Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson are said to be holding onto hope by the very skin of their teeth, hope that they won’t be forced into a retaining pariah status for the rest of their natural life.

According to a well placed source, they are praying this won’t be the status quo forever.

They even told Heat World “both Andrew and Sarah are praying this won’t be the status quo forever, and that soon enough they’ll stop being treated like total pariahs, but that will never happen without some type of forgiveness from the senior royals, so King Charles holds all the aces here.”

While the same source did admit “it may sound delusional to most,” they “truly believe there’s a path to redemption” and “that at some point the dust will blow over and enable them to be taken out of exile.”

“Certainly, Sarah is banking on that; she’s always been an eternal optimist, albeit a self-serving one at that,” the source also said.

This is also being called the real reason for their continued silence despite looming rumors that a tell all is being considered.

In the eyes of the source “it’s a big reason why Andrew is staying put in Sandringham, putting a pause on any plans to write a memoir or flee for a new life in the Middle East.”