A number of charities on Monday severed ties with Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of Prince Andrew, after British newspapers published an email that she reportedly wrote to the late convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein, describing him as a “supreme friend.”
Julia’s House, a children’s hospice, said that the reported correspondence made it inappropriate for Ferguson, also known as the Duchess of York, to remain a patron.
“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,” the charity said. “We have advised the Duchess of York of this decision and thank her for her past support.”
The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation and Prevent Breast Cancer were also among the charities that cut ties in light of the recent revelations.
A spokesperson for Ferguson said she sent an email on the advice of her lawyers after Epstein threatened to sue her for associating him with sexual abuse in a media interview, Britain’s Press Associated reported.
FBI Director Kash Patel told a U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday there was no credible information that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked women and underage girls to anyone but himself. House lawmakers pressed Patel on the handling of the Epstein files following the Justice Department’s July decision not to release additional material.
The email was related to a 2011 interview with the Evening Standard newspaper in which she apologized for accepting 15,000 pounds ($28,000 Cdn) from Epstein.
“I abhor pedophilia 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,” Ferguson said in the interview. “Whenever I can, I will repay the money and have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.”
But the following month, Ferguson sent an email to Epstein in which she “humbly apologized” for linking him to sex abuse, saying “you have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family,” The Sun newspaper reported over the weekend.
The Associated Press couldn’t independently confirm that the email is authentic.
Ferguson’s former husband, Andrew, the younger brother to King Charles, was forced to give up all royal duties following a disastrous interview with the BBC in 2019. Andrew gave the interview to address concerns about his links to Epstein, but it backfired when he failed to explain his continued contact with the controversial American, or show sympathy for his victims.
Peter Mandelson, who had been British ambassador to the U.S., was relieved of his duties earlier this month after more communications were unearthed between him and Epstein.Â
Epstein’s death in prison in August 2019 was officially ruled a suicide, though its circumstances and the financier’s associations with high-profile men like U.S. President Donald Trump, former president Bill Clinton and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates have spawned myriad conspiracy theories.
Epstein was given a plea deal in 2008 in Florida that allowed him to plead guilty to soliciting prostitution but face no federal charges. He was indicted on federal charges of child trafficking in New York just over a month before his death.
