Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams has accused Sarah Ferguson of betraying Queen Elizabeth II through her connections to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, despite the former Duchess of York's repeated declarations of devotion to the late monarch.
Ms Ferguson, 66, has previously described the Queen as "more my mother than my own mother" and spoken of her as "an invisible hand of love behind your back."
However, Mr Fitzwilliams argues that Ms Ferguson's relationship with Epstein, conducted without the Queen's knowledge, demonstrates she possesses "no shame."
The former duchess departed Britain as both she and ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor found themselves increasingly caught up in the expanding Epstein scandal, which reached its peak with Andrew's arrest in February.
Richard Fitzwilliams has claimed that Sarah Ferguson took advantage of Queen Elizabeth II
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"We now know that Ferguson's grovelling emails to the deceased paedophile Jeffrey Epstein are proof of her culpability and greed," Mr Fitzwilliams stated.
The royal commentator outlined a lengthy history of incidents involving Ms Ferguson during her time connected to the Royal Family.
"During the Queen's 'annus horribilis' in 1992, Ferguson's toe-sucking episode with her 'financial adviser' John Bryan, made the Royal Family look ridiculous," Mr Fitzwilliams said.
Mr Fitzwilliams also highlighted Ms Ferguson's spending habits, noting the Queen was "naturally frugal by nature" whilst Ms Ferguson's "extravagances reached bizarre heights time and again."
The Palace eventually released a statement declaring they would cease covering her expenses.
Perhaps most damaging was the 2010 undercover sting operation in which Ms Ferguson proposed selling access to Andrew for £500,000, accepting $40,000 during the encounter.
Both the former Duke and Duchess of York have suffered significant backlash from the release of the Epstein files
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Despite this catalogue of scandals, Mr Fitzwilliams noted that the late Queen maintained a fondness for her former daughter-in-law.
"Yet the Queen had a soft spot for her, almost as though she was a mother figure trying to resurrect someone who was clearly utterly irresponsible," he observed.
The commentator attributed this partly to the monarch's well-known aversion to family disputes, though he noted that Prince Philip took a markedly different approach, refusing to occupy the same room as the former duchess.
Mr Fitzwilliams pointed to Ms Ferguson's "amazing ability to bounce back from disasters" and her capacity to deploy "energy and resilience to charm" as explanations for her repeated returns to favour.
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King Charles extended a Christmas invitation to her in 2023, prior to the Epstein files becoming public.
The fallout from the Epstein revelations has proved severe for Ferguson's charitable endeavours.
Her charity has now collapsed, and organisations previously associated with her have distanced themselves entirely.
"The full extent of her betrayal of Queen Elizabeth's good nature is not yet known with more to come out from the Epstein files," Fitzwilliams warned to the Mail.
Sarah Ferguson has had to close six businesses since the latest release of the Epstein files
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Ms Ferguson claimed last May that the late Queen continues to communicate with her through the royal corgis she adopted alongside Andrew in 2022.
Speaking at the Creative Women Platform in London, she said: "I have her dogs, I have her corgis. Every morning they come in and go, 'Woof woof' and all that and I'm sure it's her talking to me."
Ms Ferguson has stated in the past her regret with being associated with Epstein, saying: "I would never have anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again. I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children. It was a gigantic error of judgment."
Being named or pictured in the Epstein files does not show any sign of wrongdoing or misconduct.
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