Prince Andrew’s biographer has delivered a scathing assessment of Sarah Ferguson after her explosive Jeffrey Epstein email resurfaced.
Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, predicts that King Charles and the public will forgive Fergie, but only because she knows how to “play” them.
Speaking to express.co.uk, Lownie described the Duchess of York as “the Becky Sharp of the royal family,” referring to the infamous character from the 1847 novel Vanity Fair. The character is presented as a cynical social climber who often benefits from her wily charms.
According to Lownie, Fergie “never seems to learn” but is “very good at playing the victim.”
The 2011 email, sent to Epstein after his first release from jail, saw Ferguson apologise for publicly disowning the convicted sex offender, calling him her “supreme friend.”
Her spokesperson claims that Epstein had threatened Fergie, who sent the email out of fear. But the backlash has been swift, with multiple charities dropping her as patron.
“She has no self-awareness. She has no acceptance of what she's done, the same problem as Andrew," Lownie noted.
Despite the latest in a string of scandals, he predicted King Charles would not hold a grudge.
“I think the King will forgive her,” Lownie said, noting Charles has often been pragmatic when it comes to family dynamics.
He added that Fergie will likely lean on PR spin and a well-timed TV appearance: “She’ll go on Oprah, she’ll do a mea culpa. Lots of naive Americans will think poor thing, she's a victim.”
