Charles has welcomed Fergie back after "years of humiliation," royal expert says

These days, Sarah Ferguson, AKA the Duchess of York, is constantly making headlines for overwhemingly positive reasons — such as praising her daughters and grandchildren, or giving us much longed-for updates about the late Queen's corgis.

But for a long time, Fergie was something of a pariah in the Royal Family, in particular when it came to the late Prince Philip.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams even once went as far as to say, "Ferguson’s idea of being royal was best summed up by one of the courtiers who said, ‘vulgar, vulgar, vulgar.' She hadn’t an idea of what being royal really meant. it wasn’t just the awful lapses of judgment. It was an attitude to royal life" (via Grazia).

But thankfully, royal expert Jennie Bond believes that the tide is turning for the Duchess.

"I think things have changed quite a lot for Fergie since the Duke of Edinburgh‘s death," Jennie told OK!.

"He found it difficult even to be in the same room as Fergie after all the shame she had brought on the family, but the Queen was always more conciliatory."

There was one incident in particular which didn't sit well with some of the older members of the Royal Family: the time when paparazzi took pictures of Fergie having her toes sucked by her financial advisor on holiday in France, months after her separation from Prince Andrew was announced.

"And now King Charles is showing that he accepts her as part of the family and has begun including her in family occasions," Jennie continued.

"And that is good to see. I always thought it was hard to watch the girls [Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie] at big family gatherings or public events without their mother alongside. It was a silent but obvious humiliation for Fergie. But she never complained about it publicly."

It's nice to see that a member of the Royal Family can eventually be welcomed back into the fold after a falling out — perhaps Prince Harry is next in one way or another?