LONDON – Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York and ex-wife of the former Prince Andrew, called convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein a “legend” and “the brother I have always wished for” in a series of emails released by US authorities.
The correspondence, spanning from 2009 to 2011, provides new insight into Ferguson’s relationship with Epstein, which continued even after his 2008 conviction for procuring a minor for prostitution.
“I have never been more touched by a friends (sic) kindness than your compliment to me infront of my girls,” Ferguson wrote in an August 2009 email. “Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for.”
Business dealings and financial struggles
The emails reveal that Ferguson’s relationship with Epstein involved both personal friendship and business opportunities. In the August 2009 correspondence, she thanked Epstein for facilitating business prospects for her company “Mother Army” following a lunch meeting.
Ferguson’s well-documented financial difficulties are evident throughout the exchanges. Two months after the initial email, she wrote urgently to Epstein: “I urgently need 20,000 pounds for rent today… Any brainwaves?”
The correspondence includes multiple meeting arrangements and event invitations across the Atlantic. In one March 2010 exchange, when Epstein inquired about New York plans, Ferguson replied candidly about her daughter Princess Eugenie’s whereabouts, using explicit language to describe the then-19-year-old’s weekend activities.
“Not sure yet. Just waiting for Eugenie to come back from a shagging weekend!!” read the reply from “Sarah”, referring to Andrew and Ferguson’s daughter Princess Eugenie.
By June 2010, Ferguson’s admiration for Epstein reached its zenith. “You are a legend,” she wrote. “I really don’t have the words to describe, my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness. Xx I am at your service. Just marry me.”
Public break and private reconciliation
The relationship publicly soured in 2011 when Ferguson apologized for her association with Epstein during a television interview, stating she “abhorred paedophilia” and was severing ties with the American financier. She called a £15,000 (R330 000) loan from Epstein a “gigantic error of judgement.”
However, newly released emails reveal that Ferguson privately apologized to Epstein shortly after her public statements, calling him a “steadfast, generous and supreme friend” in a 2011 message.
Internal correspondence between Epstein and his publicist Mike Sitrick discussed damage control, with Epstein suggesting Ferguson should publicly declare “I am not a pedo.”
Ongoing fallout
Ferguson (66) divorced Prince Andrew in 1996 but maintained a close relationship with the Duke of York, who was stripped of his royal titles in October 2025. While Andrew’s friendship with Epstein has been extensively scrutinized, Ferguson had largely avoided the worst consequences until these latest revelations.
Multiple UK charities cut ties with Ferguson in 2025 following earlier reports of her continued correspondence with Epstein after claiming to have ended their relationship.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while in federal custody awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving underage girls.
ALSO READ: Second Epstein accuser claims sexual encounter with former prince Andrew
