The public were now seeing Ferguson “tucked away in a £2,000-a-night chalet in the Alps – not someone preparing to face what’s in front of them”.
Given calls for Ferguson to testify over Epstein, some people may perceive the ex-duchess to be “living it up while refusing to engage with something very serious”.
“Whether that’s a fair reading or not, it’s the one that sticks,” Beeching added. “And once it sticks, that’s the version you have to work with. That’s very hard to walk back from.”
Ferguson is under pressure over her links to Jeffrey Epstein (Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty)‘She has no reputation now – she is in a mess’
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said Ferguson had “picked up quite a few wealthy friends” who could be supporting her stay in Austria. “She may be able to afford to stay at a resort herself. We just don’t know.”
Ferguson could remain abroad if she sees no way of restoring her image in Britain, said Fitzwilliams. “I don’t think it’s inevitable she returns to the UK.”
However, it could be difficult to rely on rich friends abroad indefinitely, he added, since her social circle had been greatly diminished by the Epstein email revelations.
“She appealed to some people because she could do something outrageous and then bounce back,” said Fitzwilliams.
“A lot of people found it amusing or captivating or that she was feisty. But she has no reputation now. She is in a mess.”
Ferguson had spent several years living at the 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor with her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. But she did not move with him to a much smaller property at Sandringham in February.
Multiple charities have dropped Ferguson as a patron. Her companies have been wound down. Her latest children’s book has been pulled by New Frontier Publishing.
Ferguson’s representative was contacted for comment.
A spokesperson said last year that the former duchess had made clear “her regret about her association with Epstein many years ago” and that “her first thoughts are with his victims”. They added: “Like many people, she was taken in by his lies.”
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