Sarah Ferguson dropped from charity after Jeffrey Epstein email resurfaces

Julia’s House has released a statement

Acharity has dropped Sarah Ferguson as patron after a resurfaced email revealed she once referred to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as a “supreme friend,” sent just weeks after she publicly vowed to cut ties with him.

The Duchess of York, 65, reportedly sent the message in April 2011. She described Epstein, who died in prison in August 2019, as a “steadfast, generous and supreme friend”.

But her spokesman now claims the duchess wrote the email under pressure. Epstein had allegedly threatened to sue her for defamation.

Now, charity Julia’s House has dropped Sarah as patron in the wake of the news.

Sarah Ferguson has spoken out to address a leaked email exchange between herself and Jeffrey Epstein (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Sarah Ferguson speaks out regarding leaked email to Jeffrey Epstein

According to The Sun on Sunday, the message was sent from Sarah’s private email address in the wake of her explosive Evening Standard interview in March 2011, where she vowed to cut all ties with Epstein after accepting £15,000 from him to help settle debts.

At the time, Sarah told the Evening Standard she would “have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again”. She described her decision to accept £15,000 from him as “a gigantic error of judgement”.

She told the publication: “I personally, on behalf of myself, deeply regret that Jeffrey Epstein became involved in any way with me. I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgement on my behalf.”

However, in the leaked message to Epstein, sent from her private email weeks later in April 2011, the duchess appeared apologetic.

We have advised the Duchess of York of this decision and thank her for her past support.

“I know you feel hellaciously let down by me,” she reportedly wrote. “And I must humbly apologise to you and your heart for that. You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family.”

‘I was in overriding fear’

She went on to say she had been “bedridden with fear” and “paralysed” after receiving advice not to contact him.

The duchess allegedly wrote: “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.”

A spokesperson for the duchess now claims the email was sent under duress. They said that Epstein had “threatened to sue her for defamation for associating him with paedophilia”.

“The duchess spoke of her regret about her association with Epstein many years ago. Her first thoughts are with his victims,” the spokesperson told The Sun.

A spokesperson claimed that the duchess sent the email as she was being “threatened” by Epstein (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Sarah Ferguson ‘taken in by Epstein’s lies’

“Like many people, she was taken in by his lies,” the spokesperson continued. “As soon as she was aware of the full extent of the allegations against him, she cut off contact and condemned him publicly, to the extent that he then threatened to sue her for defamation for associating him with paedophilia.

“She does not shrink back from anything she said then. This email was sent in the context of advice the duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats.”

Dropped from charity

In the latest development, Julia’s House, a children’s hospice charity serving families in Dorset and Wiltshire, has dropped the duchess as patron.

A statement from the charity read: “Following the information shared this weekend on the Duchess of York’s correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein, Julia’s House has taken the decision that it would be inappropriate for her to continue as a patron of the charity.

“We have advised the Duchess of York of this decision and thank her for her past support.”
Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew have both come under fire for their connections to Epstein (Credit: Cover Images)

Prince Andrew’s association with Epstein

Sarah’s ex-husband, Prince Andrew, also shared a connection to Epstein and the association has haunted the royal family for many years.

In December 2010, shortly after Epstein’s release from jail after his 2008 conviction of two state prostitution charges, Prince Andrew visited the disgraced financier in New York. Epstein died in August 2019, after taking his own life in prison.

Andrew later claimed in his 2019 BBC Newsnight interview that he had gone to the US to end the friendship in person.

Andrew stepped back from royal duties in late 2019, days after his Newsnight interview.

Then, in 2022, the Duke of York paid an undisclosed sum to settle a civil lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre. She claimed she had been trafficked to the prince by Epstein when she was 17. Prince Andrew has consistently denied all allegations.

Giuffre tragically took her own life earlier this year.