The email, unsealed by US authorities, dates back more than a decade but is drawing renewed attention now.
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Newly released court records tied to Jeffrey Epstein have surfaced another uncomfortable exchange involving a senior royal figure.
According to PEOPLE, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, made a vulgar comment about her daughter Princess Eugenie in a 2010 email to Epstein.
The message was included in a large batch of Epstein-related files released by the US Department of Justice on January 30.
In the email reviewed by PEOPLE, Epstein asked Ferguson about a possible trip to New York.
She replied: “Not sure yet. Just waiting for Eugenie to come back from a shagging weekend!!”
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At the time, Eugenie was 19 years old and just days away from her 20th birthday.
Timing and context
The email was sent after Epstein had already been convicted and served jail time for a sexual crime involving a minor.
In June 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to solicitation charges, including one involving a minor, and was released from custody in 2009.
Eugenie, now 35, was reportedly spending time with her then-boyfriend Jack Brooksbank to mark her birthday, according to The Mirror.
Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Wider connections
Ferguson shares two daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, with her former husband Prince Andrew.
Andrew was stripped of his royal titles in 2025 amid renewed scrutiny of his own ties to Epstein.
Other emails released by the DOJ show Ferguson using affectionate language toward Epstein.
In one 2010 message cited by the Daily Mail, she wrote: “You are a legend… I am at your service. Just marry me.”
Epstein files fallout
The newly unsealed files also include images and correspondence involving Prince Andrew and Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
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Andrew has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and stepped back from public duties in 2019 following a BBC interview about his relationship with Epstein.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has since suggested Andrew should cooperate with US authorities.
Epstein died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
In 2011, Ferguson publicly apologized for accepting financial help from Epstein, calling it a “terrible, terrible error of judgment,” and saying, “I abhor paedophilia.”
Sources: PEOPLE, US Department of Justice, Daily Mail, The Mirror, BBC