Fergie steps up OUR FAMILY WILL SURVIVE

The Yorks are determined to rise again, but it may not be in Britain

- Judy Kean

His reputation is in tatters, his life as a royal is over. He’s having to fork out millions of dollars, and his mother, brother and nephew are so unimpressed with him they didn’t wish him happy birthday publicly.

His daughters are still shellshocked at the claims made against him and about the only person a disgraced Prince Andrew has got in his corner now is his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York. And with his future in doubt, he is likely to need all the support she can offer.

In the days since Andrew, 62, settled the lawsuit taken out against him by Virginia Giuffre, who says she was forced to have sex with him three times when she was only 17, Fergie has been “working her socks off behind the scenes” in an effort to keep her family happy. Daughters Princess Beatrice, 33, and Princess Eugenie, 31, are said to be extremely upset by the case, and Fergie has been trying to comfort them while helping Andrew – who has not admitted any liability – to navigate his future.

“She is trying to keep everything calm and tranquil with her family,” says a palace insider. “It has been unbelievably stressful obviously for Andrew and I gather he has emotional moments. Fergie’s main purpose is keeping the family together. It is really upsetting for her daughters and she wants to keep everyone unified.”