Multiple charities are ending their relationship with Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, after a 2011 email she sent to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein surfaced.
The duchess had publicly criticized Epstein after his 2008 conviction for sex crimes. Years later, she sent him an email apologizing for her comments and referred to him as a “supreme friend.”
The charities that cut ties with Ferguson include Julia’s House, The Teenage Cancer Trust, Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, Children’s Literacy Charity, National Foundation for Retired Service Animals, and Prevent Breast Cancer, according to the BBC.
This comes after several newspapers published the content of the email, in which she acknowledges that Epstein felt “hellaciously let down by me.”
“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 am apologising to you today for not replying to your email or reaching out to you,” Ferguson wrote.
The duchess explained she was “bedridden with fear” and “paralysed.” She said she was “advised, in no uncertain terms, to have nothing to do with you and to not speak or email you.”
“And if I did — I would cause more problems to you, the duke and myself,” she added. “I was broken and lost. So please understand. I didn’t want to hurt Andrew one more time. I was in overriding fear. I am sorry.”
Sarah Ferguson is referenced on the bottom right in the flight log.
— Cyn (@csalazar3084) September 22, 2025
Release the Epstein Files, @FBIDirectorKash https://t.co/2flJT3P4SS pic.twitter.com/8mzgLXTk1q
The duchess’ email contradicted her public condemnation of the sex trafficker during an interview a few weeks earlier. She told the interviewer that her relationship with Epstein had been a “gigantic error of judgment” and that “What he did was wrong and for which he was rightly jailed.”
She vowed to “have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.”
Ferguson reportedly wrote the email to Epstein because he had threatened to “destroy her” in a “Hannibal Lecter-style” phone conversation.
The duchess’ spokesman told The Telegraph that Epstein had threatened to take legal action against her. “People don’t understand how terrible Epstein was. I can remember everything about that call,” he said. “It was a chilling call and I’m surprised anybody was ever friends with him given the way he talked to me.”
The spokesman further elaborated, recalling that Epstein “said he would destroy the York family and he was quite clear on that.”
“He said he would destroy me. He wasn’t shouting. He had a Hannibal Lecter-type voice. It was very cold and calm and really menacing and nasty,” he added.
Why would Fergie be concerned about being sued in 2011 for saying that Epstein was a paedophile, when it was a matter of record by 2008? https://t.co/qXCxrwhreV pic.twitter.com/wM5xSzb6sY
— Francis Gregory (@BScheckometer) September 21, 2025
Prince Andrew, Ferguson's former husband, was also acquainted with Epstein during the late 1990s. The friendship was reportedly fueled by their common interests in money, women, and social clout. The Duke of York visited Epstein's properties, including his private island, on several occasions.
The prince continued his relationship with the disgraced financier even after his sex offender conviction. Andrew later claimed he had ended his friendship with Epstein and expressed disapproval of his actions. However, more emails suggest the friendship lasted longer than he indicated.
Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's victims, claimed he sexually assaulted her when she was a minor, according to court documents. Andrew has denied the allegation, but later settled out of court with Giuffre in 2022.