EXCLUSIVE: Fergie trying to ‘smother identity’ but remains ‘in charge’ amid Epstein scandal
The former Duchess of York has been spotted for the first time in over 200 days, with a body language expert explaining why Fergie believes she is ‘still in charge’ of her dire situation
A body language expert has delivered her verdict on Fergie, after she was seen for the first time since September (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Sarah Ferguson has been spotted for the first time in 213 days, marking her first appearance since she was implicated in the release of the Epstein files.
Fergie has been in hiding since September last year, one month before she and her ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were stripped of their titles and evicted from the Royal Lodge in Windsor.
Since then, the former Duchess of York was named several times in the millions of documents released by the US Department of Justice, which revealed that Sarah was in contact with Epstein while he was in prison for soliciting sex from a minor in 2009.
Sarah Ferguson has been spotted at a ski resort in Austria(Image: UK Press via Getty Images)
Both Sarah and Andrew have denied any wrongdoing, and have been keeping a low profile as the scandal surrounding their involvement with Epstein rages on.
Now, Fergie has been spotted for the first time since the Duchess of Kent’s funeral on September 16 last year, as she was seen looking sombre at a reported luxury Alpine ski resort in Austria. The Sun, which published the photos, reported that she was seen near her chalet in an unnamed Austrian village.
Sarah was snapped in casual clothes, with her hair tied up under a hat as she sported a pair of green glasses. And according to body language expert Judi James, Fergie’s choice of outfit says a lot about her current dire predicament.
Judi told the Mirror : “There are obvious signals of a desire to conceal and smother her visual identity here, with the signature long red hair stuffed up into a baseball cap and her dull, practical and almost masculine clothing a world away from her usual love of garish, eye-catching colours and snug, figure-enhancing styles.
Fergie was last seen on September 16 at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“The Fergie smile is also missing and in its place there is a look that appears more grim but, like her ex-husband Andrew, Fergie is still managing to project a sense of authority and even confidence here.”
While the former Duchess of York has been in hiding for seven long months, the body language expert believes Fergie’s sense of authority has not been diminished by the ongoing scandal.
Judi said: “Her body language might lack Andrew’s smugness but her splayed feet, her very direct eye gaze at the driver and the tight clutch on the handles of her bag would give the impression that Fergie retains some remnants of her old self-confidence and being in charge despite trying not to be spotted.”
“There’s no shoulder drooping, self-diminishing crouching or head-dipping here and despite the lack of a smile there’s no sign of any anguish etched across her features.” Judi concluded: “Fergie has always been the eternal optimist and there’s no sign from her body language here that her optimism has been diminished.”
The former Duchess of York has been maintaining a low profile since the release of the Epstein files(Image: UK Press via Getty Images)
Last month, Ms Ferguson lost her Freedom of the City of York title after councillors voted unanimously to remove the honour following fresh revelations about her links to Epstein.
Speaking during the debate, Liberal Democrat councillor Darryl Smalley said: “We now know, following the release of thousands of documents, that Sarah Ferguson too had a close friendship with Epstein, which continued well beyond his conviction.
“We don’t expect recipients of York’s highest honour to be saints. We simply do not want them to be best friends of convicted paedophiles. We stand with victims. We stand for the rule of the rule of law. We stand for decency.”
