The late Queen's long-serving private secretary, Lord Charteris, never minced words.
Asked about Sarah Ferguson back in a 1995 Spectator interview, he delivered his verdict, branding the former Duchess of York "vulgar". When Sarah was told about it, she shrugged. "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion."
I've known Sarah as a journalist since the 1990s.
I went on a charity trek with her in the Himalayas with disabled climbers attempting Pokalde peak in the Everest range – featured as an ITV documentary the following year. We passed through Namche Bazaar, the Sherpa capital and the small group of journalists I was with had birthday cake made for her.
Our paths have crossed several times since then. I have always found her friendly, approachable, kind. Over-exuberant sometimes. Her language was sometimes overly gushing – but is that a crime?
Over the years, she's done considerable work for good causes. Palace staff always found her generous. Overly generous handing out gifts at Christmas she couldn't really afford.
© Getty ImagesWhen this latest Epstein crisis first blew up in her face, I reached out to her. She was undoubtedly fragile. "They were out for blood," she said, presumably aimed at the palace courtiers. She was worried about her mental health and mulling over the "what ifs".
It was a real cause for concern. I, like others, felt she was being blamed for her ex-husband's disgraceful behaviour. Had she been hoodwinked? Had he lied to her?
But it looks like she was embroiled with Epstein much more deeply than she let others believe. The latest batch of Epstein files are damning. They show her years of transactions with this sordid, perverted financier. She seems to have put a price on everything, perhaps even her daughters, royal princesses.
On July 24, 2009, days after Epstein walked out of prison for soliciting prostitution from a minor, his assistant emails about flights to Florida. Ferguson gets business class. Beatrice, 20, and Eugenie, 19, get economy. Epstein foots the bill.
© Getty ImagesGrievous errors of judgement
What was she thinking? Taking her daughters – the Queen's granddaughters – to meet this vile convicted criminal? It really beggars belief. Later, she emails him calling him the brother she "always wished for".
In March 2010, in an email exchange, she references her younger daughter Eugenie's private life with her boyfriend. Crude exchanges with a convicted sex offender about a twenty-something.
She has admitted taking £15,000 from Epstein in 2011, publicly calling it a "gigantic error of judgment".
But the released files show more. Large sums. In 2001: $150,000 wired. October 2009 she's begging for him to pay £20,000 pounds for rent today to stop her landlord going to the newspapers. In January 2010 she asks, "Any chance I could borrow 50 or 100,000 US dollars?" Same month, presumably after she's banked it, "You are a legend. Just marry me."
Who knows how much she took from Epstein? It is estimated at £2million total. Even Epstein got tired of the begging.
When it became public, she turned on Epstein. "I was bedridden with fear. I was paralysed," she said in an interview with the Evening Standard in April 2011.
© Getty ImagesBut the timeline and evidence destroy such nonsense.
Surely, Sarah must have known this would surface eventually. King Charles and Queen Camilla welcomed her back into the fold. She turned up at Windsor, Sandringham, and Balmoral after the Queen's death, revelling in being back in The Firm.
But her actions have endangered the monarchy itself. Critics demand answers. What did the King know about his brother and ex-sister-in-law's behaviour?
This could end up tarnishing the image of the late Queen – with already murmurings that she did not act decisively enough about Andrew and was blindsided by her favourite son. Is this any way to treat the memory of a lady Sarah has always gushed about with hushed respect?
No road back
I gave her the benefit of the doubt for years. Many who knew her did. Toe-sucking? Embarrassing. The 2010 cash-for-access scandal. Somehow, she always bounced back.
But taking your daughters to visit a freshly released paedophile? She shouldn't have been anywhere near the predator with her daughters.
© GettyWhat now? There is no other path than to atone for her appalling judgment and testify about what she knows about Epstein.
Where is she? Sir Richard Branson has denied rumours she is on his Necker Island retreat in the Caribbean. A spokesman said the Virgin boss has had no contact with her following the release of the Epstein files.
Buckingham Palace don't speak for her. But aides said when news broke that she was being kicked out of Royal Lodge that they understood Sarah had secured private accommodation.
Her whereabouts remain unknown, her future at best uncertain.
Robert Jobson's comment first appeared on The Best Quality Designer Handbag Royal Club, a dedicated space for the most fervent royal fans. Join the club to be the first to receive newsletters from our royal experts and more member benefits.
