The extent of Sarah Ferguson’s friendship and admiration for Jeffrey Epstein has been one of the key revelations from the release of the latest tranche of the Epstein files.
In recent years, it has been the former Duchess of York’s ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor who has come under extreme scrutiny for his friendship with the late disgraced financier.
But the newly released emails published by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) reveal what appear to be several embarrassing messages between Ms Ferguson and Epstein. In one email, she told Epstein he was the “brother I have always wished for” and later said she needed £20,000 for rent following the collapse of her business venture.
In others, the convicted sex trafficker appeared to suggest he wanted Ms Ferguson help to clear his name. Appearing in the Epstein files does not indicate guilt or wrongdoing.
Here is what we know about the pair’s relationship.
Early friendship
It is not exactly clear when Ms Ferguson and Epstein first met. Her former husband, Andrew, was reportedly first introduced to the financier through mutual associate Ghislaine Maxwell in 1999.
Andrew and Ms Ferguson separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. Despite this, the pair remained close, living together at Royal Lodge and co-parenting daughters Beatrice and Eugenie.
While Andrew was photographed with Epstein on several occasions in the late nineties and early 2000s, Ms Ferguson’s early relationship with him is considerably murkier.
The pair were both reportedly in attendance at Andrew’s 40th birthday party hosted by the late Queen at Windsor Castle in 2000.
July 2006 - Princess Beatrice’s 18th birthday
In July 2006, Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were among the 500 guests invited to Princess Beatrice’s lavish 18th birthday celebrations held at Windsor Castle and attended by Andrew and Ms Ferguson.
The previous month, Epstein was charged with one count of solicitation of prostitution.
Again, the extent of communication between Epstein and Ms Ferguson at the event is not clear.
In a Newsnight interview in 2019, Andrew said Epstein had been invited via Ms Maxwell as her plus one, but that he wasn't aware at the time the invitation was sent out "what was going on in the United States".
June 2009 - Ms Ferguson asks Epstein for business advice while he is incarcerated
New documents released by the DOJ suggest Ms Ferguson emailed Epstein to ask for business advice while he was in prison for soliciting sex from a minor.
In the email, Ms Ferguson appeared to ask Epstein to help her get her business, Mothers Army, off the ground.
According to the BBC, an email dated June 14, 2009 from an address named "Sarah" says: "I need to ask you how I start The Mothers Army company so it can be commercial, how do I do that? Can you help me?".
On June 26, 2009, "Sarah" wrote to Epstein saying: "I am alive... yes I did go to the first lady and she loved the Mothers Army. I am going to call you later Love you".
The business is described as “dedicated to uniting the women of the world as mothers to ensure safety and security of children, women and girls in all spheres of life and work” on its website.
July 2009 - Ms Ferguson takes daughters to lunch with Epstein, emails suggest
Newly released emails suggest Ms Ferguson took her two daughters for lunch with Epstein in July 2009, just days after he was released from prison for child sex crimes.
In a message sent on July 28, 2009, from Epstein to Ms Maxwell, he wrote “ferg and the two girls come [sic] yesterday”.
It is not clear what was discussed at the lunch.
Also in July 2009, an email reportedly sent from Epstein to hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin read: "fergie said she could organize tea in the buckingham palace apts.. or windsor castle" (sic).
August 2009 - ‘the brother I have always wished for’
In August 2009, Ms Ferguson appears to describe Epstein as “the brother I have always wished for”. The then Duchess of York updated Epstein on potential opportunities for her business brands and books.
“In just one week, after your lunch, it seems the energy has lifted”, she wrote.
"I have never been more touched by a friends [sic] kindness than your compliment to me infront of my girls.
“Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for.”
Later that year, Epstein also appears to have arranged accommodation for Ms Ferguson during one of her trips to New York.
October 2009 - Ms Ferguson appears to ask Epstein for money
Later in 2009, Ms Ferguson wrote to Epstein and said: "I urgently need 20,000 pounds ($27,521) for rent today.
“The landlord has threatened to go to the newspapers if I don’t pay. Any brainwaves?”
The email exchange started between Epstein and a man called David Stern, who shared a copy of an ABC article questioning if Ferguson’s finances were in “jeopardy”.
Epstein suggests the leak could come from “disgruntled investors” and Ferguson replies confirming an investor has “broken a confidentiality agreement”.
Although the email chain appears to end once she explains that she needs money for rent, elsewhere an email from Epstein claims to have helped her financially for 15 years.
February 2010 - Epstein invited to Andrew’s 50th birthday party
Andrew’s private secretary Amanda Thirsk reportedly wrote to Epstein on behalf of Ms Ferguson in February 2010, to invite him to Andrew’s 50th birthday party at St James’s Palace in London.
It is understood Epstein did not attend.
March - July 2010 - Mentions of Eugenie
One email from Epstein to a redacted address, sent on March 21, 2010, simply reads "ny?" (sic).
The reply, also from a redacted address says: "Not sure yet. Just waiting for Eugenie to come back from a sha***** weekend!!".
A later email in July of the same year shows Epstein asking if Beatrice and Eugenie are free to say hello in July 2010.
In the same month, amidst a cash-for-access scandal, Ms Ferguson reportedly emailed Epstein calling him “my pillar”.
"I am now 1,000 percent being hung out to dry, just as I predicted you will see, the Press will have me exiled," she wrote.
"I am totally on my own now. This is beyond scandalous and nobody can do anything."
March 2011 - ‘Gigantic error of judgement’
In an interview with the Evening Standard in March 2011, Ms Ferguson admitted her involvement with Epstein had been a “gigantic error of judgment”. It came after revelations she had allowed Epstein to provide £15,000 to help pay off her debts.
Epstein had been jailed in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from someone under 18.
“I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children,” she said in the interview.
But in an email exchange believed to be from Epstein to three others, including his publicist, in March 2011, he appears to suggest he is hoping for help from Ms Ferguson to clear his name.
In the emails he said: “I think Fergie can now say, I am not a pedo.”
It adds: “She was DUPED into believeing [sic] false stories.”
Emails show Epstein’s publicist at the time Mike Sitrick said they have a strategy to “get newspapers to stop calling you a pedophile” and one was to get “Fergie to retract”.
Weeks after Ms Ferguson gave the interview, leaked emails published by the Mail on Sunday suggest she “did not” and “would not” call him a “P”, and that she had acted to “protect my own brand”.
September 2011 - Suggestion of a secret child
A message sent by Ms Ferguson to Epstein congratulating the paedophile on the birth of a “baby boy” after he was released from jail in 2011, suggests he had a secret child, The Telegraph reported.
“Don’t know if you are still on this BBM but heard from The Duke that you have had a baby boy. Even though you never kept in touch, I am still here with love, friendship and congratulations on your baby boy. Sarah xx,” she said in the message sent 15 years ago.
It has never been established if Epstein had any children.
February 2026 - Sarah’s Trust charity closes following file releases
A spokesman for Sarah’s Trust said on Monday evening that the charity would close for the foreseeable future.
They said: “Our chair Sarah Ferguson and the board of trustees have agreed that with regret the charity will shortly close for the foreseeable future.
It added the decision had been “under discussion and in train for some months”.
Sarah Ferguson’s representatives have been contacted for comment.
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