Sarah Ferguson has been warned she will have to "face the music" after she was spotted in public for the first time in more than seven months.
The 66-year-old, who lost her Duchess of York title last year after King Charles stripped both her and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of their royal designations, was discovered concealing herself at an upmarket Austrian ski resort on Thursday.
The former Duchess of York was last spotted publicly at St James's Palace on December 12, attending the christening of her youngest granddaughter, Athena Mapelli Mozzi.
A royal insider with connections to mutual friends of Ms Ferguson painted a troubling picture of her current state.
"She's desperate. She's not been in a good place mentally and there's the worry that the police and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic will want to see her testify about what she knew of (jeffrey) Epstein," the source revealed to the Daily Mail.
"Sarah's still got friends looking out for her and some of them have the money to help her to continue to hide out. But she can’t do that forever," the source added.
"This scandal is going to go on for years. Sooner or later she’s going to have to face the music".
The former wife of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor vanished from public life amid mounting pressure following the release of the Epstein Files by the US Department of Justice.
Sarah Ferguson has been warned she will have to 'face the music'
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Ms Ferguson has consistently denied any wrongdoing. At present, she has offered no response to the congressional summons.
During her seven-month hiatus, since being seen in St James's Palace, there have been possible sightings in Dubai, Switzerland and Ireland.
She is rumoured to have been staying in a £2,000-a-night ski lodge in Austria for a month.
Photographs obtained by the Sun captured the mother-of-two looking grim-faced as she stepped out of a blacked-out Mercedes people carrier near her accommodation on Wednesday.
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The former wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor vanished from public life
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One source previously told The Sun Ms Ferguson had been "keeping an incredibly low profile" to keep out of public view for the foreseeable future.
It is thought Ms Ferguson currently finds herself without a permanent home, having lived at Royal Lodge with Mr Mountbatten-Windsor since 2008.
In March, a US lawmaker made a direct plea to Ms Ferguson for her to testify about her "close personal" relationship with Epstein.
Congressman Suhas Subramanyam urged her to cooperate with the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s investigation into Epstein's sex trafficking network.
"Documentation of your relationship with Mr Epstein includes an email from 'Sarah' referring to Mr Epstein as 'a legend' — after Mr Epstein’s 2008 conviction — and writing: 'I really don’t have the words to describe, my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness.. I am at your service. Just marry me'," the letter read.
Congressman Subramanyam added it was "clear" Ms Ferguson had "social and business ties" to Epstein, and she has "knowledge of information that can assist our investigation".
Although no mention in the files suggests any wrongdoing, previously unseen emails now show the ex-Duchess praising Epstein as "the brother I have always wished for", and suggest she contacted Epstein while he was in prison for soliciting prostitution of a minor.
Ms Ferguson has been contacted for comment.
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