The former Duchess of York, who has been tracked down to a 052,000-a-night ski chalet in Austria, is said to be "living in fear" amid the fallout from the Epstein scandal

Sarah Ferguson fears returning to the UK after claiming she has been "abandoned" by the Royal Family , sources have revealed.

The former Duchess of York, who was stripped of her title alongside her ex-husband Andrew due to their closeness to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein , has been in hiding for months following the King's action last October. Fergie had not been seen in public since the christening of her one-year-old grand-daughter Athena at London's St James's Palace on December 12.

But now, she has been tracked down to a reported 052,000-a-night ski chalet in Austria as she attempted to move around the alpine village incognito.

Mystery had surrounded her whereabouts ever since she was repeatedly named in a tranche of documents released by US investigators probing the late billionaire sex offender's crimes.

A source close to the Yorks revealed that Fergie has not been contacted by any member of the Royal Family since she was unceremoniously stripped of the title she traded off for decades, despite being divorced from Andrew for 30 years.

One friend said: "Sarah is living in fear right now. She's not immune to everything that is happening. She realises how serious everything is, and she is not coping with it.

She is definitely worried about returning home to the UK and is relying on the kindness of friends to help her through the situation. But she knows she can't keep moving around forever. Sarah feels she has been abandoned by the royal family and has been treated very unfairly. She is at a complete loss over what to do.

Fergie in February, checked herself into the most expensive wellness clinic in the world , as details about her close friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein ruined her.

The luxury Paracelsus Recovery Clinic in Zurich, which costs a staggering 0513,000 a night, is understood to have been offered free of charge by the company, to which she had previously been an ambassador.

Other reports have placed her moving between wellness retreats in Europe, with unconfirmed stays in Switzerland, Ireland, and the Middle East. Sources suggested she has been offered to go and stay with her sister who lives in Australia .

Rumours in the publishing world have continued to gather pace that Fergie is also hoping to relaunch her shattered literary career with a tell all memoir, but she has demanded a fee of more than 051million. A source said: "One thing is for certain, she is desperately short of cash."

It comes as the first pictures of Fergie since the release of the Epstein files have emerged and showed her looking stony-faced as she emerged from a blacked-out people carrier wearing glasses and a baseball cap, covering her trademark red hair.

Sources revealed she has managed to avoid the spotlight since her last public appearance at the Duchess of Kents funeral at Westminster Cathedral back in September by keeping a low profile high up in the Alps and rarely venturing outside.

Epstein has been the downfall of her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his titles by the King because of serious lapses of judgment over his friendship with the late paedophile.

Fergie also lost her courtesy royal divorcee title and reverted to her maiden name, and recently lost the freedom of the city of York, after councillors voted unanimously to remove the honour over her links to Epstein.

She and Andrew, who was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, were given the honour as a wedding present from York in 1987 during a visit to the city.

The Epstein scandal hit Fergie last September when it emerged that she wrote to the convicted sex offender, calling him a "supreme friend" despite publicly disowning him - prompting a string of charities to drop her as a patron.

Meanwhile, in documents released in January, Fergie appeared to say to Epstein in an email: I am at your service. Just marry me. In another email to Epstein, she made a crude comment about her daughter Eugenie's love life and described him as the "brother I have always wished for" and even called the criminal a "legend".

Another appears to show her begging the paedophile for a job as his house assistant , and it also emerged she appeared to take her daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie to visit him in Florida just days after he was released from prison in 2008.

It led to a US lawmaker writing to the former duchess, urging her to testify to Congress about Epstein. Congressman Suhas Subramanyam requested that she give evidence in a government investigation into Epsteins sex trafficking operations.

Subramanyams letter to her read: The Committee is seeking information from anyone who has knowledge of Mr Epsteins criminal operations, and reports and released Department of Justice files reveal your close personal and business ties with him.

As the Committee seeks justice for the survivors of Mr Epsteins criminal enterprise, and transparency for the American public, I respectfully request your cooperation with the Committees investigation. As a non-US citizen, Ferguson, 66, is not compelled to appear before Congress or respond to the request.

