Duchess on the run Sarah Ferguson is ‘desperately phoning wealthy friends’ for somewhere to stay after her Austrian clinic bolthole was exposed

Disgraced Sarah Ferguson urgently seeks refuge with her friends after her secret hideout in the Alps is exposed; Because he feared US subpoenas regarding the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Sources close to him say the 66-year-old former royal has been working the phones since the weekend, looking for a new fling and a return to the low profile he has maintained over the past few months.

A luxury £2,000-a-night flat at the Mayrlife wellness spa in Altaussee, near Salzburg, Austria, which served as a shelter from the London storm, is now in jeopardy after photos of it nearby were published last week.

It is believed that he has now left his lakeside retreat and will rely on wealthy connections to care for him.

Sources say Ferguson has barely left his two-bedroom first-floor chalet overlooking the stunningly beautiful lake and has never been seen on the large balcony since checking in about a month ago.

He ordered all his meals from room service; Bresaola ham and chicken breast with mozzarella were his favorites.

He had never seen her on the resort’s walking paths, by the lake, or on the clay tennis courts. Although she had her hair done by a visiting stylist on March 24, her contact with the outside world was kept to a minimum.

Sources close to Fergie say she remains in constant contact by phone with her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, but they are both increasingly concerned about her mental health.

Pictured is the £2,000-a-night clinic where Fergie holed up amid controversy around her links to Epstein

The disgraced former royal was spotted in Austria for the first time in four months. He was last seen attending his grandchild’s christening

How he was able to finance his stay at Mayrlife is a source of mystery. Natascha Sommerer and Dr Dieter Resch, co-owners of the spa formerly known as Vivamayr, have known Ms Ferguson since she stayed there in 2023, recovering from breast cancer and melanoma.

Ms Sommerer, herself the daughter of the late industrialist and former Austrian vice-chancellor Hannes Androsch, is believed to have bonded with Fergie during this stay and was grateful for the publicity she brought to the clinic in interviews and on social media.

Sarah recorded a stirring promotional video for the resort, praising it as ‘a safe place, a haven’ and ‘probably one of the only places in the world where I can just be Sarah’.

Whether this will be enough for Mayrlife to ‘reciprocate’ his long-term stay seems unlikely.

He was still wearing a trademark white baseball cap and waving the Mayrlife flag when he was photographed on a rare outing away from the spa.

Unfortunately, Mayrlife’s distinctive blue emblem was photoshopped by the newspaper to keep its location secret for a while longer.

Some say Fergie still has no shortage of wealthy philanthropists rallying around her in her time of need, but rumors of another possible source of income were suggested yesterday by royal expert Tom Sykes in The Daily Beast — a sensational deal for a warts-and-all book chronicling her relationship with Epstein.

‘The idea that he financed a spa holiday in Austria out of his own pocket offends credulity,’ Sykes wrote. ‘The biggest rumor… is that Ferguson has landed a major book deal, a tell-all memoir, or at least some of it, that will represent a huge payday.’

Other sources insisted that his friends would be there for him. “Sarah has good friends,” a source told the Mail. ‘People who know him well are happy to help him. ‘He’ll have nowhere left to go.’

Asked if the former duchess regretted her friendship with late billionaire pedophile Epstein, the source added: ‘What do you think? Of course it is.”

The whereabouts of the former Duchess of York have been unknown for almost four months. She was last seen at her grandson’s christening on December 12 – but was last photographed leaving the Royal Lodge in a Mercedes on September 25, seven months ago.

Fergie was evicted from the 30-bedroom Royal Lodge along with her ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor due to the fallout from their friendship with Epstein.

More importantly, the former Duchess of York is prepared for the possibility of being served with legal documents in connection with the long-running fallout from the Epstein scandal.

He has not been accused of any wrongdoing and no cases against him have been made public.

But those close to him admit he kept a careful eye on the post and the doorbell.

Like her ex-husband, her reputation was badly tarnished by revelations in the Epstein Files, which exposed her toe-curling solicitations of the financier and convicted sex offender.

In emails from 2010, two years after he was jailed for procuring minors for prostitution, Ferguson called her ‘a legend’ and told her he was ‘at your service’.

He even blurted out “Marry me” at one point, partly as a joke and partly with no doubt one eye on his bank account.

American lawyers have a wide reach. Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, published last year, kept these questions alive. Her ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of her remaining titles in October 2025 and now lives in quiet disgrace as the police investigation continues following her arrest in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The former duchess remains a background figure in this story, but lawyers and lawmakers are lurking around.

Last month, the U.S. Congress’s Military and Foreign Affairs Oversight Subcommittee wrote to Fergie, requesting that she present its inquiries into the Epstein affair.

Democratic Congressman Suhas Subramanyam told him in his letter: ‘It is clear that you have social and business ties to Mr. Epstein and have information that could assist our investigation.

‘Documentation of your relationship with Mr. Epstein includes referring to Mr. Epstein as “a legend” after Mr. Epstein’s conviction in 2008 and writing: “I truly cannot find the words to express my love and gratitude for your generosity and kindness… I am at your service. Just marry me.”

‘In addition, according to Justice Department documents, Mr. Epstein was involved in discussions to become the majority owner of your company.’

He also pointed out that Fergie begged Epstein for a loan and suggested Andrew may have information about her relationship with Epstein. The former Duke of York received a request to speak to Congress last year.

Meanwhile, at least nine British police forces and the National Crime Agency are examining the Epstein files.

Her friends describe a woman who is tired but unbroken, despite the increasing pressure on her. ‘He just wants a door that doesn’t open to strangers,’ the source said. ‘That’s all. ‘He wants to breathe.’

His relatives will not tell him where he will go next. Options are said to include the homes of long-standing friends in English counties and further afield on the Continent. What is certain is that Austria is closed to him for now.

The princesses are said to be exhausted by their parents Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson’s friendship with pedophile Epstein.

The King’s family has been making it clear for some time that the Duchess is not part of official Royal life. He has not been invited to Sandringham or Balmoral and will never appear on the Palace balcony again.

His status, in constitutional terms, is that of an ordinary citizen with a famous name.

He’s been here before, facing bankruptcy and scandal that began with the ‘thumb-sucking’ summer of 1992. Then came the cash-for-access crisis of 2010.

One friend opened the door every time. He went through it every time.

A spokesperson for the Duchess of York has been approached for comment.