Duchess of York reveals shock new career move at Oscars in bid to revamp image

THE Duchess of York is set to hand out a gong at the Oscars on ­Sunday — thanks to her close ties with Elvis Presley’s family.

Sarah Ferguson, 63, has been tipped to appear at the LA ceremony — with the Elvis biopic up for eight awards.

A source said: “There have been discussions about The Duchess attending and it now looks as though that will happen — the plan is for her to present an award.

“She has been a very close friend of the Presley family, especially Elvis’ daughter Lisa Marie, and she even spoke at her funeral recently.

“That sparked some conversations about the possibility of her attending – and after some back and forth it looks like it’s happening.”

The royal has been spending a lot of time in the US of late as she looks to reinvent herself away from scandals at home, alongside her estranged ex-husband Prince Andrew.

The source added: “It’s a big deal to have her there, but it’s a big deal for the Duchess too.

“America looks likely to play a big part in her future after the problems in the UK over recent years.”

Despite divorcing in 1996, Fergie and Andrew remain close and still live together at Royal Lodge, Windsor, after reconciling their acrimonious split.

And it’s understood they are more intertwined than ever following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh – who had remained fiercely opposed to their relationship in later years.

Since then she has become increasingly intertwined with The Duke of York once again, with whom she shares daughters Beatrice and Eugenie.

The pair now face the shared headache of moving out of their home, Royal Lodge, after King Charles moved to reduce the subsidy given to his brother, Andrew, with The Celeb Report revealing last week that Fergie had struck up a close friendship with a Texan billionaire while networking in the US.