Sarah Ferguson has been through several public periods of reinvention during her time in the public eye – as a royal, as an author and mother, and now her final exile from public life.
However, the former Duchess of York, 66, once said she had a particularly poignant "wake-up call" after experiencing an "awful" set of tragedies in the 1990s.
Sarah gave a very personal interview to The Observer back in 2002, while on a trip to Sierra Leone for her charity, Children in Crisis, opening up about her battles with food and an eating disorder and even her hopes to one day have another child.
At the time, she had managed a "remarkable transformation" of her image after leaving royal duties following her divorce from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in 1996, instead devoting herself to charity work.
She was also succeeding as the American spokesperson for Weight Watchers, which reportedly paid £1million a year, and became known for her devotion as a mother to her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
'Wake-up call'
Speaking to the Observer, Sarah said she'd had a "wake-up call" after suffering the death of her mother and two of her close friends, Princess Diana and Carolyn Cotterell, in quick succession.
She had shared a flat with her best friend Carolyn, who first introduced her to Andrew and died from cancer in 1999, while Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Sarah's mother, Susan Barrantes, also tragically died in a car crash in Argentina at the age of 61 in 1998.
© Getty ImagesSarah said: "I did think then: 'Are you going to waste your life and just eat yourself silly, Sarah, or are you going to wake up?'"
As a result, she said she saw her charity work as a kind of "therapy", adding of Carolyn: "It has been awful without her."
Where is Sarah Ferguson now?
Sarah's official whereabouts have not been confirmed since April, when she was spotted at the £14,000-a-week Mayrlife wellness spa in Austria in pictures published by The Sun.
The mother-of-two was seen wearing a blue coat and keeping a low profile in a white baseball cap while emerging from a Mercedes.
© @sarahferguson15/InstagramIt was the first time she'd been seen publicly in 213 days after fresh revelations surrounding her friendship with Jeffrey Epstein were exposed in January's release of files by the US government.
However, she has not been seen since and appears to have moved on from the resort.
In recent weeks, her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, who is pregnant with her third child, have made a return to public life.
© Getty ImagesFor example, the sisters attended Peter Phillips' wedding on 6 June, alongside senior members of the royal family.
Fergie's fall from grace
Before 2025, Sarah Ferguson seemed to be making a return to royal life and had joined the family at Easter and Christmas services. She and Andrew were also present for the Duchess of Kent's funeral last September.
© Getty ImagesHowever, things changed in October, when Andrew was stripped of his remaining titles by King Charles, meaning Sarah also lost her "Duchess of York" title and was also asked to leave their Royal Lodge home in Windsor.
She was dropped by a series of charities, including Julia's House, while her own charity, Sarah's Trust, announced its closure in February.
In January, fresh revelations about her and Andrew's friendships with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were made in a new batch of files released by the US government, showing the former Duchess had remained in contact with him after she denounced him publicly.
Being named in the files does not indicate wrongdoing, but Sarah has withdrawn further from the public eye since.
