"Look after me and he'll look after you... you'll get it back tenfold," Fergie reportedly said. She claims the money was never intended for him -- that he’s in fact “completely whiter than white. "

The Duchess apparently got wind of the undercover scam while jetsetting at the Cannes Film Festival in southern France. A fellow passenger told the media that Fergie “looked distraught” on a flight back to London’s Heathrow. In a statement released Sunday, she said, “I very deeply regret the situation and the embarrassment caused. It is true that my financial situation is under stress. However, that is no excuse for a serious lapse in judgment and I am very sorry that this has happened. I can confirm the Duke of York was not aware or involved in any of the discussions. I am sincerely sorry for my actions."

The embarrassed Duchess of York has a reputation for pissing away, and indeed she’s recorded saying on the undercover tape, “I have not a pot to piss in.”

But there’s a lesson here for the royals: you don’t banish secret holders from the fold without keeping them on the payroll.

That’s the price they have to pay for renewing the bloodlines sans corruption scandal