The royal family has been busy in the last couple of weeks, throwing glittering Buckingham Palace parties – tiaras required at one – for guests including Donald Trump, but during it all they have stayed totally silent on the vexed subject of Prince Andrew.

But one Windsor fringe dweller has broken ranks and publicly defended the pariah Duke of York, 59, amid the fallout from his Newsnight interview.

Sarah Ferguson was exiled from the royal inner circle when she and Andrew divorced 23 years ago, but the pair has stayed so close they live together in Windsor and holiday at their French ski chalet.

The Duchess of York was a firecracker during her Buckingham Palace days – poking people in the bottom with umbrellas at Royal Ascot, having her toes sucked by her financial adviser – and she’s gone rogue again, defending Andrew on the record.

Andrew with Sarah and daughters Beatrice, left, and Eugenie in June. Photo: Instagram

Always the Duke of York’s most staunch and gushy supporter on social media, Sarah, 60, has described the Jeffrey Epstein scandal which has seen her ex lose his royal position, office and duties as “nonsense”.

She said the last six months since Epstein was found dead in a New York jail and Andrew was accused by ‘sex slave’ Virginia Roberts Giuffre of having sex with her when she was 17 have been “very hard” for her and princess daughters Beatrice, 31, and Eugenie, 29.

“To see such a wonderful man go through such enormous pain,” she told Vogue Arabia of Andrew.

“He is the best man I know. It’s just incredible what he has done for Britain, and it’s all nonsense.”

Sarah also chimed in last month, the night before the disastrous Newsnight appearance, when she called Andrew a “giant of a principled man” in a profuse Instagram tribute.

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The duchess, who told Vogue she is a “very good” mother, gave a complicated answer to how Beatrice and Eugenie are dealing with their father’s exile.

“I used to say to anyone who came to see them, ‘Do not bring your problems to my girls. It’s not their problem’,” she said.

“Leave the problems at the door, along with your ego. Why should they be persecuted?”

Saying she still has battles with her own public image, Sarah divulged her tip for getting through: every morning, she recited Rudyard Kipling’s If.

“Beatrice always says that I’m the most misunderstood person,” she said. “I agree.”

The Duchess of York with Princess Eugenie at an October charity event. Photo; Instagram

On the subject of another duchess who gets unfavourable press, Sarah compared herself to Meghan Markle, 38.

Meghan, said to be working on the US launch of the Sussex Royal Foundation during her six weeks sabbatical from royal duties, revealed in October she has found public scrutiny “really challenging.”

Said Sarah, “It must be hard for Meghan, and I can relate to her.

“I believe she is modern and fabulous. I tend not to give advice because it is taken out of context, but I have been in Meghan’s shoes, and I still am.

“There’s always a twist of negativity and it just gets so sad and tiring. I feel desperately sorry for the pain they must be going through because I’ve been through it.”

The duchess, who spoke to the magazine in Riyadh during a corporate visit, admitted she “eventually self-sabotaged” during her time as a senior royal.

“I didn’t think of the ramifications of my actions. I was at the bottom of the barrel. It was almost as if I wanted to be unlovable.”

Now, she feels “the chains of her soul” are freed: “My failures have made me stronger and ready to deal with the obstacles of life. You need to steer yourself back to keeping yourself in joy.”