Sarah Ferguson Is the 'Houdini of the Royal Family,' Claims Author: 'She Is Running Out of Lives'
Only a few royals have danced so close to disaster and still found their way back to the royal fold, as Ferguson, royal experts note.
Sarah Fergusson has built a career on reputation, for better or worse, and survival. Only a few royals have been through the tabloid wringer quite like the Duchess of York. From her infamous toe scandal in the 1990s to her money troubles and questionable business dealings, she has weathered storms that would have drowned most royals' reputations. But surprisingly, each time she has been able to make a comeback. However, royal biographer Andrew Lownie, who chronicled the Yorks and their shady businesses in Entitled: The Rise and Fall of The House of York, believes the recent Fergusson scandal could be a turning point.
The revelation of her email exchange with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier whose name still casts a long shadow over the monarchy, is likely to change the equation, once and for all. "Never say never with Sarah, the Houdini of the royal family,” he told Marie Claire, noting how she miraculously survived the 2010 scandal in which she was caught trying to sell access to Prince Andrew. “It is extraordinary how she has wormed her way back into the royal family with invitations to the Royal Box at Wimbledon, hands kissed at Ascot,” he remarked, but this time, he adds, “She is running out of lives.”
Fergusson, who had publicly denounced Epstein, sent him a private email in 2011. “I know you feel hellaciously let down by me from what you were either told or read, and I must humbly apologize to you and your heart for that,” she wrote, calling him a 'supreme friend.’ After massive backlash, the Duchess's office issued a clarification. They explained that Ferguson was acting under intense pressure to salvage her career as a children’s author and philanthropist.
According to The Telegraph, her representative James Henderson claimed the note was written after Epstein allegedly threatened 'to destroy the York family' in a menacing call. He said Ferguson sent the message to placate him and protect her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. However, she herself has not clarified this issue publicly.
Reflecting on the same, Lownie draws a contrast between the late Queen’s approach to scandals involving Prince Andrew and King Charles’s more pragmatic stance. “The Queen was his protector and he was untouchable,” he said. “Complaints were repeatedly made to her and ignored. That is no longer the case.”
Charles, he says, is sympathetic to his younger brother but acutely aware of how Andrew’s misdoings might affect the monarchy’s public image, especially at a time when its popularity is at an all-time low. Prince William, by contrast, is described as having 'no time for Andrew personally' and keenly attuned to the reputational fallout.
Traditionally, the Palace has leaned on its tried-and-tested media playbook: keep quiet, ride out the headlines, and trust that public attention moves on. “The line has always been ‘Never Complain, Never Explain’ and hope the scandal passes,” Lownie explains. “Behind the scenes, there is pressure to kill stories.” But the Epstein connection, he adds, is different. “Epstein is so toxic, and the public mood has changed.”
