Kathrine Frich
Previously unseen emails have reportedly emerged linking Sarah Ferguson more closely to Jeffrey Epstein.
The late financier allegedly made shocking claims about his relationship with Ferguson and her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
Fresh controversy
According to reports, Epstein sent an email to his lawyer Paul Tweed in 2011, shortly after Ferguson publicly apologised for her association with him and vowed never to see him again.
In the email, Epstein claimed the Duchess had visited him in New York with her daughters soon after his release from prison.
He allegedly wrote: “[Sarah] took apartments in New York. She was the first to celebrate my release with her two daughters in tow. She visited me with [a] policeman sitting at my front desk. She has asked for help with her charities.”
A source close to Ferguson has denied any recollection of such a visit, insisting that neither she nor her daughters remembers meeting Epstein at that time.
Money and favours
While Ferguson has previously admitted to accepting financial help from Epstein, new details suggest she may have sought larger sums than was once known.
The Daily Mail reported that the emails show she asked to borrow between $50,000 (£37,000) and $100,000 (£78,000) for “small bills,” and expressed an interest in visiting Epstein’s private Caribbean island.
Last month, several charities ended their partnerships with Ferguson after another 2011 email to Epstein surfaced.
In that message, she described him as “a steadfast, generous and supreme friend,” and apologised for not replying to earlier communications.
Fear and fallout
In the same email, Ferguson wrote:
“I was bedridden with fear. I was paralysed. I was advised in no uncertain terms to have nothing to do with you and to not speak or email you… I didn’t want to hurt Andrew one more time. I was in overriding fear. I am sorry.”
Her spokesperson later explained that she sent the email after Epstein threatened to “destroy her” in what was described as a “Hannibal Lecter-style” phone call.
James Henderson, the Duchess’s former adviser, told The Telegraph: “People don’t understand how terrible Epstein was. It was a chilling call and I’m surprised anybody was ever friends with him given the way he talked to me.”
Royal repercussions
The scandal resurfaced as Prince Andrew announced he would relinquish the use of his royal titles and honours, following renewed attention from a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre. Andrew has denied all allegations against him.
The move also means Ferguson no longer holds the title of Duchess of York. However, her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie will retain their royal titles, as they are princesses by birthright and not affected by their father’s decisions.
This article is made and published by Kathrine Frich, which may have used AI in the preparation
