A former friend of Sarah Ferguson has suggested what she believes could help repair the former Duchess of York’s public image, after she re‑emerged after months out of sight.

Ms Ferguson, the ex‑wife of Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor, had not appeared in public for seven months prior to April 16, when she was photographed at a spa retreat in Altausse, Austria.

It is understood Ms Ferguson avoided common areas and lived exclusively off room service while staying at the lakeside getaway to keep a low profile.

Her absence followed the release of alleged email exchanges between her and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, published in the recently released Epstein files.

Addressing the scandal on an episode of Best Magazine’s Suddenly Single podcast, Lizzy Cundy claimed Ms Ferguson “got back in touch with Epstein” to protect her daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie out of fear of “what he may do.”

“She was scared of bringing more bad news and gossip on the Royal Family,” Ms Cundy told the host.

Ms Cundy admitted she felt “disappointed and let down” by the ex-Duchess after seeing more alleged emails between Ms Ferguson and Mr Epstein following his child sex abuse conviction in 2008.

Commenting on the former Duchess’s prolonged absence from public life, Ms Cundy sympathised with Ferguson’s decision to keep a low profile.

“She’s gone underground, you can understand why, she’s trying to put her life back together,” she said.

“Look, they’ve [she and Andrew] lost their home, they’ve lost their work, they’ve lost their charities, they’ve lost their reputation.”

But she urged the 66-year-old to front up and give an interview to the public in a bid to repair her reputation.

“Fergie was queen of comebacks and reinventing herself, you know, what’s she going to do next?,” she continued.

“I really think she should do an interview and tell the truth, just have some clarity and truth, I think that’s a way back, people need to hear the truth.

“She’s done the Oprah show, she’s done books. She’s had a lot of scandals in the past, but this is something else and I think it’s really important that the public hear it from her.”