By Breaking Celebrity News Staff

As someone who’s been there, Sarah Ferguson is reaching out to Kate Middleton in wake of the topless photo scandal swirling around her.

Ferguson -- who herself was photographed topless while sunbathing at a remote villa in the South of France 20 years ago  -- has expressed “total empathy and sympathy” for the embattled Duchess of Cambridge.

The Duchess of York -- who’s currently on a promotional tour in the U.S. for her latest children’s book, Ballerina Rosie -- told the UK’s Daily Mail: “I have total empathy and sympathy for her. I have been there and know what it’s like. Everyone is entitled to privacy. It is a devastating invasion of one’s personal inner space. It is deplorable, abhorrent and despicable.”

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Fergie also had words of praise for Middleton, whose currently on a tour of South Asia with Prince William.

“She is a beautiful young woman doing a great