Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of Prince Andrew, apologized to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein weeks after publicly disowning him in 2011, according to emails published in a British tabloid.
The Duchess of York may have split from Andrew in the 1990s, but the pair are very much still a part of each other’s lives. She has defended the royal on U.K. television in the wake of allegations about his friendship with Epstein.
Andrew was accused by Virginia Giuffre of raping her when she was a 17-year-old Epstein sex trafficking victim. The prince denied the allegations in a lawsuit she filed in New York. He settled out of court without admitting liability and paid her a substantial sum.
Newsweek reached out to Ferguson’s representative for comment.
Why It Matters
Three years before Ferguson’s email, Epstein had been convicted of felony solicitation of prostitutes and procuring persons under 18 for prostitution.
The new revelation came just days after Ferguson and Prince Andrew were photographed with other royals at the funeral of the Duchess of Kent at Westminster Cathedral on Tuesday.
King Charles III and Buckingham Palace will also be wondering whether there are more revelations to follow, either about Ferguson or Andrew.
The charity Julia’s House removed Ferguson as its patron on Monday, following the publication of the email, stating that it would not be appropriate to continue the relationship.
Sarah Ferguson Calls Jeffrey Epstein ‘My Dear, Dear Friend’
On January 22, 2011, Ferguson sent Epstein an email addressed to “my dear, dear friend Jeffrey,” which was published for the first time this weekend in the Mail on Sunday.
She appeared to thank him for a loan he gave her, reportedly £15,000 (around $20,000), to pay off debts: “How can I thank you enough? You are a friend indeed and I will one day give it to you back. But I can not have the words to thank you now.
“Sometimes the heart speaks better than the words. You have my heart. With lots of love, dear Jeffrey.”
Two months later, news of the loan leaked via a story in the Evening Standard, and she struck a very different tone in a statement to the London newspaper.
Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew attend Katharine, Duchess of Kent’s funeral in London on September 16, 2025.
Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew attend Katharine, Duchess of Kent’s funeral in London on September 16, 2025.
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
What Sarah Ferguson Said About Jeffrey Epstein in March 2011
Sarah Ferguson told the Evening Standard in March 2011: “I personally, on behalf of myself, deeply regret that Jeffrey Epstein became involved in any way with me.
“I abhor peadophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf. I am just so contrite I cannot say.
“Whenever I can I will repay the money and will have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again,” she said, adding: “What he did was wrong and for which he was rightly jailed.”
Interestingly, the comments represented a far more fulsome denunciation of Epstein than Andrew made years later in November 2019 to BBC Newsnight journalist Emily Maitlis.
The prince was asked whether he regretted his friendship with Epstein and said: “Now, still not and the reason being is that the people that I met and the opportunities that I was given to learn either by him or because of him were actually very useful.”
Sarah Ferguson’s Leaked Epstein Apology
In 2019, the Daily Mail reported Epstein had threatened to sue Ferguson after the comment was issued.
And now, the Mail on Sunday has published an email she reportedly sent Epstein on April 26, 2011: “I know you feel hellaciously let down by me from what you were either told or read and I must humbly apologise to you and your heart for that.”
A spokesman for Ferguson told the Mail that she had sent the email to avoid a defamation lawsuit from him without publicly retracting her remarks.
“The Duchess spoke of her regret about her association with Epstein many years ago, and as they have always been, her first thoughts are with his victims,” the spokesman said. “Like many people, she was taken in by his lies.
“As soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations against him, she not only cut off contact but condemned him publicly, to the extent that he then threatened to sue her for defamation for associating him with paedophilia.
“She does not resile 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.”
What the Saga Means for King Charles III
It all serves as a stark warning to King Charles that the Epstein scandal is unlikely to go away anytime soon.
Ferguson was already effectively outside the palace tent when she took the money, disowned Epstein, and then sent her groveling apology. Prince Andrew, however, was not.
The big question for the palace is just how much more might emerge from one of the monarchy’s biggest scandals of the post-war era.
Royal popularity data has been shaky in recent years, and the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic is convinced Epstein has been a factor.
Graham Smith, its chief executive, told Newsweek in January: “The monarchy despite claims of modernising just can’t change and will be left adrift. The big obvious issues are Harry and Meghan and Prince Andrew.”
“It’s come together as a perfect storm to push people away from the monarchy,” he added.
Reaction
Julia’s House, a children’s hospice charity that previously counted Ferguson as a patron, said in a statement to Sky News on Monday: “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.”
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