In my very humble opinion,The real problem now, as I understand it, is Not just the Fake Sheikh cash for access scandal. It's not even Sarah's greed / trading on the Royal Family connections etc.
The real problem that Sarah now faces, and which in my humble opinion, will prevent her 'recovering' i.e. taking on a prominent role, being able to support herself, being seen as an asset rather than , at times, a public disgrace, is all now gone. And not just because of Sarah's own failings...
The hurdle which Sarah is now facing - and which I perceive as insurmountable - is this: she is past her sell-by date. Even if we discount all the Sheik/ spending / greed / tv series and interviews etc and pretend they did not exist / had not happened, Sarah will no longer ever be 'a leading player' in the BRF. Since her split from Andrew, Sarah has milked her once-royal status for years and now I think that the real reason that she will not be able to do this, is because a generation has passed, and the BRF has moved on.
In support of my argument, I am looking back to when I was very young. My parents went to Royal Ascot, they went to Royal Garden Parties and other Royal events. My close female relatives had all been presented at Court and some of the male relatives had been to Levees as well. We were what is sometimes known as a 'Queen and Country' family; in other words, I was exposed to a family where there was quite an interest in Royalty. And for this reason, even though I was very young at the time, I can clearly remember the HUGE royal interest in that time was focused obviously on the Queen and Prince Philip and their family, but also on Princess Alexandra, and the Duchess of Kent. Princess Alexandra and the Duchess of Kent were the nearest we had at that time to 'glamour and beauty' and the papers used to concentrate on their clothes and their beauty [Princess Alexandra was perhaps not as physcially beautiful as the Duchess of Kent, and the way that the papers used to deal with this was to praise her wonderful complexion. (this, historically, has always been the way of dealing with the BRF's lack of convention beauty!)]
The Royal 'heartthrob' of that period was Prince William [of Gloucester]. He was academically gifted, charming and sporty - and he was a pilot. Girls swooned over him; he had a sort-of 'James Bond' image. His younger brother Richard was less prominent. Prince Michael was also regarded as something of a 'catch'. He looked handsome in military uniform and was also the focus of much admiring coverage in the middle market women's magazines: He regularly featured in lists of the most eligible men of the time, along with Prince William.
And now look what has happened: the hand of time has moved on. Prince William of course died in a tragic aircrash and I doubt that many young people -even those with a passing interest in Royalty -have even heard of him. Nowadays, Prince Michael almost seems a 'background figure' and in the shadow of his apparently-pushy wife. Princess Alexandra is a stalwart of the BRF, but I believe that if she walked down Bond Street, few people would recognise her. The Duchess of Kent, hugely popular once as both a beauty and a compassionate soul, has largely retired from public life. Yet these royals once enjoyed huge media coverage.
And the reason they are no longer the focus of everything is quite simple: the BRF has moved on. It is the younger generation who now is 'in focus': William [and his wife] and Harry are the 'glamour royals'. Look at Zara. There is of course always going to be interest in Charles [as heir to the throne] but it is the new generation who stand out.
I have this theory that UNLESS you are the heir to the throne and his wife [or a surviving Royal Consort in the mould of the Queen Mother], any other royal seems to have a maximum of 25 years in the Royal Spotlight before it is time to move on.
This, to me, is Sarah's REAL problem. Even if she was still married to Andrew and the last quarter century of scandals had not happened, it would basically be 'over' for Sarah. She cannot really 'recover' her position. As with Princess Alexandra and the Duchess of Kent, it is time to move from centre stage and away from the spotlights so that the new stars are the focus.
Which is why I feel that Sarah has no alternative but to bow out from the spotlight and try to live a much lower-profile life. The challenge is how this will be achieved financially.
Only my thoughts and not meant to offend.