约克公爵夫人（前）现被追踪到入住奥地利一家每晚2000英镑的滑雪小屋。据报道，受爱泼斯坦丑闻余波影响，她目前正“生活在恐惧中”。

据消息人士透露，莎拉·弗格森声称被王室"抛弃"后，对返回英国感到担忧。

约克公爵夫人因与前夫安德鲁同被控与已定罪的恋童癖者杰弗里·爱泼斯坦过从甚密，去年10月被国王褫夺头衔后，已隐匿数月。自12月12日在伦敦圣詹姆斯宫为年仅一岁的孙女雅典娜举行洗礼仪式后，弗ergie便再未公开露面。

然而目前，据报她已被追踪至奥地利一间每晚租金高达2000英镑的滑雪小屋，当时她正试图隐姓埋名地在这座阿尔卑斯山村庄活动。

自从美国调查人员公布了一批涉及已故亿万富翁性犯罪者的文件，其中多次提及她的名字后，她的行踪便一直成谜。

据约克家族知情人士透露，尽管菲姬（Fergie）与安德鲁王子离婚已30年，但自她被草率剥夺了经营数十年的头衔以来，王室成员便再未与她有过联系。

一位朋友表示："莎拉现在生活在恐惧中。她无法对正在发生的一切无动于衷。她意识到事态有多严重，却无力应对。"

她对返回英国一事深感忧虑，目前正依靠朋友的善意帮助渡过难关。但她明白自己不可能永远这样辗转漂泊。萨拉感觉已被王室抛弃，并认为自己受到了极不公正的对待。此刻她完全陷入了不知所措的境地。

今年二月，约克公爵夫人莎拉·弗格森（Fergie）入住全球最昂贵的疗养院，此前她与已定罪恋童癖者杰弗里·爱泼斯坦（Jeffrey Epstein）的密切往来细节曝光，令其声誉尽毁。

据悉，苏黎世豪华的帕拉塞尔苏斯康复中心每晚费用高达1.3万英镑，而该公司已为其提供免费服务。此前，她曾担任该公司的形象大使。

另有报道称，她辗转于欧洲各地的疗养胜地，其间可能曾在瑞士、爱尔兰和中东停留，但未经证实。消息人士透露，有人提议让她前往澳大利亚与姐姐同住。

出版界传闻持续发酵，称莎拉·弗格森（Fergie）希望通过一部揭秘式回忆录重振其破碎的写作生涯，但她索要的稿酬超过100万英镑。有消息人士表示：“有一点可以肯定，她目前极度缺钱。”

在爱泼斯坦文件公开后，约克公爵夫人莎拉·弗格森的首批照片曝光。画面中她戴眼镜和棒球帽，遮住了标志性的红发，从一辆深色玻璃的商务车中走出时面色凝重。

知情人士透露，自去年九月在威斯敏斯特大教堂出席肯特公爵夫人葬礼后，她便隐居在阿尔卑斯山脉高处深居简出，极少外出，成功避开了公众视线。

爱泼斯坦导致其前夫安德鲁·蒙巴顿-温莎身败名裂，后者因与已故恋童癖者的友谊暴露出“严重的判断失误”，被国王剥夺了头衔。

弗格森（Fergie）不仅失去了王室前配偶的礼节性头衔，恢复使用娘家姓氏，近日更因与爱泼斯坦（Epstein）的关联，在市政议员一致投票决定撤销其荣誉后，丧失了约克市的荣誉市民身份。

她与安德鲁（安德鲁于二月因涉嫌公职不当行为被捕）在1987年访问约克市时，被授予这一荣誉作为结婚礼物。

去年9月，弗格森（Fergie）卷入爱泼斯坦丑闻。当时有消息披露，尽管她曾公开与这位已定罪的性犯罪者划清界限，却私下写信称其为“挚友”，此举导致多家慈善机构撤销了她的赞助人身份。

与此同时，在一月份公布的文件中，弗格森（Fergie）似乎在一封发给爱泼斯坦（Epstein）的邮件中写道：“我随时为您效劳。娶我吧。”在另一封给爱泼斯坦的邮件中，她还粗俗地评论了女儿尤金妮（Eugenie）的感情生活，称他为“我一直渴望拥有的兄长”，甚至将这名罪犯称为“传奇人物”。

另一段内容似乎显示她曾向这名恋童癖者恳求担任其住宅助理一职。此外还有消息称，2008年该男子刚出狱数日，她似乎就带着女儿比阿特丽斯公主和尤金妮公主前往佛罗里达州探望他。

此事促使一位美国国会议员致信这位前公爵夫人，敦促其就爱泼斯坦事件向国会作证。众议员苏哈斯·苏布拉马尼亚姆要求她为政府调查爱泼斯坦性贩卖活动提供证词。

苏布拉马尼安写给她的信中称："委员会正在向任何了解爱泼斯坦犯罪活动的人征集信息，而相关报道及司法部公开文件显示，您与他存在密切的私人及商业往来。"

在委员会为爱泼斯坦先生犯罪行为的幸存者寻求正义、并为美国公众追求透明度的过程中，我谨请求您配合委员会的调查。现年66岁的弗格森并非美国公民，因此无需强制出席国会听证或回应这一要求。