Repairing your public image? Don’t do this.

One’s fresh from giving evidence at a war crimes trial, the other trying to avoid bankruptcy. And yet they’ve just been pictured on the same luxury Mediterranean holiday, as if they hadn’t a care in the world.

Their PRs must be banging the heads against a wall right now.

‘Sipping a cocktail whilst surrounded by celebrities in the Med, it’s hard to believe that the ‘penniless’ Duchess of York is ‘doing everything she can’ to stave off bankruptcy’ said the piece in today’s Daily Mail.  Further still, she’s doing it in the company of,  not exactly flavour of the month, Naomi Campbell.

They were pictured partying at the 75th birthday party of billionaire hotel magnate Sir Sol Kerzner.  The eighth foreign trip of the year for Sarah Ferguson. Furthermore, ‘the last time Fergie holidayed with Campbell she had to cut the trip short after the news broke that she had accepted £27,000 from an undercover journalist after promising access to Prince Andrew.

Her spokesman said she is ‘actively considering all options’ to raise money – including book deals and rejoining the public speaking circuit – while a review of her finances is carried out. She ‘works hard’ and ‘negotiates contracts’ while on holiday, and is understood to be planning to return to the UK ‘shortly’.’

But she’s coming under huge criticism for it: Graham Smith, of anti-monarchy pressure group Republic, said: ‘It’s crass to behave like a millionaire given the recession, the dire financial strife she’s in and the fact that she’s looking to Prince Andrew to rescue her. You would expect someone facing bankruptcy to be pursuing work and doing all they can to save and make money. It makes a mockery of that and any ounce of sympathy left for Sarah Ferguson must surely have drained away.’

It continues – ‘in early June she spent eight days at the £1,500-a-night Aquapura spa resort in Portugal, on a £3,000 weight loss and anti-ageing health programme.’

She also took part in ‘media awareness work’, apparently. Really?! I’d be asking for my money back.

Here’s the full story in today’s Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1305872/Duchess-York-Sarah-Ferguson-eighth-foreign-break-year.html#ixzz0xd79jXXL

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