In an effort to make a public apology, Britain’s Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, 50, revealed to Oprah Winfrey Tuesday that she was intoxicated and "not in the right place" during the videotaped undercover sting in which she bartered for access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew. "I’m aware of the fact that I’ve been drinking," Ferguson said in her first interview since the incident. Her appearance is slated to air on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Tuesday.

The clip of the sting operation was released on the website of a London tabloid News of the World. The video caught Ferguson requesting 40,000 British pounds in cash and 500,000 pounds by wire transfer in exchange of access to Prince Andrew. “I can open any door you want,” Ferguson says in the recording.

Ferguson said she had seen the video while traveling through airports but had not watched it in its entirety. "I haven’t faced the devil in the face,” she said. “I was in the gutter at that moment." Ferguson claims she initially offered the bribery to help a friend. She has since apologized for her "serious lapse in judgment" in a statement and admitted she had financial problems.

Ferguson married Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth and fourth in line to the throne, in 1986. They have two daughters, princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. The couple divorced in 1996. –NATTHAKAN GARUNRANGSEEWONG

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