The Royal Family’s Reaction to Sarah Ferguson’s Epstein Letter

The royal family isn’t going to be able to run away from the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Right now, the issue doesn’t involve Prince Andrew, though.

Sarah Ferguson, the Duke of York’s ex-wife, also orbited in the late pedophile’s inner circle, and now, a 2011 email, published by The Sun, showed just how close they were. At the time, she had publicly sworn to have cut off contact with Epstein, but her email tells another story.

“You have always been a steadfast, generous, and supreme friend to me and my family,” she gushed in the letter after having denounced their friendship to the public. Over the weekend, her spokesperson gave a statement to the BBC with allegations that Epstein was going to sue her for defamation in 2011. “This email was sent in the context of advice the duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats,” the statement read.

Melania Trump, Prince Andrew, Gwendolyn Beck and Jeffrey Epstein at a party at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000.

Davidoff Studios/Getty Images.

Now, according to the Daily Mail, the latest revelations may force King Charles III’s hand for Ferguson’s “humble apology” to the convicted criminal. With Prince Andrew already exiled from his senior royal role and cut off from his private source of funding, “there is literally no more the king can do to cut off support [to the duke].” But there is still one trick up the monarch’s sleeve: “Prevent his brother attending family events in a private capacity.”

“It is about the last sanction he may be able to take,” a source noted to the U.K. outlet.

If King Charles is afraid to make the move, he will likely be encouraged by Prince William, who is done with his uncle’s antics. On Sept. 16, the Prince of Wales was “boiling with anger” toward Andrew for scoring a coveted seat at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral, per the Daily Beast. William felt “ambushed” by Andrew’s presence because he did not want to be associated with the Duke of York’s scandals.

“William always said, ‘Just cut Andrew off completely. It’s not appropriate to have an alleged sex offender breaking bread with the royal family.’ Charles was so desperate to be seen as embodying the spirit of Christian forgiveness that he let Andrew back in,” a palace insider told the Daily Beast in an early September report.

Andrew and Ferguson’s long-running friendship with Epstein was always a problem, and King Charles needs to handle the situation once and for all.

Before you go, click here all the biggest royal scandals in the past 50 years.