Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, is facing renewed scrutiny after emails emerged showing her continued contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, despite her public claims to have cut ties. The emails, which surfaced this week, contradict her 2011 statement to the Evening Standard in which she said she 'abhor[s] paedophilia' and promised to have 'nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again'. In the newly revealed correspondence, written just weeks after that statement, Ferguson tells Epstein she 'did not, absolutely not, say the P word about you', referring to the term 'paedophile'.
The emails also reveal Ferguson's financial dependence on Epstein, who she says gave her £15,000. At the time, her debts were reported to be around £5 million, stemming from her well-documented lavish spending habits. Ferguson's team has defended her, claiming she was 'taken in by his lies', a defence similar to that used by former Labour minister Peter Mandelson regarding his own association with Epstein.
Charities have begun to distance themselves from Ferguson in light of the revelations. The duchess's emails show her fawning over Epstein, calling him a 'steadfast, generous and supreme friend' and apologising for any perceived betrayal. The correspondence has reignited questions about her judgment and the extent of her relationship with Epstein, who was convicted of soliciting a minor in 2008.
Ferguson's former husband, Prince Andrew, has also faced intense criticism over his friendship with Epstein, including a widely condemned 2019 Newsnight interview in which he claimed he had ended their relationship in 2010. However, emails from that period suggest otherwise, with one showing a member of the British royal family—redacted by the Financial Conduct Authority—responding to Epstein with 'Keep in close touch and we'll play some more soon!!!'
