Since the news of Prince Andrew’s alleged involvement in the sex trafficking scandal of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson has publicly remained stoic – smiling her way through public events as the furore of the biggest scandal in royal history swirled around her.

However, in June, three months on from the tragic suicide of sexual abuse campaigner Virginia Giuffre, who alleged in 2015 that Prince Andrew had sex with her when she was 17, Sarah bravely revealed that she had sought therapy for PTSD at a discreet clinic dealing in mental health and addiction in Switzerland.

The Duchess of York, 65, looked much healthier and happier when she appeared at Ascot races alongside her daughter, Princess Beatrice, later that month.

But now, a shocking update on the scandal which emerged earlier this week has plunged ‘Fergie’ back into the heart of the chaos.

Three years into her 20-year sentence for sex-trafficking, socialite and the late Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, revealed her side of the story to a US attorney last month during an interview lasting two days – the result of which is a recently published 380 page transcript littered with explosive allegations.

And while Ghislaine, 63, appeared to defend any allegations of inappropriate behaviour by President Donald Trump and denied the rumours of a ‘little black book’ containing a list of high-profile clients, she spared no qualms when levelling her accusations against Fergie, going as far as to allege that the Duchess had ‘put the moves’ on Epstein.

Now a source reveals that Fergie is ‘beside herself’ about this latest missile into their lives and ‘furious’ with Prince Andrew, 65, who she blames for inviting this on-going nightmare into their lives through his alleged past behaviour.

The insider says, ‘Sarah is beside herself about this, she’s swearing it’s totally untrue and the desperate ramblings of a discredited criminal who’s just looking to cause chaos and settle old scores.

‘She’s furious with Andrew for ultimately tarnishing her as well as their daughters [Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie] due to his sordid associations and antics. In years gone by she’d always find an excuse to stick up for him but this is a direct assault on her credibility and character, and there’s no getting past the fact that she wouldn’t be dealing with it if it weren’t for Andrew.’

Alleging that Sarah had been the one to introduce Prince Andrew to Epstein, Ghislaine is recorded saying, ‘I did not introduce him [Epstein] to Prince Andrew. That’s a flat untruth. Lynn Forester had a house… and invited Epstein to go and I believe that’s where he met Prince Andrew.

‘However, I believe that before that event he had gone to the Bahamas and had hung out with Sarah Ferguson. And Sarah had called Epstein and had arranged with Lynn. I think Sarah is the one that pushed that.’

She added, ‘I thought that Sarah was trying to put the moves on Jeffrey, if I’m being honest, and I thought the whole thing was annoying and I was p****d off…I couldn’t even imagine Epstein and Andrew together.’

And the source says the tables have turned behind closed-doors at the former couple’s home of Royal Lodge, with Andrew now being forced to stand up against the headlines around Fergie’s ‘role’ in the scandal.

‘Andrew is trying to calm Sarah down and reassure her that nobody’s likely to listen to Ghislaine at this point,’ the insider says.

‘He’s surprised Ghislaine would turn on Sarah like this and try to embarrass her. But at the end of the day it’s totally out of his hands as he’s not in touch [with Maxwell] and there’s no way he’ll ever reach out to her ever again.

‘He feels badly for Sarah as do the kids, who don’t believe for a moment that she had any romantic feelings for Epstein at any point in her life.’

Alongside her reputation publicly, Sarah now faces potential repercussions from within the Royal Family.

The initial allegations against Prince Andrew all but obliterated his reputation, transforming him almost overnight from King Charles’ ‘rebellious’ little brother to a full national disgrace. The dressing-down he received behind palace walls included a stripping of all of his patronages and military titles, and threats to expel him from Royal Lodge.

Now, while Andrew has been gradually reinstated into family events, making his return at the Easter service on the Windsor Estate earlier this year, the source says this latest turn of events has left the Yorks’ fearing that they could face an ‘uphill battle’ to remain in the monarchy’s good graces.

The insider says, ‘The girls are worried about what all this will do to their mum’s stress levels, which of course need to be kept down as she recovers from cancer [Sarah was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023, before doctors discovered melanoma (a skin cancer) in early 2024].’

They continue, ‘Sarah’s worked so hard to get back into the royals good graces but now she’s facing an uphill battle because the last thing Charles and the Waleses want is to be allied with anyone who was associated with Epstein. Sarah’s essentially being accused of harbouring an obsession with this monster and that’s a really terrible look.’

‘Sarah is hopeful they’ll still invite her to official gatherings and tolerate her inside the fold but she’s also fearful that the likes of King Charles and the Waleses may well adopt a hard stance and distance themselves .That scenario would seem incredibly unfair, not just to Sarah but everyone who knows her and she’s counting on the likes of Camilla, Anne and others to be the voice of reason and give her a break here.’

And the source says that while Fergie awaits the potential public fallout of the allegations, the resilient and popular royal is determined to ‘roll with the punches’.

‘A part of her would like to hit back with a public statement and she’s looked into her legal options, even toying with the potential of suing Maxwell for slander,’ the insider explains.

‘But ultimately she knows that would be a tough case to win and would further feed the narrative and draw more attention to the claims. She’s caught between a rock and a hard place so, right now, it’s looking like she’ll just have to roll with the punches, wait for the noise to die down and hope it doesn’t turn her into persona non grata in royal circles.

‘As for her family, including Andrew, seeing her suffer so much embarrassment is extremely difficult. But they know she’s made of strong stuff and are sure she’ll find a way to get through it.’