Sarah Ferguson has been seen in public for the first time in months, photographed at a luxury chalet in the Austrian Alps. The former Duchess of York, who has not been seen for 213 days, is reportedly lying low amid growing calls for her to give evidence about her relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
In March, US congressman Suhas Subramanyam urged Ferguson to give 'sworn testimony' to the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating the handling of Epstein's prosecution. Subramanyam told the BBC he believed Ferguson had 'information related to the investigation' and that lawmakers would be 'happy to work out terms that work for her' if she testified under oath.
Ferguson was stripped of her Duchess of York title last year after her ex-husband, Prince Andrew, lost his own title over links to Epstein. She has made no statement on the calls to testify. The Sun newspaper, which published photos of her outside a chalet, quoted an unnamed source saying she 'has clearly wanted to keep a low profile' and that the quiet ski village was 'the perfect place to lie low when the heat is on'.
New details from the Epstein files, released in January, revealed that Ferguson remained close to Epstein after his 2008 conviction for procuring a minor for prostitution. In a 2009 email, she called him the 'brother I have always wished for', and in 2010, she described her 'gratitude' and added, 'I am at your service. Just marry me.' The documents also suggest she took her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, to lunch with Epstein after his release from prison.
There is no legal mechanism to compel Ferguson to testify in the US, but lawmakers continue to press for her cooperation. Prince Andrew has also faced calls to answer questions over his ties to Epstein and is under investigation for allegedly leaking documents to the financier while serving as a UK trade envoy.
