Fergie on the run: How sofa-surfing Sarah Ferguson was spotted in Cork and Zurich before breaking cover in Austria - as royal insider says: 'Sooner or later she'll have to face the music'

By MARTIN ROBINSON, CHIEF REPORTER Published: 10:42, 17 April 2026 | Updated: 10:46, 17 April 2026 A 'desperate' Sarah Ferguson is on the run in Austria but has been warned she will 'have to face the music' in the UK and US eventually over her links to Jeffrey Epstein. The former Duchess of York's secret sofa-surfing world tour has now taken her to a £2,000-a-night ski lodge in the Alps, it was revealed today. She has been photographed for the first time in public since December 12 in central London. Austria has been a haven for her in the past, having spent time in an expensive wellness clinic there after she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer, in January 2024. A royal insider, who has mutual friends of Ms Ferguson, said that she can't run forever - even with rich friends willing to put her up around the globe. 'She’s desperate. She’s not been in a good place mentally and there’s the worry that the police and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic will want to see her testify about what she knew of Epstein', the royal source said. 'Sarah's still got friends looking out for her and some of them have the money to help her to continue to hide out. But she can’t do that for ever.  'This scandal is going to go on for years. Sooner or later she’s going to have to face the music'. Austria has represented a safe haven for her in the recent past. Two years ago, after being diagnosed with a malignant melanoma, she booked into the Mayrlife resort on Lake Altaussee, which charges up to £6,700 for a two-week stay.  Fergie dramatically disappeared from view amid the ongoing fallout from her links to Jeffrey Epstein and a series of toe-curling, sycophantic emails she sent to him even after he was jailed for child prostitution offences. Epstein settled some of her debts and appears to have even paid for flights for Fergie, Beatrice and Eugenie to visit him after his release from prison in Florida, with Sarah in business class and her daughters back in economy.  Sarah Ferguson pictured in September last year. She has now been snapped in Austria, according to The Sun Austria has previously been a haven for the former Duchess of York (pictured, at the Mayrlife resort in 2023). She was there last has a global coterie of still loyal and rich chums willing to put her up and foot the bill The mystery over where she is hiding has rumbled on since she was last seen out in public in London on December 12 for the St James's Palace christening of her youngest granddaughter Athena Mapelli Mozzi. Before that there were possible sightings in Dubai, Switzerland and Ireland.   But she has been photographed turning up at a ski resort in Austria and is rumoured to have stayed there for a month. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's ex-wife looked tired and expressionless as she walked to a people carrier from her chalet.  Dressed in a blue coat and wearing glasses, the former duchess carried a teal tote bag with her hair nestled beneath a white baseball cap.  She appeared stony-faced as she emerged from a black Mercedes people carrier with tinted windows while wearing a light blue top with hoop earrings.  It is the first time Fergie has been seen in public since last year amid calls for her to provide US officials with evidence after the emergence of her relationship with Epstein.   The 66-year-old had gone off the radar after a trove of documents released by the US Department of Justice, known as the Epstein Files, revealed damning emails between her and the paedophile financier. A source told The Sun that Fergie had been 'keeping an incredibly low profile' in the Alps, as she 'clearly' wanted to keep out of public view for the foreseeable.   'Her choice of outfit when she popped out was obviously carefully chosen to help her avoid being recognised,' they added. Your browser does not support iframes. 'The area is absolutely beautiful, and it's very quiet most of the time, so it's the perfect place for a high-profile figure such as her to lie low when the heat is on.'  The ex-duchess was last photographed driving from Royal Lodge, where she lived with her ex-husband Andrew for decades, a week after her last official outing, being the Duchess of Kent's funeral at Westminster Cathedral on September 16.  And on December 12, 2025, she attempted to hide in the back of a car as she arrived for her one-year-old granddaughter, Athena's christening at St James's Palace.  Despite her children and ex-husband staying in the UK, she has taken refuge in Europe. A family friend has told the Daily Mail that Fergie travelled to Zurich in December and stayed for at least a month at her favourite £13,000-a-day lakeside wellness clinic, Paracelsus Recovery.  