Interview that derailed royal comeback

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and Prince Andrew, Duke of York attend Ascot in June. Photo / Getty Images

COMMENT:

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York's Instagram account is a perpetually cheerful place. Here she is whizzing through the airport on a motorised suitcase. There she goes posting shots of snow-capped Alps.

For a woman who has faced being bluntly rejected by her husband's family, millions of dollars of debt, and whose name has become a byword for poor judgment, the now 60-year-old really does have a jolly time of it. After all, the last decade has largely been good to her.

Prince Andrew appears on BBC Newsnight with Emily Maitlis with regard to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Photo / BBC

And why shouldn't she? Her personal nadir, I would argue, came in 2010 when she was caught on camera as part of a sting operation by an undercover reporter accepting money in exchange for access to her ex-husband Prince Andrew, Duke of York. (At the time he was an unofficial British trade ambassador – Andrew has "categorically" denied knowing about the meeting).

It was a deeply humiliating moment for the embattled royal which is really saying something. In 1992 she had to go down to breakfast at Balmoral and have her porridge with the Queen on the very day photos of her topless and having her toes sucked were splashed across the front pages.

Things weren't helped when, a year later in 2011, it was revealed that she had accepted about $28,000 from Jeffrey Epstein towards the $150,000 she owed her former personal assistant Johnny O'Sullivan.

"I personally, on behalf of myself, deeply regret that Jeffrey Epstein became involved in any way with me," Fergie said at the time. "Whenever I can, I will repay the money and will have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again."

However, the years since then have seen Fergie's royal stock rise, up to the point where for a number of years she has been quietly asked to come and stay at Balmoral during Her Majesty's annual summer break (that is, only when Prince Philip is not in situ).

Likewise, come June, Fergie could be found joining her former husband their daughters in the royal enclosure at Ascot, curtsying deeply when Her Majesty went past.

By the time Princess Eugenie wed tequila ambassador Jack Brooksbank in October 2018, the Duchess' re-entry into full-fledged royal life seemed nearly complete.

Such was the surge in public acceptance of Fergie, there was even speculation that the Yorks might now be in a position to remarry. After all, she has lived with Andrew at Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate since 2008 and the couple share a $25 million Swiss ski chalet.

Then came April when Fergie, along with daughter Princess Beatrice and her then-boyfriend (and now fiance) Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, travelled to Bahrain. Andrew was already in the Middle Eastern country on royal business, thus it became the first time that the Duchess had accompanied her ex on an official trip overseas in 25 years.

My, how much can change and how fast.

Fast forward six months and the picture is starkly – and brutally – different.

Andrew has been exiled from public life, his image and reputation left in tatters after his obtuse and hubristic BBC interview. Ignominiously, he has lost his official office, his staff and numerous patronages.

So toxic has his brand become that there is already debate about whether he will join his mother and family on their annual walk to church on Christmas Day. Reports have emerged suggesting officials are worried that protesters will join the usually-adoring crowds.

Sarah Ferguson's royal stock had been on the rise. Photo / File

Fergie's beloved daughters have suffered thanks to their father's downfall and the Andrew/Epstein fiasco has scuppered what should have been a red-letter year for the York Princesses.

In 2017, Eugenie founded the Anti-Slavery Collective.

In August she announced plans to, in a royal first, launch a podcast. These plans were promptly shelved after Epstein's death and in the wake of the frenzied interest in the Duke's ties to the disgraced financier.

Likewise, Princess Beatrice should be finishing 2019 on a high. After years of romantic travails, in September her boyfriend English/Italian property developer Edoardo popped the question. With the couple set to wed next year, Bea should be currently be happily immersed in wedding planning and should be fretting over which roses to choose rather than, say, whether protesters might picket her big day because of her father.

Then there is Fergie's latest misstep, taking part in a fawning interview with Vogue Arabia. In between spruiking her new line of teas (named Sarah Senses – seriously) the former HRH had a crack at casting herself as a victim, saying, "I have been in Meghan's shoes, and I still am."

And then came a question about mental health, which she took as an opportunity to launch into a wildly misguided attempt to defend her ousted ex-husband.

"The last six months have been hard on the girls and me. To see such a wonderful man go through such enormous pain. He is the best man I know," Fergie said.

"It's just incredible what he has done for Britain, and it's all nonsense (her voice raises as she alludes to the Epstein scandal), so I talk about familyhood, and I'm very strong about it. The mental health of men is important and I think it is vital to articulate that more."

You could almost hear the collective wince emanating from Buckingham Palace when this interview hit the internet.

After weeks of constant media attention, Andrew had finally slipped off the front page. Now, with one clumsy attempt to "do her bit" Fergie managed to spawn days more coverage and focus on the grubby situation.

Fergie has clearly long nailed her colours to her ex-husband's mast and thrown her lot in with his. While she clearly believes her former husband is nothing but honourable, her apparent lack of sympathy for the women abused by Epstein is a terrible look.

This interview has also done damage to Fergie's brand. Before the events of the last few months, there was a burgeoning public affection for her. Now she looks woefully out of touch with her obstinate conviction that Andrew is the real victim in this situation.

While many people have speculated that 2019 has been the Queen's annus horribilis 2.0, the same argument could be made for Fergie.

- Daniela Elser is a royal expert and writer with 15 years' experience working with a number of Australia's leading titles.