Sarah Ferguson will attempt a comeback despite denials that the former duchess is writing a book, according to royal author Phil Dampier. He told Hello! magazine that Ferguson will "no doubt" attempt "some sort of comeback".
Mr Dampier said only Ferguson knows exactly what that will look like, adding: "But she is the comeback queen. Who knows whether, at 67, she's capable of doing it or if it's too late. But she will certainly have a try."
Shock return at memorial service
His comments came as Ferguson made a surprise appearance at a service celebrating the life of her former lover and confidant, Paddy McNally, on Thursday (October 29). She was joined by her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, along with their husbands, at the event at St Paul's Church in Knightsbridge.
Pictures showed Ferguson smiling slightly as she arrived for the service, flanked by her immediate family. The former duchess did not attend McNally's funeral, and before the service in central London she had only been spotted in public once in 15 months, when she was found at a spa in the Austrian Alps.
Prior to that, she appeared at the Duchess of Kent's funeral at Westminster Cathedral in September 2025, alongside Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Epstein scandal links
Weeks later, Andrew's former wife was embroiled in scandal when emails emerged showing she maintained contact with Jeffrey Epstein even after he was convicted of procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008. In one email from 2011, Ferguson described Epstein as a "supreme friend". She also called him the brother she had always wished for in another piece of correspondence.
Files released by the US Department of Justice suggested Ferguson visited Epstein with Beatrice and Eugenie days after he was released from prison. Both Ferguson and Mountbatten-Windsor lost their titles and honours when revelations about their links to Epstein emerged. They were also evicted from their Royal Lodge home, and a number of charities dropped them as patrons.
Book deal denial and current status
Reports emerged in September that Ferguson was days away from signing a book deal. But a spokesperson for the former duchess later told The Independent she has "no plans to write any tell all memoir".
Mountbatten-Windsor now lives at Marsh Farm on King Charles's private Sandringham Estate. Ferguson is believed to be living somewhere in the Home Counties after reportedly returning to the UK in August. She lives in a "gated" property with "six bedrooms" and a "granny annexe", according to The Sun newspaper.
The former Duke of York is currently under police investigation over alleged misconduct in public office. He denies any wrongdoing in relation to that allegation and in relation to Epstein.
