As she turns 67, Sarah Ferguson is no doubt taking stock of her situation.
The former Duchess of York has had arguably the worst year of her life, having lost her royal standing, her home, her multiple charities, and being ostracised by most of her former associates as a social outcast.
Furthermore, she is said to be "unwelcome" at the home of her ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, to whom she had remained incredibly close even after their divorce.
But Sarah does still have some support in the form of her two daughters, Princess Beatrice, 38, and Princess Eugenie, 36.
Ever since she and Andrew were forced to move out of Royal Lodge, the former Duke's 30-room home in Great Windsor Park, Sarah has managed to largely stay hidden from view.
Earlier this year, she was spotted at a luxury Swiss clinic before taking refuge at the £15 million ski chalet belonging to her close friend and former boyfriend, Paddy McNally, whom she dated in the 1980s before she married Andrew.
© PA Images via Getty ImagesBut in another blow to Sarah, the Formula One tycoon died in July, at the age of 88, and Sarah has now moved back to a rented house in the Home Counties, outside of London.
Beatrice and Eugenie show their support
Sarah has had at least two visitors since then. Both Beatrice and Eugenie have visited their mother at her new rental, according to royal commentator Phil Dampier.
Speaking exclusively to HELLO!, he said: "Friends tell me they have both been to see her at her new house in the past couple of weeks. I don't think they want to be seen with her in public at the moment, and she probably realises it's not a good idea either, but behind the scenes they are talking and trying to be supportive."
Phil continued: "They're very embarrassed and are obviously sort of reevaluating their own lives and their own contacts and the things they get involved with because they don't want to be tainted by scandal. But I don't think the relationship is quite as close as it used to be, certainly.
"I think the days of them being the tripod and inseparable have been fragmented. They have grown up and gone their own ways a bit, and they've got their separate lives and separate families."
Does Sarah have plans for a comeback?
Sarah had a reputation for being something of a comeback queen in the past. But will she be able to overcome this latest scandal? There has been speculation she is considering writing a tell-all book, preparing to tell her story on TV, or launching a business initiative - just as she has done before when times were tough.
© WireImage"She's denied that she's writing a book, but I have no doubt she will attempt some sort of comeback at some point. Only she knows exactly how that will manifest and exactly what that will be," said Phil.
"But she is the comeback queen. Who knows whether, at 67, she's capable of doing it or if it's too late. But she will certainly have a try."
Sarah 'not welcome' at Andrew's home
While Sarah might still be in regular contact with her daughters, the same cannot be said of her ex-husband Andrew.
Despite having previously described them as "the happiest divorced couple in the world", relations between the pair have fallen apart in light of the Epstein scandal.
© GettyBoth Sarah and Andrew lost their major honours and titles following revelations about their ties to the convicted paedophile. They were also instructed to leave Royal Lodge.
Andrew, 66, now lives at Marsh Farm, a five-bedroom property on the King's Sandringham estate. And while it was thought that Sarah was keen to keep her distance from the ex-Prince, it seems the opposite is true.
A source has now told The Times: "The red setter, as she's known, is not welcome at Marsh Farm. She's persona non grata as far as Andrew is concerned."
It's not known why she has been exiled by her ex-husband, but the cache of Epstein documents released in the US appear to show it was Sarah who introduced Andrew to Epstein.
The source also refuted speculation that Andrew is wallowing in his own company. "Don't believe all that poor Andy [explicit]. He's having a very nice time, thank you very much. He goes out, he goes off shooting with friends, he sees his old chums who are very loyal to him. He's not sitting around feeling sorry for himself any more."
Read our exclusive interview with Phil about Sarah's 'worst year' here