She previously took refuge there last July. 'Nobody would know she was there apart from staff. It could not be more private,' said the friend. 'She always feels at home at Paracelsus, especially when she feels at her most vulnerable.' In February she was also briefly sighted at Cork airport, apparently while visiting Ballyliffin Lodge and Spa in Donegal, a family-run hotel which offers views of the famously scenic Wild Atlantic Way. Fergie visited the wellness retreat twice in 2024, saying in a TikTok video that she visits Donegal when life gets 'overwhelming'. In Finding Sarah, Fergie wrote about how, during a previous crisis trip, she felt as if she had returned to 'the old life I once knew' when 'I had no reputation and I could simply be myself'. Until the outbreak of war, the Gulf must have seemed the perfect place for globe-trotting Fergie to go to ground. Just days before the conflict started, there were reports she'd travelled to the United Arab Emirates where Andrew and Fergie are said to have the run of a mini palace handed to them by Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nayhan. Princess Eugenie was at an art event for work and there were reports that her mother was with her.   Back in Britain she has been kicked out of Royal Lodge - but told friends she would not go to Sandringham with Andrew. Fergie was understood to be making her own living arrangements; however, in January, she had yet to find a permanent property as she was in the midst of a 'housing crisis', as her children could not offer her a home.  And while Andrew prepared to move into Wood Farm, and then subsequently Marsh Farm, in Sandringham, the 66-year-old would 'not be moving in', as she wanted to stay in the Windsor area.  At the time, she was said to be in a 'fragile' state over her fall from grace, telling friends her recent travails were 'not good for my mental health'.  Currently, the former duchess is rumoured to be placing 'false breadcrumbs' in a bid to stay under the radar. But the 66-year-old, who wrote a memoir called Finding Fergie, has been seen hiding at a £2,000-a-night ski chalet amid the fallout of the Epstein scandal, with sources claiming she rarely leaves to head outdoors. Sarah Ferguson has been seen for the first time in months at a 'luxury' Alpine ski resort amid growing scrutiny over her links to Jeffrey Epstein (pictured)  It comes as US lawmakers have made continued calls for Fergie to testify in front of Congress about her 'close personal and business ties' with convicted paedophile, Epstein. The former royal has not yet answered their request.  Last month, Democrat Congressman Suhas Subramanyam 'respectfully' requested the former Duchess give evidence as a part of a government investigation into the paedophile financier's sex trafficking operations. He urged Sarah to 'provide information' relating to Epstein's crimes and those of his co-conspirators, which includes disgraced former socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. He also sought any further information about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's involvement in Epstein's operations after the former Prince appeared several times in the millions of documents published by the Justice Department.  Subramanyam asked Sarah to provide a response no later than April 9, marking the most direct call for her to testify since the investigation began. Sarah is not under any legal obligation to give evidence in the US, but she is facing increased pressure from Subramanyam and other members of congress to do so. In March, Fergie was mentioned numerous times in the latest Epstein files release, with emails suggesting he had been bankrolling her for 15 years.  In one 2009 email, she is believed to have said to Epstein: 'I urgently need 20,000 pounds ($27,521) for rent today. 'The landlord has threatened to go to the newspapers if I don't pay. Any brainwaves?' Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, Andrew and Fergie's former home  In another gushing message, she appears to say 'Just marry me' after a string of compliments to the paedophile who had been convicted of soliciting sex from a minor the year before. Ferguson even seemed to involve her own children with Epstein, apparently talking of then-19-year-old Eugenie coming back from a 'sh***ng weekend' in 2010.  She is also believed to have introduced her then-22-year-old goddaughter to Epstein following his release from prison. In one 2011 email, she wrote that he was a 'steadfast, generous and supreme friend' to her and her family.  The correspondence was sent after he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008 and after she denounced her involvement with him as an error of judgement. At the time, a spokesman for the former duchess said the email was sent in response to legal threats following her public comments. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.