A friend of the duchess has said this is one thing that has “devastated” her about the revelation of the email.

Speaking on The Jeremy Vine show, Sarah’s friend Lizzie Cundy said the duchess is in a “terrible way” and only sent the email to protect her family.

Lizzie said: “Sarah is absolutely devastated about losing the charities. Especially the cancer one, herself had a cancer diagnosis recently, she's absolutely devastated. She's a human being, a mother, she's going through hell."

The duchess was last seen in public on Monday when she was driven from Royal Lodge in Windsor, where she lives with her ex-husband Prince Andrew.

Prince Andrew has not commented on the matter, with their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie also not addressing this latest scandal.

While the family have stayed silent, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Express.co.uk that both Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, will no doubt find the situation very sad.

He said: “The Yorks are an extremely close-knit family. The disgrace of Sarah Ferguson has followed that of Andrew, who has become an international pariah. Beatrice and Eugenie will find their parents' predicament devastating.”