Sarah Ferguson has made mistake after mistake, but she’s finally realised what she needs to do, writes Rebecca Russell.

Sarah Ferguson has faced endless scandals (Image: Getty)

For over three decades, Sarah Ferguson has danced on the edge of social exile, faced financial ruin and been the catalyst behind some of the biggest royal scandals – but she has finally decided to do the right thing.

After years of using her royal title for her own gain and acting with just enough calculated vulnerability to land her back on the world’s talk show sofas time and time again, she’s finally realised what she needs to do. Stay out of sight.

If only for Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s sake, Fergie’s decision to dodge the cameras since the first of her reputation-destroying emails to Epstein was leaked has been her best choice in years… perhaps ever.

And it could just allow her daughters to remain princesses and save them from being removed from the line of succession, even if the writing looks to be on the wall for their father Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Fergie has apparently jetted around the world – from the Alps to Qatar and closer to home to Ireland – but she’s managed to do it without so much as a personal comment, dig at her situation or photograph being splashed for the world to devour.

Given that, over the years, she has managed to emerge without little more than a scratch from her various scandals, including the infamous “toe sucking” incident and a cash-for-access sting by the Fake Sheikh, there was probably part of her that thought she would, in time, be able to bounce back, dust herself off and resurrect herself once again.

But the reality is, the public’s amusement at seeing just how many scandals Teflon-coated Fergie can survive has worn off… Epstein is a scar on her name and reputation that no amount of stitches can fix.

After her lies, deception and vulgar comments have come home to roost, her silence is really the greatest gift she could give King Charles.

While the last few years saw Sarah burst back onto the scene as a best-selling romantic fiction author and be increasingly welcomed back into the royal fold with appearances alongside the King at Christmas and Easter, those days are now firmly in the past.

Sarah Ferguson has survived endless scandals (Image: Getty)

She may have once been the breath of fresh air brought in to shake up the Royal Family with informality and fun, but she is now the draught the Firm is trying to shut the door on.

Her continued silence is not a weakness or an act of submission; it’s the best decision she’s made in years. But is it part of some grand masterplan or strategy? Who knows. We can only wait and see if she has an ace tucked up her sleeve.

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Given that she has spent the better part of her life as the ultimate magician of the Royal Family, able to reinvent herself and shake off scandal with the swoosh of a magic wand, there seems little chance that this is the last we’ve heard of Sarah Ferguson.

And perhaps like Houdini, she’ll reappear in a puff of smoke when the world’s least expecting it.