Prince Andrew has been sued by Virginia Giuffre over allegations she was trafficked by his former friend and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as a 17-year-old to have sex with the royal, and said it was "past the time for him to be held to account". Andrew has vehemently denied the allegations in the past, and a spokesman for the duke said there was "no comment" when she was asked to respond to Ms Giuffre's legal action. Following the claims, he travelled to the Queen's Scottish Estate Balmoral with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.

       The Queen's former chef Darren McGrady compared reports of the pair at Balmoral with a memory of when Sarah famously hit the headlines in 1992 over a paparazzi picture of Texan millionaire John Bryan kissing and sucking the Duchess' toes.

       He recalled the Queen "never came down for breakfast that day" at Balmoral when it was published.

       Mr McGrady wrote on Twitter: "I remember opening the papers one morning and seeing her on the front page getting her toes sucked.

       "I guess she saw it too.

       "She never did come down for breakfast that day at Balmoral."

       The royals were all staying at Balmoral when the photos were published, including Sarah.

       Princess Diana was among the guests and reportedly sent a message to royal writer Richard Kay the night before.

       He claimed in the Daily Mail that she sent a message to him that simply read: "The redhead's in trouble."

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       Sarah quickly left Balmoral and drove the 50 miles to Aberdeen airport with her children and nanny.

       But she faced more embarrassment when she arrived at her Surrey house and realised nobody was there to open the gates.

       She then had to sit while a detective got out of the car to unlock the barrier in front of a crowd of photographers and reporters.

       Sarah and Andrew officially announced their decision to divorce in May 1996 after four years of separation.

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       She later claimed the marriage was was rocky because of Andrew's long periods away from home.

       She said: "What I got was not the man, I got the palace and didn't get him."

       Prince Philip was also said to be furious over the toe-sicking incident and did not want her to come back to Balmoral.

       But it appears the Queen may have been more forgiving.

       The Telegraph's Camilla Tominey told This Morning: "The Queen has always given Sarah her time, and invited her to Balmoral with the girls every year because she thinks that Sarah has done a very good job of bringing them up.

       "They're both lovely girls and she loves her granddaughters.

       "Prince Philip has never really forgiven Fergie for some of the unfortunate headlines of the past.

       "It used to be the case that when the Queen invited Fergie and the girls up to Balmoral, he would disappear and go to the Isle of Wight because he didn't want to be in the same place as her.

       "That's slightly melted in that he was at both Eugenie and Beatrice's wedding."