SARAH Ferguson sent a grovelling apology to Jeffrey Epstein and hailed him a “supreme friend” after his release from jail for child sex offences.
Prince Andrew’s ex-wife emailed the millionaire paedo in 2011 — weeks after an interview in which she pledged never to contact him again.
Sarah Ferguson sent a grovelling apology to Jeffrey Epstein and hailed him a ‘supreme friend’[/caption]
Convicted paedophile Epstein was facing 45 years in prison when he was found hanged from his bedsheets in his cell in 2019[/caption]
Prince Andrew is pictured walking through New York’s Central Park with Epstein in 2010[/caption]
Last night a close pal of Fergie said she wrote the email at a time when she had been threatened with legal action by Epstein.
Sarah Ferguson said sorry to Jeffrey Epstein after linking him to paedophilia in an interview, telling him: “I did not use the P word about you”.
In the interview published on March 7, 2011, the Duchess of York apologised for having accepted £15,000 from Epstein — a long-time associate of her ex-husband Prince Andrew.
She said: “I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf.
“Whenever I can, I will repay the money and will have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.”
But just over a month later, on April 26, the Duchess secretly wrote to Epstein from her personal email address stating: “As you know I did not, absolutely not, say the P (paedophile) word about you.”
A close friend of Fergie last night insisted she wrote the email when had been threatened by aggressive legal action by Epstein.
The pal said: “The threats from Epstein were extremely aggressive and unpleasant.
“He was furious she had done the right thing and condemned him publicly and wanted revenge.
“She felt she had no option but to write in the way she did — trying to appease him and make it all go away.”
The email lays bare how evil Epstein was able to exert powerful influence over the Duke of York and his family via his vast wealth.
The Duchess had told the convict: “I know you feel hellaciously let down by me.
“And 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.”
Her email continued: “I am apologising to you today for not replying to your email or reaching out to you. I was bedridden with fear. I was paralysed.
“I 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. I was broken and lost.
“So please understand. I didn’t want to hurt Andrew one more time. I was in over-riding fear. I am sorry.”
Last night, a spokesman for the Duchess said: “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.
“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 shrink back 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.”
Prince Andrew and Fergie at the funeral of Katharine, Duchess of Kent at Westminster Cathedral last week[/caption]
Fergie with Epstein’s ex-lover Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty of sex trafficking charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison[/caption]
Epstein was released from a Florida prison in July 2009, having served 13 months of an 18-month sentence for soliciting prostitution from girls as young as 14.
In December 2010, he was famously pictured walking through Central Park in New York with Prince Andrew.
Three months later, it emerged millionaire Epstein had paid £15,000 to the Duchess’s former aide Johnny O’Sullivan following a cash row.
It was reported at the time this lifeline deal allowed Fergie to restructure her £5million debts.
In another email, sent by the Duchess on January 22, 2011, to Epstein following his payment to Mr O’Sullivan, she wrote: “How can I thank you enough?
“You are a friend indeed and one day I will give it to you back.
“But I cannot have the words to thank you now. Sometimes the heart speaks better than the words. You have my heart. With lot of love, dear Jeffrey.” The Duchess signed off the email “S xxx”.
A friend of Fergie at the time said she believed she had done nothing wrong as she had not spoken to Epstein directly before the payment was made.
But it was later accepted she had benefited from his wealth.
In his disastrous 2019 Newsnight interview, Prince Andrew had claimed he cut all ties with Epstein in December 2010, and had only visited to tell him they could no longer be friends.
The Duke had insisted that ending the friendship over the phone was “the chicken’s way of doing it”.
He added: “I had to go and see him and talk to him.
As you know I did not, absolutely not, say the P (paedophile) word about you
Sarah Ferguson
“I said, ‘Look, because of what has happened, I don’t think it is appropriate that we should remain in contact,’ and by mutual agreement during that walk in the park we decided that we would part company. I never had any contact with him from that day forward.”
Asked again why he had stayed with Epstein, he responded: “It was a convenient place to stay.”
The Duchess is the latest public figure to be dragged into the Epstein scandal, which has dogged Andrew for more than a decade and has ended his career as a working royal.
The Duke of York was a long-time friend of Epstein and continued to communicate with him after his conviction in Florida.
Epstein was facing 45 years in jail after being charged in July 2019 with sex trafficking underage girls.
He was remanded into custody but a month later he was found hanged from his bedsheets in his prison cell in New York.
Fergie said sorry to Epstein after linking him to paedophilia in an interview, telling him: ‘I did not use the P word about you’[/caption]
King Charles with Andrew and Fergie at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral last week[/caption]
The scandal exploded again earlier this month when Peter Mandelson was sacked as the UK’s Ambassador in Washington.
The Labour peer, 71, another long-time associate of Epstein, told him he was his “best pal” and his 2008 conviction was unjust.
A batch of letters and notes to Epstein was released by the US House of Representatives’ Oversight Committee, including the contents of a birthday book.
Two years after Epstein’s death, his former lover Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
You are a friend indeed and one day I will give it to you back. But I cannot have the words to thank you now. Sometimes the heart speaks better than the words. You have my heart. With lot of love, dear Jeffrey
Sarah Ferguson
The following year, 2022, Prince Andrew paid a reported £12million to settle a case with Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she had been trafficked to him by Epstein.
The Duke has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
She claimed that the Duke of York had sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was under the age of 18.
In court documents, she claimed Epstein had trafficked her aged 17.
Ms Giuffre took her own life at her home in Australia earlier this year, aged 41.
Prince Andrew and his ex-wife were seen last week with the Royal Family — including the King, Prince William and Kate — at the funeral of the Duchess of Kent.
- Daphne Barak is a world-renowned interviewer and documentary maker.
Prince Andrew with Virginia Roberts aged 17 at Ghislaine Maxwell’s townhouse in London[/caption]
Andrew, pictured with Emily Maitlis, claimed he cut all ties with Epstein in December 2010 in his disastrous 2019 Newsnight interview[/caption]
Timeline of House of York scandal
2000: Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell attend a joint birthday party at Windsor Castle.
JULY 2008: Epstein is jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to procuring underage girls.
DECEMBER 2010: Prince Andrew is pictured walking through New York’s Central Park with Epstein.
FEBRUARY 2011: A picture of Andrew with his arm around the bare midriff of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, 17, emerges..
MARCH 2011: Prince Andrew promises to sever links with Epstein.
6 MARCH 2011: It is revealed Sarah took £15,000 from Epstein to pay off debts. She writes a note to him, thanking her “dear, dear friend”.
7 MARCH 2011: Fergie says she regretted taking the £15,000, pledges to pay it back, and says she “abhors paedophilia”.
26 APRIL 2011: She sends a second email to Epstein begging for his forgiveness.
APRIL 2015: Claims Andrew had sex with Giuffre while she was 17 emerge. He denies it.
AUGUST 2019: Epstein is found hanged in jail.
NOVEMBER 2019: Andrew quits public duties after BBC interview.
FEBRUARY 2022: He settles Giuffre lawsuit for a reported £12million.
APRIL 2025: Virginia Giuffre suicide, aged 41.
SEPTEMBER 2025: Documents show an Epstein “assistant” bragging she had sat on the Buckingham Palace throne and met Andrew.
